
The Widow's Crayon Box
Poems
Molly Peacock(Author)
WW Norton & Co (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 23. June 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
112 pages
978-1-324-13068-0 (ISBN)
Description
After her husband's death, Molly Peacock realised she was not living the received idea of a widow's mauve existence but instead was experiencing life in all colours. These gorgeous poems-joyful, furious, mournful, bewildered, sexy, devastated, whimsical and above all, moving-composed in sonnet sequences and in open forms, designed in four movements (After, Before, When and Afterglow)-illuminate both the role of the caregiver and the crystalline emotions one can experience after the death of a cherished partner. With her characteristic virtuosity, her fearless willingness to confront even the most difficult emotions, and always with buoyancy and zest, Peacock charts widowhood in the twenty-first century.
From "Touched:"
After you died, I felt you next to me,
and over months you entered gradually
into that lake and disappeared. Not gone,
but so internalised you're not next to me.
From "Touched:"
After you died, I felt you next to me,
and over months you entered gradually
into that lake and disappeared. Not gone,
but so internalised you're not next to me.
Reviews / Votes
"Bittersweet pleasures. . . . [W]hatever comes to mind, . . . pull up a chair, 'listen, question, watch things heal.'" -- Nuar Alsadir - O, the Oprah Magazine "Peacock roars to life . . . with formal verse that explained human pain and loss in monumental terms. . . . [She] straddles the Canadian-American divide and . . . serves as poetic inspiration . . . for poets of both nations." -- Shane Neilson - Poetry FoundationMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 211 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
113 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-324-13068-0 (9781324130680)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
11/2024
W. W. Norton & Company
€24.99
Available for download
Person
Molly Peacock is the author of eight collections of poetry, including The Analyst: Poems and Cornucopia: New and Selected Poems. She lives in Toronto, Canada.