It's Ready!

Tess Kincaid, everyone's favorite mistress over at
Willow Manor
has now got her first Chapbook of poems published and
ready for pre-order. Many of us are thrilled to
pieces for Tess. She wrote:

I was surprised last night with a message from my publisher, telling me my new chapbook, Patina, is on their website and ready for purchase. It's over a month earlier than expected, so needless to say, I was thrilled.

Last June, I submitted my first poetry manuscript to the Finishing Line Press Open Chapbook Competition. When hearing nothing by November, I was convinced it was a wash. Just before Christmas, I was elated to learn I was chosen as a semi-finalist and they accepted my chapbook for publication.

Patina, is a 26 page collection of some of my very first poetry, stemming from my love of ancestry and all things vintage.

"Pocket Watch", included in the book, is a poem dedicated to my great-great uncle, Peachy Bright, a Union solider from Indiana, who along with his brother, Isaac, survived the atrocities of the Andersonville Prison Camp, only to perish upon their release aboard the steamship Sultana.


Pocket Watch

for Peachy Bright, 1841-1865


You slipped
from the wool lens pocket,
and hit my hand full and hard,
like a splash of cold Mississippi.

The day they marched
him to Andersonville
flashed my eyes.
You, his sole possession,
tick and tock,
tucked in tattered Union sock.

Scribbled note sent out post-haste,
There's a chance
we'll be home in just a few days.

He steals a glance at your gold face,
marking time till Daddy greets
his kith and kin,
feels his daughter's pinkest kiss,
Estellina's lips again.

April hope swarms a homebound boat;
dashed dreams blaze bitter-bright.
The Sultana sinks that night,
at Paddy's Hen.


Tess Kincaid, Patina



Tess Kincaid’s Patina reveals a poet already keenly focused on her materials. Poem by poem they speak to her and she engages them in a poetic dance that by turn waltzes, tangos, and quick-steps its way through a collection exploring family and personal history. Kincaid has a wit to match her craft. The poems’ surfaces invite entry. Their depths do not disappoint. --Kathryn Stripling Byer

Just as natural patina can passivate objects from further decay, the poems in Tess Kincaid's debut collection form a lasting sheen for the keepsakes of memories that the poet strives to hold. These vignettes display a polished resonance that haunts yet astonishes the reader with its stunning word choices and sonic musicality. Like a master craftsman, Kincaid creates her own distinct pattern & style through vivid imagery, precise language, and unique figurative expression. Her poems remain indelible as the personal past she has restored. --Greg Sellers

The poetics of Tess Kincaid's Patina balance between discipline and whimsy. Her lyrics and character sketches achieve something many poets do not even try to do: bring us characters trying to love the world, and a world fertile with sacraments of meaning. --Annie Finch


Tess Kincaid’s Patina is aptly named, with its acute sense of how the past taints the present and its impressive demonstration of how the poetry of this moment bears the shadow of centuries of tradition.
--John Biguenet



Okay, now here's the scoop. Finishing Line is a small press and depend on authors to help promote their books. I have an advance sales period of approximately six weeks, before the pressrun is determined. So, if you are interested in purchasing a copy, please do so as soon as possible by clicking on this link:

Finishing Line Press


A huge thank you to my faithful readers, who have been a tremendous encouragement along the way. You are the best. I could not have done it without you, sweet people