Us to the Moon and Back

In his debut poetry collection Us to the Moon and Back, Joe Bracken explores the magic and hardship of romance. What started as an anniversary gift for his wife soon became an experiment of love and poetic form. Spanning from the online search to the first date to the first major medical emergency, this collection is full of poems that are hopeful, heartbreaking, and relatable. Also of note is that each of the 179 poems follows the rules of a different poetic form. Each poem has a unique structure and rhythm, and thus has a unique feel. The author even takes it upon himself to create a few forms of his own. All these forms are used to explore the enchanted, silly, and often difficult phases of love. The book is divided into four sections named for the phases of the moon. New Moon takes readers through the process of searching for the one, the first date, and falling in love. First Quarter explores aspects of living together and explores Bracken’s experiences with his girlfriend (now wife) contracting thyroid and bowel cancer. Full Moon explores the couple’s attempts to get pregnant and their success right before the Covid-19 shutdown. Last Quarter shows the author’s reflections on love as well as more recent accidents and his own struggles with cancer.