CROSSING STATE LINES

In Anne Babson’s Crossing State Lines, the boundaries of time, geography, and political identity dissolve in a sweeping poetic odyssey through the American psyche. At its heart, the collection is a surreal "time capsule," where the ghost of Walt Whitman and the very real figure of Liz Cheney navigate a nation teetering between its mythic past and an uncertain, "post-factual" future.

Moving from the gritty, "zombie-walked" commutes of Manhattan to the expansive, brutal beauty of Montana, Babson explores what it means to be an American across the centuries. Whitman, the "patient optimist," is resurrected to witness the modern era—encountering everything from TSA scanners and glowing "boxes" of digital melodrama to the looming scent of civil strife. Meanwhile, Liz Cheney emerges as a figure of quiet, muddy-booted resolve, fishing on Wyoming lakes and reflecting on the "end of history" while grappling with a country divided by "obvious lies" and the echoes of her own family legacy.

Through a rich tapestry of forms—from ghazals and rondels to gritty free verse—Babson weaves together the voices of immigrants at Ellis Island, exhausted Midtown office workers, and historical figures like Phillis Wheatley. Crossing State Lines is a defiant, lyrical meditation on honor, the "commute" between our dreams and reality, and the enduring hope that we might still find common ground.