A Poetry Collection That Finds Life in the Spaces Between

In The Crack in the Earth, Anne Becker, former Poet Laureate of Takoma Park, explores the body across a lifetime. Moving from childhood toward old age, these poems consider birth, survival, mortality, and the unexpected moments of wonder that interrupt everyday life.

The collection invites readers to see familiar experiences from another angle. Two older women can evoke childhood and pregnancy; children exploring abandoned tunnels can suggest the force and uncertainty of birth. Becker’s poems move through these connections with energy, curiosity, and a keen awareness of time.

Poetry About the Body, Time, and Transformation

The Crack in the Earth is a themed collection for readers drawn to poetry that takes risks with language and form. Its title poem uses three columns and overlapping impressions to create a sense of movement, breath, and emergence.

Throughout the book, Becker reckons with life and its limits while making room for exuberance. Her work asks what the body remembers, how our understanding changes with age, and where wonder can still break through.

Discover a Collection That Explores

• Childhood and the passage into old age

• The human body and its relationship to time

• Birth, mortality, and survival

• Memory, imagination, and unexpected connections

• The possibilities of experimental poetic form

For Readers of Contemporary Poetry

The Crack in the Earth will appeal to readers who enjoy layered imagery, inventive form, and poems that reward a second reading. It is also a thoughtful gift for anyone interested in poetry about the human experience across generations.

Praise for The Crack in the Earth

“Becker’s The Crack in the Earth creates an exuberance for living that defies age.”

— Karren L. Alenier, editor of From the Belly: Poets Respond to Gertrude Stein’s Tender Buttons, Volumes I, II, III

About the Author

Anne Becker is a poet and former Poet Laureate of Takoma Park, Maryland. The Crack in the Earth is a themed collection of her poetry exploring the body, childhood, aging, and the wonder of being alive.