Adam Davis, an English teacher at The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, spent 13 years putting together his first published collection of poems. His soon-to-be-released follow-up, “Pyrrhic Symphony,” was partly written around the same time, but its style and approach are distinct from its predecessor.
Davis’ first poetry book, “Index of Haunted Houses,” explored concepts of longing, belonging, haunting and history through 82 pages of fragmented poems.
After entering the final product into contests, he received the 2019 Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry. The award facilitates the publication of a full-length poetry collection along with a standard royalty contract and a $2,000 prize.
The existential themes explored in “Index of Haunted Houses” made their debut in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Davis took advantage of the unique circumstances by creating a hotline, or “telephonic companion,” that anyone could call and hear different poems.
“That was a really interesting and fun way for readers to connect to the book, since the majority of us were not able to leave our homes at that point,” Davis recalled. “The majority of the readings I gave, for the first year at least, were all via Zoom until things opened up once more.”
“Pyrrhic Symphony” will get a non-socially distanced release on Tuesday, Sept. 1. It’s a long time coming, since Adams has been writing it in pieces since 2009.
Adam Davis’ “Pyrrhic Symphony,” winner of the Prairie Schooner Raz-Shumaker Book Prize, will be released Tuesday, Sept. 1. (Provided by Adam Davis)
“The first collection came together just because I had all these disparate poems and I was trying to put them in one collection,” Davis said. “But the second one came together because I was really writing toward a book.”
“Pyrric Symphony” follows a more unified theme: breakdowns. But where those breakdowns occur — in personal relationships, politics and the environment — varies. It also raises the questions: How does art respond to tragedies and how does it help us withstand them?
The 84-page book contains fewer poems than the first, but they’re longer. The prose is different, too, as Davis plays more with sound.
Perhaps most importantly, Davis is looking to surprise his audience.
“It felt more focused just in the sense that I had an idea that I was writing against something,” he said. “The first book established style and a kind of voice. I didn’t want to write the same book over and over again. I wanted to do something much different.
“I think … that confidence just came from being liberated from the concern of writing a first book of poems. Getting one book published is so hard, let alone two. So for the second one, I felt much freer. And I decided I was really going to lean into what I wanted to sound like.”
This time, it took less than a year of contest submissions for Davis to secure the Prairie Schooner Raz-Shumaker Book Prize, which promises publication through the University of Nebraska Press and a cash prize of $3,000.
Between writing “Index of Haunted Houses” and “Pyrrhic Symphony,” Davis has been consistently honing his craft. One of the venues for that is his classroom — he’s in his 16th year at The Bishop’s School.
“The beautiful thing about teaching something you love is that you’re constantly engaged with it,” said Davis, whose work also has been featured in journals and anthologies such as AGNI, The Best American Poetry and The Paris Review. “So when I’m reading poetry with my classes or any other kind of literature, I’m still engaged with that practice.
“Teaching really flexes those same muscles as writing does. You’re reacting, you’re interpreting, you’re using your analytical functions. That helps me keep sharp.”
Away from the classroom, Davis is the co-creator and co-host of “Poetry Goes to the Movies,” a podcast that combines his love of poetry and admiration of cinema. The show also is a product of the pandemic, as Davis met his co-host, film buff Colin Waters, during an interview about “Index of Haunted Houses.”
Davis soon will hit the road on a nationwide tour to promote his new book. The first stop will be South Park in San Diego. Further details are to be announced. For updates, visit adamodavis.com/book.
“I’ve had a few people ask [if I’ll] do the hotline again for the second book,” Adams said. “I’d love to, but it feels like … repeating old tricks. So I’m going to do something a little different.” ♦