Mischa Willett

Mischa Willett is an American poet and essayist best known for his work in the poetic elegy and for his academic championship of the Spasmodic poets.

Biography Willett was born in Phoenix, Arizona, to a family associated with People's Church, an offshoot of the Jesus movement. His childhood was spent moving around the west coast There he attended his first poetry readings by poets such as Li-Young Lee, Dana Gioia, and Jeanne Murray Walker.

Willett stayed at University of Washington for a Ph.D. focusing on Romanticism, during which time he first began to appreciate the Spasmodic poets.

Willett is married to the choreographer Amber Willett. They have two children.

Currently, Willett teaches on the English faculty at Seattle Pacific University.

Academic career Willett's published research poems that are often ironic or humorous. It was listed among the "Best Books 2017" by the Washington Independent Review of Books. The poems have been compared stylistically to the poems of Richard Wilbur and noted for their interest in Italian culture and classical civilizations.

Willett's second book, The Elegy Beta is an extended meditation on angels as represented in The Duino Elegies by Rainer Maria Rilke. It was the first poetry book published by Mockingbird Press and was included among the ten best poetry books of 2020 by Relief Journal. The book has been stylistically and thematically compared to the Metaphysical poets especially John Donne, and to John Berryman.

Essays As an essayist, Willett writes on culture and religion in venues such as The Gospel Coalition, Mere Orthodoxy, Cardus, The Curator, Front Porch Republic, and First Things.