With dozens of five-star reader reviews on the major bookselling platforms, this novel will appeal to those who enjoy gentle, character-driven storytelling by authors like Jenny Colgan, Alexander McCall Smith, and Sangu Mandanna.
"Evvie still believed that every problem can be solved by a poem."
A struggling lit arts teacher in Portland, Evvie feels the challenges piling up around her — the fall-out of a messy divorce, the possibility if impending homelessness, and a snooty father who, as a literature professor, loves to remind her that she’s no Emily Dickinson.
However, she senses her luck changing when she bags her dream job. As the poet-in-residence on a cross-country train journey, her new office is the beautiful and newly restored Pullman Library Car. There, while partaking of the ever-present, fresh-baked chocolate-chip cookies, she guides fellow passengers in the creation of poems that solve (or at least soften) their conundrums.
Just as she's finding her stride, Evvie discovers a mystery that points to a global story of people on the move and involves her in the courageous quest of a vulnerable young hero.
To help him, the Poet on the Train must ask and answer for herself: Can poetry really change the world?
- Published: November 26, 2025
- Publisher: FoxHarperInk
- Format: Paperback
- Length: 356 pages
- ISBN: 9780983587828
- Language: English
- Cover: Uvarova Mariia
About the author: Kate Chadbourne is an award-winning songwriter and poet, a scholar and teacher of Irish language and folklore, and a beloved performer at venues throughout New England. She has released solo CDs and single-author poetry collections, and has collaborated with other musicians and writers on many performances and projects. Kate is the founder and lead teacher of The Bardic Academy, a school for writers, musicians, singers, and scholars.
Learn more at her personal webpage.