"Perillo's poetic persona is funny, tough, bold, smart, and righteous. A
spellbinding storyteller and a poet who makes the demands of the form
seem as natural as a handshake."--Booklist
"The poems [are] taut, lucid, lyric, filled with complex emotional
reflection while avoiding the usual difficulties of highbrow
poetry."--The New York Times Book Review
MacArthur Genius Award winner Lucia Perillo is a fearless poet who, with
characteristic humor and incisive irony, confronts the failings and
wonder of nature, particularly the frail and resilient human body. This
generous collection draws upon five previous volumes, including books
selected as a New York Times "100 Notable Books of the Year" and as a
finalist for the Pulitzer prize.
From "Again, the Body"
When you spend many hours alone in a room
you have more than the usual chances to disgust yourself--
this is the problem of the body, not that it is mortal
but that it is mortifying. When we were young they taught us
do not touch it, but who can keep from touching it,
from scratching off the juicy scab?...
Lucia Perillo graduated from McGill University in Montreal with a
major in wildlife management, and subsequently worked for the US Fish
and Wildlife Service. She completed her MA in English at Syracuse
University, and has published eight books of poetry, fiction, and
nonfiction. She was a MacArthur Fellow and a finalist for the Pulitzer
Prize. She lives in Olympia, Washington.
