Poetry. IN THE BEE TREES is a remarkable and powerful collection; in it, the passionate allure of the natural world is as present as the vibrating iridescence of his cityscapes. There is a composure, patience, and a clarity to these poems that is truly enviable. Whether charting the passages of childhood or the difficult ascents and descents of adulthood, Jim Natal never loses his sense of awe and wonder, even in the face of the most difficult circumstances and most harrowing events, public as well as private. There is a maturity and true wisdom informing these poems, whether they are elegies for his father or meditations on nature's grandeur -- David St. John. Winner of the 1998 Ventura Poetry Festival Contest and of the Spillway's 97 Walt Whitman Call and Response Poetry Contest with Carla Martinez. Jim Natal has helped run the Rose Café weekly poetry series in Los Angeles for 3 years.