Poetry. Winner of the 2004 Tupelo Press First Book competition, this collection of work from celebrated poet Lillias Bever explores themes of art, archeology, and the idea of cultural transmission. Revolving around the Italian painter Gentile Bellini's pilgrimage to Istanbul in 1479, the poems are at once both personal and socio-historical in scope. Bever lives in Seattle, and is the recipient of the Seattle Arts Commission award and a literature fellowship from Artist Trust/Washington State Arts Commission.