Poetry. California Studies. Winner of the 2010 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry. "Lory Bedikian's THE BOOK OF LAMENTING begins within a foundation of lyricism: 'On the back of every tongue in my family / there is a dove that lives and dies.' Bedikian recognizes the genuine world of the imagination, one we inhabit but often lose sight of—a world with 'floating hieroglyphics of flame,' where sometimes one must '[e]mpty your pockets / of the noise you carry' and 'count olives / in place of coins.' Wisdom rises up through the losses in Bedikian's poetry. One poem begins: 'The year 1997 rose like a spiral staircase / into a ceiling of darkness.' THE BOOK OF LAMENTING ascends into the darkness in a similar way—bringing us gifts of light and memory, so that the small doves at the back of every tongue might sing."—Brian Turner

Author City: TUJUNGA, CA USA

Lory Bedikian received her BA from UCLA with an emphasis in creative writing and her MFA in poetry from the University of Oregon. Her poems have been published in multiple journals, including Connecticut Review, Portland Review, Poetry International, Poet Lore and Heliotrope. Her work has also been included in Blue Arc West: An Anthology of California Poets. Most recently, she is the author of THE BOOK OF LAMENTING (Anhinga Press, 2011). She teaches poetry workshops in Los Angeles.