Description
Poetry. "Sometimes surreal, always evocative, Judith Skillman's poems seem to well up from an inner hot spring. This collection is the latest in a lengthy and rich body of work. Not merely a keen observer, Skillman interprets for us the world around her, in a precise and emotional vocabulary, drawing from history—her own included—as well as the spheres of art and science to offer unique, often astonishing, associative connections."—Sean Bentley
"As Skillman's poems seek to understand rather than deny suffering, they rarely conclude in clear resolution; rather, they acknowledge that wounds live unhealed and questions exist unanswered ... (the) poems traverse through changes that manifest from living a full life. Her metaphors suggest not shrinking from scars that result from these changes, but instead learning to embrace and accept the wound as an illuminating source."—Marcene Gandolfo
"Skillman mixes a sliver of pain, a kernel of tenderness, a twist of satire, perversity, and bitterness, creating from it all a potent sauce of raw truth."—The Pedestal Magazine
"Few poets seize the natural world in the tender, particular ways that poet Judith Skillman does...For a poet who sees this world as does Skillman, nature's beauty and cruelty is ours as well."—Chicago Sun-Times Book Review
Author Bio
Judith Skillman is author of sixteen collections of poetry, including CAME HOME TO WINTER, PREMISE OF LIGHT, KAFKA'S SHADOW, HOUSE OF BURNT OFFERINGS, and The Phoenix: New & Selected Poems. She is the recipient of an Eric Mathieu King Fund Award from the Academy of American Poets for her book Storm (Blue Begonia Press). Her poems have appeared in Poetry, Shenandoah, Prairie Schooner, Zyzzyva, Nasty Women Poets, and numerous other journals and anthologies. Ms. Skillman has been a Writer in Residence at the Centrum Foundation in Port Townsend, Washington. Her essays appear in Women on Poetry, edited by Carol Smallwood. A 'how to,' Broken Lines—The Art & Craft of Poetry, was published by Lummox Press in 2013. She has taught humanities at City University and Yellow Wood Academy, and poetry at the Richard Hugo House. Her passion for collaborative translation can be seen in Hawai'i Review's poems of Macedonian Poet Jovica Eternijan, and in the chapbook Anne-Marie Derése in Translation & The Green Parrot (Ahadada Books). A Jack Straw Writer in 2008 and 2013, Judith's work has been nominated for Pushcart Prizes, the UK Kit Award, Best of the Web, and is included in Best Indie Verse of New England.
Author City: SEATTLE, WA USA