Cross Tie 5.4.15: Melissa Kwasny

But these are not angel wings
who disguise themselves as leaf or shred of bark,
who are named after the stops
in meaning our language must make room for:

                               from "Common Blue" at Poetry

In her poetry, Melissa Kwasny is a diviner of nature. Whether it be bird, water, herb or tree, she translates its essence into human speech. And, like the birds, her tones are varied, clear and delightful. As she says in a prose poem from her most recent book, The Nine Senses, "I quicken the animal out with the in of where I've been." She's been, and is, with them with herself, to our benefit. 

Melissa is the author of four books of poetry which have won prestigious prizes: The Archival Birds (Bear Star Press), Thistle (Idaho Prize, Lost Horse Press), Reading Novalis in Montana and Nine Senses (Milkweed editions). She has also authored two books on poetics.    -- Grace Marie Grafton, Poet of the Week

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