The American Poetry Review /Honickman First Book Prize in Poetry 2000 Winner Anne Marie Macari for Ivory Cradle Judged by Robert Creeley "The wonders here are those of perception, intuition, union, separation--and all the emotions these provoke. Anger, despair, but also joy, love in its flooding recognitions, relief in the world's insistent substance." --Robert Creeley, from the Introduction "Anne Marie Macari's Ivory Cradle, (what an apt and beautiful title!) announces a poet fully formed, fully mature, and wild to say things in ways they've never been said before. Rarely, very rarely, is a whole, experienced-in-pain-and-joy, and a so-sane heart so beautifully articulated. This is not just an exceptional first book, it is a flat-out exceptional book, period." --Thomas Lux

American Music, from Ivory Cradle Did you hear them when the bee truck overturned? So many thousands of bees escaping like tiny striped convicts humming a song of freedom. Who understands how important bees are? Just a few crazy people who put their hands right into the hives. These days machines imitate bees and drown them out, no one listens as they thread summer through its needle to capture the viscous sunlight, no one knows their fine language, the maps danced while they're drunk on perfume, fresh from licking the open mouths of flowers. The day was hot and humid, the air so green and laden. The bees sang and swam, small American bees rising to the Gershwin Rhapsody. Local bee keepers who heard of the disaster arrived too late and stood like conductors without an orchestra, trying to speak with their hands. While all around poisoned bees dropped like rain or hail. [Order books online] [Book Prize home]