EARTHBORN

This is a timely new collection that sounds themes about the fragility of life and our duty to respect the planet in a time of climate change, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet who work "begins in delight and ends in wisdom" (Carrie Fountain)

The work of Carl Dennis has won praise for its "integrity, its substance, and its seemingly effortless craft; and for its embodiment of passionate inquiry" (Times Literary Supplement). The title of his new collection, EARTHBORN, helps to point the way to its two central concerns: how to find meaning, as creatures of the earth, in lives that are short and frail and destined to be forgotten; and how, as stewards of the earth, to address the need to protect our home from ourselves, from the menace to life posed by our own species. The book succeeds in braiding together a recognition of our limits and of our responsibilities in ways that are deeply moving and revealing.

Key selling points:
PRIZEWINNING POET: Dennis's 2001 collection, Practical Gods, was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and in 2000 he won the prestigious Ruth Lilly Award for outstanding lifetime achievement as a poet.

UNIQUE VOICE: Dennis is not a showy poet; instead, he writes in plain language, usually about everyday situations, but with a depth and richness all his own. He is less interested in verbal flourish than in ethical force; for him, poetry is not only an aesthetic but a moral activity.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM: Over the years various reviewers have characterized Dennis's poems as "Wise" (The New Republic); "Original, and often deeply moving" (The New York Times Book Review); "Philosophically far-reaching (Poetry); and "Tremendously awarding" (The Times Literary Supplement).


Carl Dennis is the author of eleven previous works of poetry, as well as a collection of essays, Poetry as Persuasion. In 2000 he received the Ruth Lilly Prize for his contribution to American poetry. His 2001 collection Practical Gods won the Pulitzer Prize.