Winner of the 2010 Crab Orchard Series in Poetry

"Exquisite moments of intimacy caught in the meshes of history, of human depredation registered in language as plainspoken as it is rich in implication . . . "

—Alan Shapiro, author of Old War

Winner of the 2011 American Book Award

Winner of the 2011 Northern California Book Award in Poetry

Silver Medal Winner in Poetry at the 2011 California Book Awards

"The metaphors are so apt and concrete that we not only witness and experience slavery within an artful frame, but also with all the nerve endings exposed."

—Yusef Komunyakaa

Finalist for the PEN Center USA 2007 Literary Award, and the Library of Virginia 2007 Literary Award

"Camille Dungy has a garden of verses that spring up with the sunshine or hide with you in the dusk."

—Nikki Giovanni

Winner of the 2010 Northern California Book Award Special Recognition Award

2010 NAACP Image Award Nominee

"By creating an anthology of nature poetry by African American writers, poet and editor Dungy enlarges our understanding of the nexus between nature and culture, and introduces a 'new way of thinking about nature writing and writing by black Americans.'"

—Donna Seaman, Booklist

"Nearly two hundred poems by one hundred poets, it's a fine catalogue of what the world of poetry can expect in the future from these excellent, aspiring stars…."

—Midwest Book Review