Join Francie & Finch Bookshop for “Virtually a Reading” with Hilda Raz and Grace Bauer on Tuesday, May 11, 2021 from 5:00-6:00 p.m. CST on Zoom. The authors will be in conversation with Kwame Dawes and reading from their upcoming books, Letters From a Place I’ve Never Been and Unholy Heart.

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Letter from a Place I’ve Never Been: New and Collected Poems, 1986-2020 by Hilda Raz

Hilda Raz has an ability “to tell something every day and make it tough,” says John Kinsella in his introduction. Letter from a Place I’ve Never Been shows readers the evolution of a powerful poet who is also one of the foremost literary editors in the country. Bringing together all seven of her poetry collections, a long out-of-print early chapbook, and her newest work, this collection delights readers with its empathetic and incisive look at the inner and outer lives we lead and the complexities that come with being human.  Showcasing the work of a great American voice, Letter from a Place I’ve Never Been at last allows us to see the full scope and range of Raz’s work.

Unholy Heart: New and Selected Poems by Grace Bauer

Unholy Heart includes generous selections from each of Grace Bauer’s previous books of poetry, plus a sampling of new poems. Bauer has long been known for the wide range of both her subject matter and poetic styles, from the biblical persona poems of The Women at the Well, to the explorations of visual art in Beholding Eye, to the intersections of personal history and pop culture in Retreats and Recognitions and Nowhere All At Once, and to the postmodern fragmentations in MEAN/TIME. Along with these selections, Bauer incorporates her most elegiac work yet.

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Register for the event here!

Hilda Raz is a former editor of Prairie Schooner and was named the first Luschei Professor and Editor in the Department of English at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She is the editor of the Mary Burritt Christiansen Poetry Series at the University of New Mexico Press and the poetry editor for ABQ (in)Print and Bosque Press. She is the author or editor of fourteen books, including List and Story. Her newest book, Letter from a Place I’ve Never Been (Nebraska, 2021) was published last month. 

Grace Bauer is the Aaron Douglas Emeritus Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She is the award-winning author of numerous books of poetry, including MEAN/TIME, The Women At the Well, Nowhere All at Once, Retreats and Recognitions, and Beholding Eye. Her newest book, Unholy Heart (Backwaters Press, 2021), was published this past March.