Synopses & Reviews
Poetry. Winner of the 2014 PEN New England Award in Poetry and finalist for the Massachusetts Book Award. "In her magnificent debut collection, Karen Skolfield made me fall in love with poetry all over again, reminding me of its divine power to find the extraordinary in the seemingly ordinary. She understands that poetry does not exist independently; it is pulled out of all we see, without pretense or artifice, and not in the obvious and expected ways either. Her poems surprise with each turn of the line; they foray into the unexpected discoveries and dimensions. After reading her poems, I will never again look at a baby, a fossil, a painting, a key, a homunculus—or myself—as I had before. If poetry is meant to challenge and change our perceptions of the world and ourselves, then Karen is by all means an extraordinary poet."—Richard Blanco
Synopsis
Poetry. "With FROST IN THE LOW AREAS, Karen Skolfield's debut collection, a multi-faceted poet enters our midst. In these well-made and welcoming poems Skolfield is a country mouse, a girl in the woods, a daughter, a mother, a lover, a friend, a wife, a soldier and most of all, in her measured lines, a poet of grace, wit and purpose. I love how these poems examine what Skolfield encounters, inviting us in, letting us go renewed and eager and prepared to know more."—Dara Wier
About the Author
Karen Skolfield is the author of FROST IN THE LOW AREAS (Zone 3 Press, 2013). She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two kids. She teaches technical writing at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she also earned her MFA. She is a contributing editor at Bateau Press and the literary magazine Stirring, and her poems have appeared in 2011 Best of the Net Anthology, Cave Wall, Memorious, Painted Bride Quarterly, Rattle, Tar River Poetry, Verse Daily, West Branch, and others.