National Book Award for Poetry Finalist Lucille Clifton is one of the most distinguished American poets writing today. In The Terrible Stories, her tenth collection of verse, Clifton covers new terrain--cancer and mastectomy, the life of King David, encounters with a vixen fox who is both shaman and muse.

Brilliantly honed language, stunning images and sharp rhythms address the whole of human experience: birth, death, children, family, sexuality and spirituality, and community in antebellum and contemporary American culture. Hers is a poetry passionate and wise, ranging from the personal to the biblical to the mythical, not afraid to rage or whisper.

By Lucille Clifton