Bees, and After: Volume 119

The 119th winner of the Yale Series of Younger Poets prize places science at the heart of his powerful poems

For John Liles, science and the natural world form a route into the workings of love, of grief, and of joy in the thrum of life. Judge Rae Armantrout calls his poems "dense, sonically gorgeous studies of various natural things and creatures, including light, bees, minerals, shellfish and crabs, insects, and the workings (and failure) of the heart." Written under the shadow of our changing climate, Liles's poems are tender elegies but also praise-songs for the continual unfolding richness of the world. Writes Liles, "oh unending animal, / you go where / the light goes."

Author: John Liles
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 03/25/2025
Pages: 96
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.40lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.10w x 0.30d
ISBN13: 9780300279429
ISBN10: 0300279426
BISAC Categories:
- Poetry | American | General
- Poetry | Subjects & Themes | Animals & Nature

About the Author
John Liles is a poet, science writer, and living mammal. His chapbook Following the dog down was the recipient of the Omnidawn Chapbook Prize. He lives in Fort Bragg, CA. Rae Armantrout is the award-winning author of eighteen books of poetry, most recently Finalists, Conjure, and Wobble.