Zero at the Bone (First Book) First Edition by Stacie Cassarino (New Issues Poetry & Prose)

Of the many ways of knowing the world, Stacie Cassarino in her elegant and poignant first book of poems, ZERO AT THE BONE, reminds us of the primacy of the senses. She tells us 'our mouths try to get it right' or that the 'mouth of the trees' will swallow us whole, by which she means taste is the most direct authenticator of experience and also the most defenseless because it's instruments of lips and tongue are eager. As a result, her great pre-occupation is with the vulnerability of human relationships, but as the title of the book suggests, Cassarino is fearless in her explorations of the risks. She knows 'you've got to live like everything will hurt you'.

About the Author

STACIE CASSARINO lives in Brooklyn, New York and Los Angeles, California. She is a recipient of the "Discovery"/The Nation prize and the Astraea Foundation Writer's Fund, a finalist for the Rona Jaffe Writers’ Award, and nominee twice for the Pushcart Prize. She has worked as a chef, and has held teaching positions at Middlebury College in Vermont & Pratt Institute in NYC.