Crow Mercies

"There's a knife sharpener in California who ends his notes Stay sharp and shiny. This is what Penelope Schott does with words, images, stories, memories—sharp! shiny!—she is not afraid to startle or jolt. A reader feels electrified."—Naomi Shihab Nye

Crows are loud and insistent. They are smart and relentless. They are not easily tricked. Instead, they play tricks. The mercy they practice is a measured mercy. They are not mean but they are clear-sighted. They see a long distance backwards and forwards. They are dark but shining. Likewise, the poems in Crow Mercies survey large territories, sometimes with an overview, sometimes close-at-claw. Winner of the first Sarah Lantz Memorial Poetry Prize (from CALYX Books), poet Penelope Scambly Schott draws on myriad experiences to bring herself and the reader into a deeper and far-reaching connection to the world.

From "How to survive a fall through the ice":

Always inhabit two climates
Face the direction you came from
Always carry a stout pole

Blindfold all the crocodiles

Think of your maiden great aunt
traveling the world between the wars

Imagine she had an African lover . . .

Penelope Scambly Schott has published three poetry narratives, four poetry collections, and five chapbooks, including Six Lips (2009). She has received a Hopwood Award, a Lannan Foundation Fellowship, a Poetry Society of America award, and four fellowships from the New Jersey Council on the Arts. A Is for Anne: Mistress Hutchinson Disturbs the Commonwealth received the 2008 Oregon Book Award for Poetry. She has a PhD in English literature from City University of New York.