The Palace of Bones — 2002

By Allison Eir Jenks

"Europeans often accuse us of lacking a tragic sense. I commend to them, and to you, Allison Jenks, in all her subtlety and strength."

Carolyn Kizer

"Allison Eir Jenks is an inordinately, almost indecently gifted poet who must be read."

Fred D’Aguiar

The Palace of Bones by Allison Eir Jenks is an often stark and startling vision of the way we live, the places we inhabit, and the relics we make to comfort ourselves.

Haunted by a quiet, unquenchable longing, Jenks expertly and calmly guides the reader through a vivid dreamscape in this first full-length collection of poems.

The Palace of Bones was selected by final judge and Pulitzer Prize winner Carolyn Kizer. At once dark in its vision and light in its tone, this remarkable book is its author's self-confident invitation for us to join her in a world she knows intimately and has made almost familiar if not entirely safe.

The Palace of Bones is a stunning debut.

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Allison Eir Jenks is an assistant professor at North Central College in Naperville, where she teaches creative writing. She received her M.F.A. from the University of Miami, where she was a James A. Michener Fellow.