Selected by Linda Bierds for the Lena-Miles Wever Todd Poetry Prize

“Compulsions of Silkworms and Bees hums with attention to the act of creation. These poems are like watches that show their inner workings. . . . We see Poetry and Fiction (cast as sisters) presenting their different versions of events; an author’s elegy for an orphan poem; poetry as mother and poetry as lover. When Baggott writes, ‘Everything is talking, / even the rooted irises tonguing air,’’ we want to be able to hear it too.” —Matthea Harvey