Funds for Bookworm are provided in part by Lannin Foundation.

Boots!

Where would we be without books?

Where would we be without good?

No, Timberd.

It's a rhetorical question, sir.

But where would we be without books?

From KCRW and KCRW.com, I'm Michael Silverblot, and this is Bookworm.

Today, one of my favorite poets who is no longer alive, has a selected poems that's been published by Boa editions.

It is the work of Lucille Clifton.

She was born in 1936 and died in 2010. She was an award-winning poet.

She won the National Book Award for her book, Blessing the Boats, New and Selected Po poems. There was an enormous collected poems, almost complete,

but the editor of this new selected poems called How to Carry Water,

whose name is Adesalis Germai, is with us today.

Lucille Clifton, she was on the show Bookworm several times.

We did public events together.

She was a woman of enormous power. And I would say, mystic spirit, I loved talking to her,

and now to be able to talk to someone who loves her work and who has

edited of selected poems. At Assailies, by the way, is also not only a lover of Lucille Clifton,

but a poet herself. She's published three books of poetry so far. They've been well

respected and award-winning books. I've been reading them and I love them and I can't wait

for her own next book because we'll be hearing from her about her own work. But today,

...