Sharon Bryan's fourth poetry collection blends such disparate subjects as biology, astronomy, sports, philosophy, and music to probe humankind's desire for spiritual, even physical, transcendence. From Charles Mingus to Charles Barkley, from Buddy Holly to Bishop Berkeley, no reference is squandered in Bryan's prodigious imagination. Sharon Bryan's awards include the Academy of American Poets Prize, the Discovery Prize fromThe Nation, and two NEA fellowships. She has published three poetry collections and editedPlanet on the Table: Poets on the Reading Life andWhere We Stand: Women Poets on Literary Tradition. She is a visiting professor of poetry at the University of Connecticut at Storrs.