In Medias Res (Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry)

“Lee’s strange and gemological arrangements are the measure of her gift. . . .”—from the Foreword by Heather McHughAmbitious and original, Karen An-hwei Lee’s first book-length poem is in the form of an eccentric dictionary.  In Medias Res brings to mind the long poems of Anne Carson, though Lee is less concerned with ironies than with mysteries.  In compressed and oddly slanted “definitions,” ranging from one line, “A paper bird unopened until marriage” (“Comparison”), to longer, parable-like narratives, Lee’s poem moves through the alphabet to limn the border between language and spirit.  Often playful and slyly humorous, In Medias Res is an investigation into how God hides in language.  Karen Lee has made a brilliant entry into poetry. Karen An-hwei Lee lives and teaches on the West Coast. Her chapbook of prose poems, God's One Hundred Promises received the Swan Scythe Press Prize.  A regular contributor to literary journals, she has completed several novellas and poetry collections. Her work has won numerous university awards, fellowships, and residencies, including a fellowship from the Yoshiko Uchida Foundation. She holds an M.F.A. in creative writing and a Ph.D. in literature.