Nine Skies

      Selected by Sandra McPherson         for the 1996 National Poetry Series       The late poet James V. Dickey         was judge of the Yale Prize poetry competition when he wrote to A. V.         Christie, one of the finalists, "I have become very fond of your         poems, especially the elegiac ones. . . . Your work is heartfelt; one         believes every word of it. . . . You have given me much in-depth pleasure;         have moved me strongly."       The work in Nine Skies         is as Dickey described it--heartfelt, moving. Here is what others         say about it:       "Beautifully crafted         and sustained, with six or seven poems as fine as anything being written         today. This remarkable book is a rite of passage for the poet and speaks         of even better things to come." -- Elizabeth Spires       "Only the best poetry         is written this well, with this much craft and conviction. Of course the         poems are meditative and elegiac, brilliant and finely detailed, but they         are also thought through and wholly felt, so that even in their small         moments they celebrate."         -- Stanley Plumly       "A. V. Christie writes         with a Romantic's eye and a Realist's heart, so there is no sentimentality,         that sickness afflicting our age. The voice on these pages is hard-bitten,         luxuriant, and true." -- Henri Cole       "Nine Skies is         a graceful realization in each detail of elegy or celebration." --         Sandra McPherson