<DIV><P>Marvin Bell, one of America&rsquo;s most influential, visible, and inventive poets, likes &ldquo;ideas to have a little dirt on their shoes.&rdquo; His wildly original and often gritty curiosity finds inspiration in wide-ranging locales, and even wider topics. He will take on any subject in his poetry, and the conclusion of <I>Rampant</I> is a ten-part suite, &ldquo;Journal of the Posthumous Present,&rdquo; which was commissioned by the Getty Research Insititute and published as a cover feature in <I>American Poetry Review</I>. The poem is remarkable for its original methods and socio-philosophic investigation, and points to the signature of Bell&rsquo;s career: his ability to radically examine the world through poetry.</P><P>From &ldquo;The Bones Repeat Themselves from the Bottom Upward&rdquo;</P><P>Later there will be a wedding in the leaves<BR>by the white church where the Boy Scouts box<BR>in the basement, trying to be brave.<BR>The owner of the fishing station watches the sea<BR>through binoculars, fixing on the darker water<BR>where the boats clustered to thin a school.<BR>The days have been growing raw,<BR>and he is willing to give the last ones five minutes<BR>before he rips the tide apart with an inboard<BR>and drags to the beach those who didn&rsquo;t<BR>see the end coming.</P><P>&ldquo;Marvin Bell enlarges our understanding of what poetry can do.&rdquo;&mdash;<I>Georgia Review</I></P><P>&ldquo;Bell&rsquo;s passion [is] for exploring the traces of paradox in language, culture and nature.&rdquo;&mdash;<I>Virginia Quarterly Review</I></P><P>Marvin Bell&rsquo;s writing has been part of the conversation for 40 years. One of the country&rsquo;s most visible poets, he is Iowa&rsquo;s first and current Poet Laureate, a long-time teacher at the Iowa Writers&rsquo; Workshop, and has toured with the author-based band Rock Bottom Remainders. He also reads and lectures widely; collaborates with composers, musicians and dancers; and teaches in the Urban Teachers Workshop. He lives in Iowa City.</P></DIV>