<DIV>Alice Walker sums up the premise and purpose for this year of poems in her Preface: ?I was born into a family of eight siblings. I am the youngest. Five of us have died. I share losses, health concerns, and other challenges common to the human condition, especially in these times of war, poverty, environmental devastation, and greed that is quite beyond the most creative imagination. Sometimes it all feels a bit too much to bear.?I have learned to dance.” Alice Walker is beloved for her ability to speak her own truth in ways that speak for and about countless others. Here she confronts personal and collective challenges in words that dance, sing, and heal. Readers of these remarkable poems will find comfort and camaraderie ? and get a joy-filled dancing lesson.</DIV>