Lullaby for the Sixth Extinction: Poems

This remarkable collection by an acclaimed poet follows the experiences of a woman whose infant grandson has been diagnosed with cancer. The poet traces the spiritual trial, the battle between hope and despair, that almost consumes her and the child’s parents, while in the background, she observes early signs of environmental collapse. Through deftly crafted language that delves unflinchingly into the heart of suffering, Levine helps us to confront the most difficult questions related to our urge for survival and our desire for meaning. Great passages of understanding and insight lift us out of ourselves, disclosing core truths of the terrible and beautiful world in which we live and dream. Winner of the Wolfson Press Poetry Chapbook Prize.

Julia B. Levine’s recent poetry awards include the 2015 Northern California Book Award for her fourth collection, Small Disasters Seen in Sunlight (LSU 2014), a 2024 Pushcart Prize, the 2024 Terrain Poetry Prize, the 2023 Oran Robert Perry Burke Award from The Southern Review, as well as a 2022 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship for her work in building resiliency in teenagers in the context of climate change. Her work has appeared in Ploughshares, The Nation, The Southern Review, The Missouri Review, and Prairie Schooner. She earned a PhD from University of California, Berkeley, and an MFA in poetry from Pacific University. Her fifth collection, Ordinary Psalms (LSU 2021), won a Nautilus Silver Award in Poetry. sites.google.com/view/juliablevine