APR/Honickman First Book Prize -- 2017 Winner: River Hymns by Tyree Daye (Paper)

Winner of the 2017 APR/Honickman First Book Prize  Selected and with an Introduction by Gabrielle Calvocoressi   Tyree Daye’s River Hymns is made of timely tropes that let us in on the mystery andfolk wisdom of everyday life. These poems of longing and wonderment are wovenout of a lyricism that can only exist when clarity of observation and imaginationconverge as one-of- a-kind songs within everyday things. River Hymns raises legendand folklore into poetry. The speaker troubles Southern light and the underbelly ofblack life, always returning to the heart to set things right. Hope and earthy desirepulse in these lines, and this poet cinches it all together through his love of design inhonest language and daily miracles.                                                                                                 —Yusef Komunyakaa As we situate ourselves between bodies of water, as we digest them, as they worry our homes, our families, our memories. These are the concerns of Tyree Day