Dead Bees Still Sting: Tales of Life at the Edge of Nature

"Fearless and often funny, beekeeper/poet Susan Cormier leads us to astonishment and awe in the humble but liminal spaces where wild and tame meet at her homestead. I loved every gorgeously-written and surprising page." —Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus “Electric, alive, and tender, Cormier's world is one of deep entanglement and ethical implication. How do we live with the natural world in a time when the borders between domestication and wildness are blurred—and how do we grapple with its changes? This book, playful and direct at once, offers a path.” —Jessica J. Lee, author of Dispersals and Two Trees Make a Forest “Dead Bees Still Sting is a gift. With humor and insight, Susan Cormier gets us to reconsider honeybees and the dedicated souls who are beekeepers. Indelible animals, wild and domestic, scurry through these pages. The next time I observe a covey of quail, I will fondly recall Cormier's ‘dorky pet quail.’” —Priyanka Kumar, author of Conversations with Birds and The Light Between Apple Trees “Susan Cormier’s Dead Bees Still Sting is a strikingly original meditation on the sweetness and pain of being alive. A masterclass on the art of the personal essay.” —Candace Savage, author of A Geography of Blood "There’s a new, bracing voice in the tired world of nature writing. Cormier is brave, smart, and doesn’t mess around—a savvy, business-like poet who cuts to the chase. She’s desperately needed." —Charles Foster, author of Being a Beast “Gentle meditations on what we nurture and care for, on what we bury and what we unearth, on the twisting flow of life and a human relationship with the most enigmatic of creatures. A braided love letter to a pastoral life of joy and heartbreak that added a moment of quiet at the end of each busy day. A book that city dwellers would do well to read.” —Marc Hamer, author of How to Catch a Mole