Bronze medal winner, 2016 Independent Publisher Book Awards (biography) Ina Coolbrith: The Bittersweet Song of California's First Poet Laureate is a new biography about a pioneer poet, Oakland's first publiclibrarian, and the most popular literary ambassador in the earlyAmerican West. In post-Gold Rush San Francisco, she was known as the pearl of her tribe, a tribe that included Bret Harte, Mark Twain, and John Muir. Jack London and Isadora Duncan considered her their literary godmother, and John Greenleaf Whittier knew more of her poems by heart than she did his. Regardless of the acclaim from others, Coolbrith faced a series of challenges throughout her life that tested her devotion to her art. In the end, she put her full faith in poetry and her story reveals the saving grace of creativity in a woman's life. George's deftly told and deeply researched book follows the struggles and triumphs of Coolbrith from her birth in 1841 as a niece of Mormon founder Joseph Smith to her death in 1928 as California's most beloved poet.California crowned Coolbrith its first poet laureate in 1915 during San Francisco's Panama-Pacific International Exposition, and 2015 marks the centennial of her being named America's first state laureate. "George's book enriches the kaleidoscope of American literary figures and may bring new attention to this regional writer." --Publishers Weekly (BookLife) "George's prose is finely turned yet unobtrusive throughout. It is her enthusiasm and affection for Coolbrith and California that gives this biography its vitality and crystal clear resonance." --Keith Skinner, Extract(s), Daily Dose of Lit "Coolbrith's life is so captivating that it has been waiting not just for another biographer, but for a first-rate storyteller." --David Alpaugh, Ina Coolbrith Circle "In a book marked by literary grace and conviction, Aleta George presents a nuanced yet compelling portrait of a major California figure." --Malcolm Margolin, Heyday Books "This book is engaging and detailed in a way that draws me in, not blocks me out. I'm totally in love with the time and place of [Ina's] story." --Cal Tabuena-Frolli, Graphic Designer, The Litography Project Aleta George writes about nature and culture in California. Her work has been featured in Smithsonian.com, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, and Bay Nature magazine. This is her first book.