"Ellen Bass brings a deft touch as she continues her ongoing interrogations of crucial moral issues of our times, while simultaneously delighting in endearing human absurdities. From the start of Like a Beggar, Bass asks her readers to relax, even though 'bad things are going to happen,' because the 'bad' gets mined for all manner of goodness. Ellen Bass's most recent book of poems, The Human Line, was named a 'Notable Book of the Year' by the San Francisco Chronicle. In addition, she is co-author of the million-seller Courage to Heal. She lives in Santa Cruz, California"--