<p><strong>Winner of the 2020 Blue Light Press Book Award</strong></p><p>We belong to each other &ldquo;even in the worst day,&rdquo; Helga Kidder writes in her fourth collection of poems, <em>Loving the Dead</em>. That belonging encompasses the arcing heavens, the &ldquo;bruised moon,&rdquo; the trilling Earth, the sometimes prideful tug of our closest relations. Growing up in Germany&rsquo;s Black Forest, Kidder brings &ldquo;luck in [my] luggage&rdquo; to a new continent, with new eyes and hopes, to remind us, &ldquo;You must turn on your own light.&rdquo; And she does, honoring both her sister&rsquo;s life and packing us for the luminous journey into memory&rsquo;s beam and vapor. &nbsp;</p><p><strong>About the Author </strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Helga Kidder is a native of Germany&rsquo;s Black Forest region and lives in the Tennessee hills with her husband.&nbsp; She was awarded an MFA in Writing from Vermont College.&nbsp; She is co-founder of the Chattanooga Writers Guild and leads their poetry group.&nbsp; She has participated in workshops in San Francisco, CA, Rockvale, TN, and Auvillar, France.&nbsp; Her poems have been published in many journals and anthologies. She has three poetry collections, <em>Wild Plums (</em>2012 Finishing Line Press<em>)</em>, <em>Luckier than the Stars (</em>2013 Blue<em> </em>Light Press), and <em>Blackberry Winter</em> (2016 Blue Light Press).</p>