Tia Chucha Press is proud to reprint Elizabeth Alexander's ""Body of Life,"" first published in 1996 and a collection that stands as a testament to the well-wrought line with the deeply threaded elements of history, ancestors, jazz, and family that mark the rare power inherent in Ms. Alexander's work. Her selection as the inaugural poet for 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama is well deserved - she is one of the most fresh and vital voices in American literature today.