NATURAL SELECTIONS Elaine Mintzer's Natural Selections is a collection of 89 poems about choices. From "pinched fingers, bad movies, . . . chicken or pizza again" ("Mercy"), to the religious proportions of a misplaced piece of paper in "Grail," to the intentional amnesia surrounding the loss of a parent, this poet has an eye for the lushness of daily life and the ironic humor of loss. Mintzer has been published in a number of literary journals, and she has been anthologized in 13 Los Angeles Poets. Her work celebrates the process by which we make it through each day.