The Transylvania Times -

Dr. Alyse Bensel, assistant professor of English at Brevard College and director of the Looking Glass Rock Writers' Conference, has written a new book titled "Rare Wondrous Things: A Poetic Biography of Maria Sibylla Merian."

While the genres of biography and poetry aren't typically applied to the same book, the author is excited to offer something unique that doesn't fit neatly into one category.

Bensel said, "I'm a poet, not a biographer or historian in any official sense, so a 'traditional' biography was not the best course of action for me. Poetry gave me the opportunity to include s...