Judge E. Ethelbert Miller’s comments: “‘A Woman of Summer’ celebrates the female body as well as work. It embraces the strength of masculinity by ‘claiming’ it and challenging stereotypes. Women can be beautiful and hard too. The tercets create their own column of power and resemble a tree trunk. This poem will not disappear until one answers the question raised in its last stanza. Although the title of the poem makes a reference to summer, the woman described here is one for all seasons.”