"Jim Daniels is one of the nation's finest examples of a poet and fiction writer who has been able to mine his own working class and factory roots to produce literary works that cut deep with their sensitivity and truth," says Michigan State University's Labor Education Program in its weekly announcements. "His latest book of poetry Birth Marks (BOA Editions, 2013), has left the factory behind, in part, but still burns with a fierce light around his growing up in Detroit in a family of factory rats ... In Birth Marks, Daniels is connecting in a darker, more mature, less playful voice, in poetry resounding with both intensity and edge." MSU's Labor Education Program educates and trains union leaders and members to provide a vehicle for real world focus on the concerns of working people. With the mission "to promote the practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions of life," the program brings together working people who share a common concern for the future of their workplace, their union and their community. Praising Daniels' new collection in its "Book Notes" section, the program says, "This is a powerful collection with the best of Jim Daniels' dark humor, his keen observations and his immense talent for turning the words just so, transforming our world and our understanding in his wake." Birth Marks is available now at the BOA Bookstore.