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In the chilling "shapeshifter poems," an abused little girl thinks that if she can lie in bed still enough shut enough hard enough shapeshifter may not walk tonight the full moon may not find him here Intensely personal and frightfully honest, [Lucille Clifton]'s poetry can be read as a resume of her life, one lived quite literally as an open book. Childhood sexual abuse, abortion, breast cancer -- it's all laid bare in Clifton's poems, a remarkable body of work that has garnered her a nomination for a National Book Award. Clifton, who lives in Columbia and teaches at St. Mary's College in southern Maryland, will learn tonight whether she has won the poetry award for her latest collection, "The Terrible Stories."

to know the terrible stories of Clifton's life is different from knowing Clifton. It is, to paraphrase Yeats, like telling the poet from the poem. Or, as Clifton herself distinguishes, the difference between fact and truth.

COLOR PHOTO PHOTO; Caption: Teaching: Clifton connects with St. Mary's students Gabrielle Gerbino (left) and Laura Surratt.; Credit: NANINE HARTZENBUSCH : SUN STAFF Clifton: "Poetry shouldn't be pretty, it should be beautiful. It doesn't have to be factual, but it should be true." NANINE HARTZENBUSCH : SUN STAFF