Fearless and profound, these poems detonate across the landscape of the South at the end of the twentieth century. The author uses animals as mythic totems and contemplative signposts, compelling the reader to relive visceral memories of the enveloping poverty and racial brutality of the American South. The poet's steadfast faith in story and song illuminates and propels this astonishing lyrical narrative.

Brian Barker has an Academy of American Poets prize and two Krakow Poetry Seminar fellowships. Currently, he is assistant director of the Center for Literary Arts at the University of Missouri and managing editor of the journal "Center." His works have appeared in "Poetry," "Indiana Review," "Sou'wester," "Pleiades," and others. He lives in Columbia, Missouri.