Beast Invites Me In by Clara Bush Vadala

“When I think of the Animal Kingdom, I immediately think of two words: teeming and other. The former is certainly true of animals and of Beast Invites Me In; everything from the axolotl, the dog, the bird, to the humble parasite has their place here. The latter is not strictly true. While we may think of ourselves as outsiders peering in, Bush Vadala reminds us time and again this is not the case. We are a member of the animal kingdom. This fraught, complex relationship renders tender, eloquent poems on what it means to be both human and homo sapiens. Beast Invites Me In does not offer pat solutions to complex, eternal questions (nor should it) but rather a way of looking. As the title suggests, this collection puts forth an ethos of compassion and unflinching naming. Learn to call things by their name–whether the name is scientific or more like the core of an apple.”

–Nadia Wolnisty, author of “A Zoo,” “Signs Taken for Wonders,” and “Manual”.