Cain Named the Animal – by Shane Mccrae

"Cain Named the Animal" is a captivating collection of poems written by Shane Mccrae. This hardcover book features a thought-provoking exploration of themes such as identity, race, Shane McCrae fashions a world of endings and infinites in Cain Named the Animal. With cyclical, rhythmic lines that create and re-create images of our shared and specific pasts, McCrae's work moves into and through the wounds that we remember and “strains toward a vision of joy” (Will Brewbaker, Los Angeles Review of Books).

Cain Named the Animal expands upon the biblical, heavenly world that McCrae has been building throughout his previous collections; he writes of Eden, of the lost tribe that watched time enter the garden and God rehearse the world, and of the cartoon torments of hell. Yet for McCrae, these outer bounds of our universe are inseparable from the lives and deaths on Earth, from the mundanities and miracles of time passing and people growing up, growing old, and growing apart. As he writes, “God first thought time itself / Was flawed but time was God’s first mirror.”history. With its unique poetic style and powerful imagery, "Cain Named the Animal" offers readers a profound reading experience. Whether you're a fan of poetry or looking to delve into a new genre, this book is a must-read for anyone seeking thought-provoking and beautifully crafted literature.