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Donika Kelly's fierce debut collection, winner of the 2015 Cave Canem Poetry PrizeI thought myself lion and serpent. Thoughtmyself body enough for two, for we.Found comfort in never being lonely.What burst from my back, from my bones, what livedalong the ridge from crown to crown, from maneto forked tongue beneath the skin. What clamorwe made in the birthing. What hiss and rumbleat the splitting, at the horns and beard,at the glottal bleat. What bridges our back.What strong neck, what bright eye. What menagerieare we. What we've made of ourselves.--from "Love Poem: Chimera"Across this remarkable first book are encounters with animals, legendary beasts, and mythological monsters--half human and half something else. Donika Kelly's Bestiary is a catalogue of creatures--from the whale and ostrich to the pegasus and chimera to the centaur and griffin.