In an earlier collection, “An Auto-erotic History of Swings,? Patricia Young explored the sensual/sexual realms of humanity. With this new collection, she shifts her creative attention to the mating habits of animals, birds, fish and insects. With a sense of awe and bemusement, the poems in this collection address, embody and sometimes become the animals through which they speak. Each animal is a mystery; each poem expands on the strangeness of the mystery. Merging scientific evidence with speculative love stories, the poems are playful, insightful and ripe with reflections of our own animal selves. Young plays unabashedly with her readers' erotic imaginations to hilarious and poignant effect. Muscular, exotic, dense, rich and elastic — these poems are miniature, wildlife docudramas.

Patricia Young has published eleven books of poetry, most recently, Night-Eater, which was shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay Award in 2010. She has received numerous awards for her poetry including the CBC Literary Prize, the Pat Lowther Award, The Dorothy Livesay Award, the Bliss Carmen Award, two National Magazine Awards, Arc's Poem of the Year Award and the Confederation Poet's Prize. Two of her collections have been shortlisted for the Governor General's Award. Her collection of short fiction, Airstream, won the Rooke-Metcalf Prize and was named one of the Globe and Mail's best books of the year. She lives in Victoria, B. C.

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