The first-ever poetry book set on a llama farm, Daniel Lassell&;s debut collection, Spit, examines the roles we play within the act of belonging. It is a portrait of a boy living on a farm populated with chickens sung to sleep by lullaby, captive wolves next door that attack a child, and a herd of llamas learning to survive despite coyotes and a chaotic family. The collection in part explores the role of the body in health and illness, and one&;s treatment of the earth and others. A theme of spirituality also weaves throughout the collection as the speaker treks into adulthood, yearning for peace amid the decline of his parents&; marriage. Unflinching at every turn, the collection pushes the boundaries of &;home&; to arrive upon new meaning, definition, and purpose.
The first-ever poetry book set on a llama farm, Daniel Lassell&;s debut collection, Spit, examines the roles we play in the act of belonging. It is a portrait of a boy living on a farm populated with chickens sung to sleep by lullaby, captive wolves next door that attack a child, and a herd of llamas learning to survive despite coyotes and a chaotic family. The collection in part explores the role of the body in health and illness and one&;s treatment of the earth and others. A theme of spirituality also weaves throughout the collection as the speaker treks into adulthood, yearning for peace amid the decline of his parents&; marriage. Driven by a &;wish to visit / some landless landscape,&; the speaker eventually leaves his family&;s farm, only to find that return is impossible. After losing the farm and the llama herd to his parents&; divorce, the speaker wrestles with the role of presence as it relates to healing, remarking, &;I wish enough, / to have only // these memories I have.&; Unflinching at every turn, the collection pushes the boundaries of &;home&; to arrive upon new meaning, definition, and purpose.
