Shelter

This is a brutal collection of poems based in an animal shelter. Salerno offers no dewey-eyed kittens or romping puppies. This is the dark side of life in a large shelter, and Salerno spares no image in depicting the harsh reality of life for these animals. She also depicts the lonely, somewhat desperate lives of the shelter workers, and how petty office politics can invade almost any environment. These poems are grim, sparse, depressing, and occasionally beautiful.

I absolutely loved this book - it tapped into a place and a subject matter that was completely unexpected as a place someone might think of as “poetic”. In my mind art evokes emotion. Did I cry? Absolutely. Do I think about this book almost every day? Absolutely. Rarely does a work of art make me feel or think as much as this one did and to me, that is what poetry is all about.

I was looking forward to reading these poems because I am an animal lover and I love strong, honest poetry. I read the first few and couldn't continue. They were depressing and boring. The author repeated the same theme constantly. Don't waste your money on this book.

As a rule I do not seek out poetry. I was given this signed book as a gift about year ago, probably because I am known as an animal lover. I opened it and saw that it was a book of poetry and immediately placed it on the shelf. Today in the process of moving I came across it and began to read it. I could not stop until I had finished it. I do not know how to critique poetry but I can tell you I have never been so moved by words on a page. The ASPA has a saying "We are their voice". Carey Salerno's words are truly the voice of the unfortunate animals and staff who are part of the Shelter system. I will never forget this book.