Scottish poet Meades second volume of poems reflecting on the lives of animals as photographed by award-winning photographer Jo-Anne McArthur.
Following on fromZoospeak,Scottish poet Gordon Meades reflections on the lives of animals in zoos and aquaria as photographed by Toronto-based award-winning photojournalist Jo-Anne McArthur and gathered in her bookCaptive,EX-Posedturns its attention to McArthurs 2020 curated collectionHidden: Animals in the Anthropocene.Organized into seven sections that cover the experiences of nonhuman animals in factory farms, industrial fisheries, live markets, entertainment, religion, fashion, and amid the climate crisis, each of Meades poems takes the form of an elegy penned by the nonhuman animals who, due to many different circumstances, find themselves on death row. As with the source material inHidden, the tenor ofEX-Posedis direct and unapologetic, with each poem attempting to capture the essence of the creatures and the horrific situations in which they find themselves. Its my hope, says Meade, that my words can give voice to the creatures inEX-Posedso that they might be both seen and, in some small way, also heard.
“Juxtaposed against violent images of animals and their deaths, Gordon Meade’s poems showcase the tortured and unnecessary loss not only of animal life but of animals’ joy, culture, and beauty too. Read in succession these poems offer a simple, but scathing account of the numerous ways in which animals’ bodies, pride, and homes are destroyed by humans’ seemingly insatiable, varied, and violent means of consuming them. Gordon’s words strike the tone of sadness we should all be feeling at how much has been lost and the prevalence of our continued violent relations with animals. I’ll be churning over these words and images for some time.”
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![EX-Posed: Animal Elegies [Hardcover]](/itemImage/2/0/4/7/2_6856648.jpg "EX-Posed: Animal Elegies [Hardcover]")