Book excerpt: The Dead Animal Handbook is a field guide to contemporary American poetry. Collecting and compiling emerging and established writers from a range of backgrounds, this Handbook charts one of poetry's most used tropes in order to bring the dead animal back to life. We're eager and we're earnest. Poets include: Martín Espada, Airea D. Matthews, Jericho Brown, Ocean Vuong, Danez Smith, Traci Brimhall, Hieu Minh Nguyen, Franny Choi, CAConrad, Dean Young, Aziza Barnes, Rachel McKibbens, Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib, D.A. Powell, and many more talents. Warning: if you dare carry on, beware carrion.