Wolves in Shells

<p><strong>Winner of the Backwaters Prize in Poetry</strong></p><p></p><p><em>Wolves in Shells</em> is a modern monomyth telling the story of a woman navigating homelessness trauma and memories as she attempts to leave a violent partner. Reflecting on her familial heritage this survivor grapples with the way she the women of her history and her daughter have been conditioned to accommodate the demands of the male ego and predation. Reflective clear-eyed and incisive the poems of <em>Wolves in Shells</em> feature O-Six a wolf born into the rewilding territory of Yellowstone National Park in the 1990s who serves as a metaphor for women who must cope with violence and survive on their own. Drawing from Gaston Bachelard's quote wolves in shells are crueler than stray ones the narrative considers how survival requires a balance of protectiveness risk trust and escape. </p><p></p><p><strong>Kimberly Ann Priest</strong> is an assistant professor in the Department of Writing Rhetoric and Cultures at Michigan State University. She is the author of the poetry books <em>Slaughter the One Bird</em> and <em>tether and lung</em>.</p><p></p>