Of Reptiles and Amphibians

In Of Reptiles and Amphibians, Todd Michael Cox (Beast, Dizzlemuck) follows a young Wisconsin man as he moves through a life of loss and discovery, depression and hope. From a broken family, to a brother haunted by mental illness, through relationships failed and fulfilling, we journey with him through several moments across the span of his life... and, always, guiding him, there are the animals he loves, the snakes and turtles and frogs and salamanders that, like him, call the Dairy State home... and which he looks to for comfort when life grows dark, seeking in them a sense of both belonging and solitude, understanding and mystery. Quiet, thoughtful, subtle, this is a "study in microtones," as the author puts it in his introduction. It's also a poem of heartbreak and transcendence, and an ode to finding once again that which has been lost.