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The National Poetry Series was established in 1978 to ensure the publication of five collections of poetry annually through five participating publishers. The Series is funded annually by Amazon Literary Partnership, Barnes and Noble, Betsy Community Fund, the Gettinger Family Foundation, Bruce Gibney, HarperCollins Publishers, Stephen King, Lannan Foundation, Newman’s Own Foundation, News Corp, Anna and Olafur Olafsson, the O. R. Foundation, the PG Family Foundation, the Poetry Foundation, Laura and Robert Sillerman, Amy R. Tan and Louis De Mattei, Elise and Steven Trulaske, and the National Poetry Series Board of Directors.
2016 COMPETITION WINNERS
I Know Your Kind
by William Brewer of Brooklyn, NY
Chosen by Ada Limón for Milkweed Editions
For Want of Water
by Sasha Pimentel of El Paso, TX
Chosen by Gregory Pardlo for Beacon Press
Civil Twilight
by Jeffrey Schultz of Los Angeles, CA
Chosen by David St. John for Ecco
MADNESS
by Sam Sax of Austin, TX
Chosen by Terrance Hayes for Penguin Books
Thaw
by Chelsea Dingman of Tampa, FL
Chosen by Allison Joseph for University of Georgia Press
Due to the nature of e-book formatting, line breaks in this edition may differ from the print edition.
© 2017, Text by William Brewer
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher: Milkweed Editions, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415.
(800) 520-6455
Published 2017 by Milkweed Editions
Printed in the United States of America
Cover design by Mary Austin Speaker
Author photo by Anna Haggerty
17 18 19 20 21 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
Milkweed Editions, an independent nonprofit publisher, gratefully acknowledges sustaining support from the Jerome Foundation; the Lindquist & Vennum Foundation; the McKnight Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Target Foundation; and other generous contributions from foun-dations, corporations, and individuals. Also, this activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund, and a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation. For a full listing of Milkweed Editions supporters, please visit milkweed.org.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Brewer, William, 1989- author.
Title: I know your kind: poems / William Brewer.
Description: First edition. | Minneapolis, Minnesota: Milkweed Editions, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016059859 | ISBN 9781571314956 (pbk.: alk. paper)
Classification: LCC PS3602.R4816 A6 2017 | DDC 811/.6--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016059859
Milkweed Editions is committed to ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book production practices with this principle, and to reduce the impact of our operations in the environment. We are a member of the Green Press Initiative, a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the world’s endangered forests and conserve natural resources. I Know Your Kind was printed on acid-free 100% postconsumer-waste paper by Edwards Brothers Malloy.
For my parents
CONTENTS
5 For KC after Losing His Brother
6 Oxy 40
7 Dog Days
