The Sin-eater: A Breviary; Thomas Lynch (Salmon Poetry)

"The Sin-eater: A Breviary"--Thomas Lynch's collection of two dozen, twenty-four line poems--a book of hours in the odd life and times of Argyle, the sin-eater. Celtic and druidic, scapegoat and outlier, a fixture in the funerary landscape of former centuries, Argyle's doubt-ridden witness seems entirely relevant to our difficult times. His "loaf and bowl," consumed over corpses, become the elements of sacrament and sacrilege. By turns worshipful and irreverent, good-humored and grim, these poems examine the deeper meanings of Eucharist and grace, forgiveness and faith, atonement and reconciliation. With photographs by Michael Lynch and cover art by Sean Lynch, the author's sons.