Richard Grossman's 400-poem pastoral, The Animals, invites us to enter a world where all the inhabitants speak the same language, creating a powerful literary work that voices the concerns of the entire global community. In its exploration of personal issues and emotions, this unique and moving book affirms the great family of terrestrial life, seeking to unveil the sources of its wisdom and beauty, sources that lie at the heart of all poetry. At the center of the book is a chorus of 200 different animals, representing the broad spectrum of earthly life from the amoeba to the whale. As each of the creatures sings to us, their individual stories reveal how all life shares the same suffering, dignity and joy. Surrounding these poems are 200 dialogues between the animals as a flock and a shepherd who tends them. Prophetic and mystical, at times humorous and vulnerable, this humane guide leads us on a wondrous journey toward a heightened awareness and a deeper appreciation of the sanctity of nature. In the culminating poems of the book, the shepherd and animals join in an extended hymn to the luminous forces that bind them together in birth and death. The Animals has been described as an environmental bible, a manual of inspiration for people who are working to nourish and heal the earth. A work of immense ambition, this intricate spiritual and philosophical book affirms the beauty, holiness, and quintessential unity of all life. The Animals is one of 33 elements-including works of prose, poetry, art, music, dance, architecture, and theater-that will be featured in Grossman's Breeze Avenue, the author's forthcoming 3,000,000-page book about heaven.