In Teaching the Baby to Say I Love You, Craig Beaven takes the reader on a heartfelt journey through the current American political landscape. In the first sequence, within the threat of classroom gun violence, he explores love, race, language, and terror. A second sequence makes those fears personal and individual, and the third traces these topics into a deep, historical roadtrip through the American South. He questions our ideas of terror in a world where dread and violence are perpetrated by the government, police officers, students, and neighbors hiding behind social media aliases. Throughout, Beaven's poems engage. Teaching the Baby to Say I Love You examines our present, often chaotic world, with a powerful weapon -- gripping, contemplative, and complex language.