um shows us how Santa died, how the first dog he loved died, and he, too, took life while still a child. In Green Acre, Shrum writes with a Midwestern authenticity about coming of age in Southeast Kansas. These poems tell stories of "back home"--catfishing in "the dean of fish and big black water, the guilt of killing pests plaguing "the grounds of that green acre," growing "too old/for the caped crusader."

Shrum writes with grounded clarity about family, home, nostalgia, and identity to reveal the beauty and awe that exist in the everyday moments all around us.

This book is Shrum's first book of poetry.