Shadow-feast is a chronicle of dying--the awareness, denial, pain, and hope surrounding incurable illness, as well as the aftermath of grief as told from three points of view: Hers, His, and Theirs (the couple). The collection as a whole is a kagezen, or shadow-feast, a traditional Japanese meal offered to the dead. However here it is set out not for an absent beloved, but for the reader. Praise for previous books. "To say that Houlihan is a unique voice in American poetry is an understatement...." --Ilya Kaminsky