The Zombie Family Takes a Selfie, by Ed McManis

Poetry, chapbook, 40 pages, from Bottlecap Features. Tolstoy tells us in Anna Karenina, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” And for me, that begs the question, “But what of Zombie families?” Ok, I’m not really begging that question, but I do have questions about being one of ten kids in an Irish Catholic family. What didn’t make sense was explained as a mystery. And for me, a naïve, dreamy altar boy, my first impressions—saints, martyrs, zombies, clowns, vampires--were easily interchangeable. Now as I half-heartedly watch the spate of Zombie movies and shows and reflect, I’ve recorded bits and scenes from my relationships and observations with my family.