Death and life merge in this evocative collection of poems.
Today I’ve decided to talk to you about a poetry book, not a novel. It’s definitely not going to be the last review I’m going to doof a collection of poems, simply because there’s so much queerness that needs to be explored in poetry (both modern and classic) that it would be a shame to exclude it from the blog.
I found Donte Collins and his poems through youtube. Yes, you’ve read correctly. Youtube. Those of you who are familiar with slam poetry will know Button Poetry for sure, but for those who don’t know what the heck I’m talking about then I’ll explain it. Slam Poetry is a type of competition and genre born in Chicago in 1984; in these competitions, poets perform works of spoken word poetry without costumes, props or music. The youtube channel Button Poetry is quite popular for the variety of poets included and they not only have a youtube channel but also a publishing house with the same name.
Donte Collins was published by Button Poetry in 2017 and their (online the preferred pronouns seem to be they/them) book, Autopsy was a finalist for the Minnesota book award. Donte is a black, queer, American poet and their poetry is incredibly stunning.
Autopsy, despite its title, is a book about death as much as it is about life. It’s written after the death of Collins’s mother and it is all about grief and how to cope with it. It seems a simple enough topic, but as we all know, it is far from simple. Here Collins makes grief your companion for the entirety of the book, you feel the emptiness all around you and at the same time, you’re not alone because he’s connecting with you on the most personal level.
Grief and sorrow do not dim the clarity of their words, so poignant and biting and ruthlessly real.
At the same time, they deal with their blackness, with the concept of family and what being queer means to them. They’re fully aware that being African American and queer is dangerous: ” to be queer and black is to walk out of the closet and into a casket”. This hits the reader hard and I’m sure it is relatable to a lot of people.
And then this beautiful line about family: ” If blood is thicker than water then love must be thicker than both”. Something so simple, so evocative that you can’t help but look around and stop taking the people you love for granted.
Autopsy is beautifully written, heart-wrenching and as raw as it is perfectly crafted.
LitForQueers 