| Title | : | 100 Queer Poems /anglais |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1529115337 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781529115338 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 192 |
| Publication | : | First published June 2, 2022 |
100 Queer Poems /anglais Reviews
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Source of book: NetGalley (thank you)
Relevant disclaimers: none
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.
Further disclaimer: Readers, please stop accusing me of trying to take down “my competition” because I wrote a review you didn’t like. This is complete nonsense. Firstly, writing isn’t a competitive sport. Secondly, I only publish reviews of books in the subgenre where I’m best known (queer romcom) if they’re glowing. And finally: taking time out of my life to read an entire book, then write a detailed review about it that some people on GR will look at would be a profoundly inefficient and ineffective way to damage the careers of other authors. If you can’t credit me with simply being a person who loves books and likes talking about them, at least credit me with enough common sense to be a better villain.
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This collection is kind of like being at a party: you’re glad it’s happening and you’re glad to have been invited, you feel warmly towards the hosts, and you can kind of figure out broadly why this group of people has been brought today. It’s lovely to run into some dear old friends. There may, however, also be the occasional frenemy. And while most of the new acquaintances you make are exciting and leave you curious to spend more time with them, you’ll also just fail to connect with others.
It's a poetry anthology is what I’m saying.
It also a wonderful pair of introductions from the editors—this would be the sort of thing I normally skip over but, in this case, they serve as a kind of mission statement for the collection (and the line right at the beginning from Andrew McMillan about the poems of Thom Gunn make him feel, for the first time, that “who I was might be worth of poetry, worth of literature” hit me hard and immediately in the feels). Specifically, the editors interrogate what a queer poem is—what it means to call something a queer poem—before reminding us that the collection is 100 Queer Poems, not 100 Poems about Queerness, a distinction that one that helped me guide through the collection as it moves thematically through various spaces of queerness, from ones that feel very rooted in selfhood (like adolescence, domesticity and relationships) to ones that look outwards, into the world and into the future (the last section explicitly being called Queer Futures).
The other thing the introductions note is 100 Queer Poems is the first anthology of it kind put out by a Big However Many It Is Now (4? 5?) publishing for four decades. I suspect the previous text it’s referencing is The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse, a collection with a very, very different approach, that feels as rooted in its time as Sappho does in hers. In this context, then, the release of 100 Queer Poems feels long overdue: it is modern, expansive, disruptive and diverse in ways that The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse simply … uh isn’t (although it might well have been at the time).
Also I’m aware I’ve spoken more about the approach of the anthology as a whole than any individual poem but … it’s hard to know how else to speak about an anthology. Plus it felt weird to read 100 poems one after the other for a review, when—all things being equal—I would have more naturally engaged in a book like this by dipping and out, reading by mood and moment (I am not, for example, the sort of person who moves linearly through a museum). The sections that spoke to me most directly to me upon a first reading were, somewhat predicably, Queer Relationships, Queer Landscapes and Queering Histories. But, in general, I found the flow of the poems really fascinating and found the loose thematic framing around aspects of queerness, both as part of the self and part of the world, really resonant.
This was also not a book to read digitally, at least not for me. I love ebooks—I’m all for democratisation and accessibility of texts—but there is something about poetry that feels like it needs paper. Or I feel like I need to hold it in my hands.
In any case: this is a truly wonderful book. While not every individual poem worked for me, the collection as a whole offers something bold, expressive and kind of even … necessary? I am so happy it exists.
And please forgive how rubbish I am at reviewing poetry. -
When you turn the corner
And you run into yourself
Then you know that you have turned
All the corners that are left.
- Langston Hughes
Wow, you really put yourself in a lavender lined pigeon hole with a book title like this. Ironically, the poets and poems represented run (fairy) rings around the editors' notion of 'queerness'. I recognised some favourites, but was delighted to discover new voices I am eager to pursue. Curiously, some poems I have not liked before really stand out. That is the power of the anthology format: It is a circle of light, a beacon, a struck match in the darkness. -
a beautiful and wonderfully curated anthology of queer poetry. along with revisiting some old favourites (such as w.h. auden’s ‘funeral blues’ which has stuck with me for years), this anthology also introduced me to some new poets whose work i will definitely be seeking out after this. i’d encourage everyone to give this one a read, especially during pride month.
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100 queer poems was such a beautiful anthology of LGBTQIA+ poets! this is undoubtedly one of the best poetry anthologies I have ever read and I am so excited to delve further into the works of some poets within this collection that left me in awe. I highly highly recommend!
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What is a "queer" poem? Andrew McMillan realises that this is hard to quantify. "Is a queer poem simply anything written by a poet who identifies themselves as queer? Is a queer poem one that is overtly queer in its subject matter? Is a queer poem one that queers the language, or the form, the very structure of what a poem is." Mary Jean Chan offers a number of possible definitions and settles on: "to be queer is to refuse to follow certain straight lines." The problem with this anthology starts with the term "queer" and how it misrepresents "queer" poetry because of its "parameters" -- namely, included poets must have had a publication published in the UK. That criteria means that some American poets enter the garland of poetical flowers, Mark Doty, Jee Leong Koh, Ocean Vuong, Chen Chen, and Jericho Brown whereas other contemporary American voices are ignored. When the blurb pronounces, "100 QUEER POEMS presents an electrifying selection of writing ... over the past few decades [from] poets who broke new ground" it misrepresents this volume. The poets who broke new ground are not in (because they are American). The English poets that represnt queer history are nothing more than a scattering of odd seeds from English poetry: Douglas, Owen, Brooke and Auden's over anthologised "Funeral Blues," made popular via Four Weddings and a Funeral. And there are some major omissions from the canon of English queer poetry -- no James Kirkup, Adam Johnson, Dirg Aaab-Richards, Neil Powell, or Sylvia Townsend-Warner and Vita Sackville-West: significant poets with poems published in the UK by the Gay Men's Press, J.M.Dent, W.H. Heinemann and Carcanet. If Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979) gets a place, why not May Sarton (1912-1995) who, though American like Bishop, was published by the Women's Press (London) and had a real influence on queer relationships and Feminism?
100 Queer Poems is a knowledgeable overview of English queer poetry as it exists today. But it is not "electrifying". Gregory Woods, who was Professor of Gay and Lesbian Studies at Nottingham Trent University, probably exemplifies "queer" poetry better than any other poet in this volume. His work is sensual, erotic, witty, provocative, political, reflective, performative, and written with a wide understanding of same sex passion from the classical world onwards. But which poem gets chosen? A very safe "That Sweet". It is a tingle from a 9v battery. Why not something as wonderfully shocking as "Distraction" or one of the taut twelve liners in We Have the Melon that Gunn recognised as exemplars of thrilling, sexual queer poetry? All in all this is a "very safe" anthology in which, as Keith Vaughan once wrote, "the lights are on" yet there is little "illumination." And as for Illumination ... -
LOVE! brings so much queer-euphoria i pity the straights xxx
realised why i find so many other specimens of media BoRiNg; i mean why would My Brain care for something non-queer? -
What a fantastic collection of poetry by some phenomenal writers. I absolutely love poetry, I think it has such an amazing and deep influence on people. It can make them feel so many different emotions and truly help them understand themselves. This is especially true for this particular collection.
As the disclaimers say, the authors hope for this book to be a starting point in the journey of queer literature and authors. And I think that this really did itself justice. It’s split into multiple sections that goes from queer childhood to queer future. Many of the poems are not explicitly ‘queer’ so there is an undercurrent of take the poem your own way, which I really loved.
There were so many beautiful poems, this is definitely the type of book you’ll want to annotate (if you like to!). Honestly I could see this becoming a book series because there are just so many great queer poets out there that can be added to these. This is a perfect book to start off pride month with!! -
an inclusive introduction to queer poetry, with such a lovely range of voices, be it classic or modern. some of my favourite poets or poems were included, but it was also the perfect occasion for me to discover new favourites 🥰
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discovered some new favourite poems from this ❤️🩹
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Did not resonnate with every poem but it was still an enjoyable read
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it’s safe to say i loved this poetry collection. i devoured it in a matter of hours (no matter how many poetry loyalists say not to do that, i simply could not stop myself). it is so beautifully collated and expressed, and is a real testament to random house/vintage, andrew mcmillan, mary jean chan, and the poets. it made me laugh, it made me cry, but most of all, it left me entirely speechless.
‘100 queer poems’ is split into seven sections, which i admit i was dubious of first (for how can one define poetry?) but they make perfect sense, and have a real balance to them. one thing in particular i loved was the inclusion of translated works, which are so often overlooked in poetry collections, but hold such beauty. this was a fantastic choice.
upon my first read, i chose to follow the collection in order (as i believe there’s always a method to the madness), although there is recognition that you can choose to read however you please. i want to read this collection in every order possible. personally, my favourite section was ‘queer relationships’, and my favourite poems (always a tough decision!) were ‘what gretel knows’, ‘valentine’, ‘the whistler’, ‘untitled/villanelle’, ���funeral blues’, ‘wrong star’, ‘afterwards’, ‘rooms’, ‘a litany for survival’, ’2004’, and ‘reasons for staying’, but all of them certainly hold their own power.
also - please do not skip the introductions! there is a real sense of comfort provided from them, especially as you move through the collection. not all of the poems are explicitly queer, but you can rest easy knowing that they are, and they were chosen for that reason.
the only slight criticism i have is i would love the inclusion of the pronouns of the poets, as i would hate to misgender them.
thank you to random house uk/vintage and netgalley for providing me with a copy! -
This was a really wonderful anthology, later out in multiple several sections that explore different aspects of queer history and the trials and tribulations of the LGBTQIA+ community. I always think that anthologies are a great way to discover new authors and poets, but often miss the mark so I don’t find myself reading them often. However, I’m so happy I picked this one up because it felt like it scratched an itch in my brain, and I’ll definitely be picking up more work from some of these authors. If you’re in a bit of a reading slump, looking for a starting point in poetry, or just want to discover some queer work, I really recommend this book.
Thank you to the publishers for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. -
2.75 stars.
Read this mostly to try and find some new poets that I would want to read more from but most of these were just not in a style I enjoy. -
I love it
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4.5 ⭐
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I've never felt intellectual enough to appreciate poetry, but this book soared, like an arrow to the heart. Chan and McMillan have thoughtfully curated queer poems that push the boundaries of language, touching upon all sensations — profundity, grief, ecstasy, longing, ambivalence, unease. They've structured the anthology into thoughtful sections that tide one through a loose chronological experience: of childhood, domesticities, relationships, landscapes, histories and futures.
That being said, queer time is rarely linear, and the poems don't feel rigidly categorised. They've sequenced each poem to flow seamlessly to the next and there were surprises that made me re-read, read aloud, and read to friends on the phone. This is a glittering tome that is a great place to start if you'd like to read poems that expand your sense of how to be in the world. -
This collection of queer poems is a wonderful, insightful collection. I am not gay, but the love, warmth, and heart of these poems really sang to me. By mixing in modern poets with some more traditional poets the collection manages to create a conversation with our conception of the Canon and widen it, enhance it, and subtly change it.
The collection is cleverly themed so that we can see thoughts on gay life from a youthful point of view into older age, from the domestic to the international. There are many, many fine pieces here, and as I was reading I was making notes of new poets whose work I will be seeking out.
This is an important collection but never worthy and deserves to be placed onto the shelves against other works which supposedly determine the "canon". -
This wasn't as wonderful as I was hoping or expecting. Some of the poems were beautiful and heart-wrenching and others just felt like nothing, unfortunately. Overall it was pretty solid but not as emotional as I was anticipating and that's a big thing for poetry with me.
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“a community’s collective imagination of itself- a reshaping and a remoulding of language, a subversion or altering of the everyday.”
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For me, it's almost part of the nature of anthologies that they receive around 3 stars, considering my average opinion of all contributions usually ends up being around the middle of the rating scale. Such was also the case with this anthology of queer poetry. Nevertheless, I'm very glad to have read this collection because it introduced me to a number of poets to check out in the future, and in general, I just appreciated seeing the numerous ways in which the authors of these 100 poems incorporated queerness into their poetry. Some of my favorites from this collection include "Afterwards" by Carola Luther, "Philomela: Nest building" by Seni Seneviratne, "Reasons for Staying" by Ocean Vuong, and "Shake My Future" by Dorothea Smartt.
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A great selection of poets including some favourites - Mary Oliver, Langston Hughes and Kei Miller - and a few unknown to me. Some traditional, also me famous, many innovative and new (to me).
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I am slowly learning to appreciate current poetry and collections like this help a lot, I found several poems (or verses) that gripped my heart and left me speechless.
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I read this in June but my dumb ass forgot to add it to my Goodreads… As someone who wants to read more poetry but feels very overwhelmed by the genre this was very helpful book.
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As with all poetry collections, especially if there's a variety of different poets, there will be poems and poets you connect with and ones you won't. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I was very excited for this collection.
My favourite poems included Love Version Of by Richard Scott, Funeral Blues by W. H. Auden and Go Away and Then Come Back by Martha Sprackland. The section I seemed to connect with a lot was "Queer Relationships".
Unfortunately, there were more poems I didn't connect with than did. Within this collection, "queer" was used as a term that could be interpreted in a variety of ways. When choosing to read it, I assumed all poems were in specific relation to the LGBTQ+ community, so that's my bad. My experience doesn't take away from the quality of poems though.
Thank you to NetGalley, Mary Jean Chan, Andrew McMillan and Vintage for this DRC in exchange for an honest review. -
Thanks to the publisher via NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
What a wonderful collection of poetry - I can’t wait to get my hands on the physical copy so that I can dip in and annotate more thoroughly. Covering the last century or so of queer poetry, this anthology documents the diversities and commonalities of the queer experience. I particularly enjoyed the experience of reading a much older poem sandwiched between two more recent poems, and having the context and experience reading of the older one entirely transformed. I also really liked the separation of the poems into thematic sections - ‘Queer Domesticities’ was my personal favourite of these. I think it will serve as a great primer for getting into poetry in general. -
it’s hard to rate this book as i wouldn’t give every poem in it a 5/5, but i think the way they have been chosen and structured is a 5/5. this is a beautiful exploration of what it means to be a “queer poet” and offers so many different perspectives though time and location. it makes you feel a sense of community that is timeless and spaceless. i also appreciate that it acknowledges the trauma behind the word “queer”, which made me feel more welcomed into an uncertain space. all in all, it felt like coming home
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un viajecito chulísimo por las palabras de un montón de gente que me ha encantado descubrir 🌟 es una suerte y un privilegio gigante poder leer libros con tus amigas.
cosas especiales:
"that mercy is small but the earth is smaller" (o. vuong)
"but then you smile thank fuck
what are you dreaming about baby wake up
tell me if the word soul still means anything"
(r. scott)
"i think the world is our house. i think i built and furnished mine with space for you to move through it, with me, alone in rooms [...] i moved into one mansion the morning when i touched, i saw, i felt your face blazing above me like a Sun" (m. hacker)
un montón de palabras poderosas y de sentimientos y de encontrarse en los márgenes de las cosas (como siempre). gracias Marti ❤️🩹 -
i really love this anthology approach to queer poetry. it asks what makes a poem queer and they suggest some answers ; i like the classification through themes instead of chronological, as it helps seeing the similarities and differences through time and identities on what seem to be the same subject. i particularly enjoyed the "queer landscapes" and "queering histories" section.
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I really like the idea of this, but if I'm honest there weren't many poems in this anthology that stood out to me.
