We Are Our Own Sequel

By Gordon Taylor

We Are Our Own Sequel is a deeply personal collection of poems that acts as memory work, examining a queer identity/body as it morphs and solidifies through a cancer diagnosis, losing a parent, a relationship breakdown and depression. The through line of the collection is recurring references to ampersands, monsters, gardening and pop culture: Andy Warhol, Merchant Ivory, Tom of Finland, Bionic Woman, Star Wars, Drag Race, Keith Haring and characters from Greek Mythology.

The collection unfolds using an array of stylistic containers (changing like a cell?), and explores how the reckoning of illness can lead us to confront both personal and historical trauma, specifically within the context of queer bodies. How does a traumatized "body" repeat history, morph, and replicate like a cell? What is cancer asking of us as our physical body changes, as wisdom arrives or eludes us? Is survival more urgent for a queer identified body? What comfort do poetry and pop culture provide, if any?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1774222159
• ISBN13: 9781774222157
• Release Date: April 2027
• Publisher: Porcupine's Quill
• Weight: 0.22 lbs.