"A collection of poetry and prose...Phoenix Song has many recurring themes--non-binary gender, queer and bi+ sexuality, and childhood and psychiatric trauma. As the traumas resonate within the speaker, we understand them as the root of mental health struggles--rather than clinical, problematic psychiatric "diagnosis." As the speaker moves from lyrical embodiment of deep feeling to the clarity of prose, they are set free and return, renewed by flame, to the joys of pleasure and their song. It's true we are all the heroes of our own stories, but we are also sometimes part of something bigger--a bright, sparkling, magic, urgent wave of not-so-delicate beasts, cresting through the water, a surge, a collective: "me too." This collection offers an incantation, a wisdom synthesized by both mind and body"--Author website Includes Reading Guide.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.