Deviant
Robert Kroetsch Series
By Patrick Grace
Deviant traces a trajectory of queer self-discovery from childhood to adulthood, examining love, fear, grief, and the violence that men are capable of in intimate same-sex relationships. Richly engaged with the tangible and experiential, Patrick Grace’s confessional poetry captures profound, sharp emotions, tracking a journey impacted equally by beauty and by brutality. Coming-of-age identity struggles are recalled with wry wit, and dreamlike poems embrace adolescent queer love and connections as a way to cope with the fear and cruelty that can occur in gay relationships. Later poems in the collection recall vivid moments of psychological trauma and stalking and explore the bias of the justice system toward gay men. Collecting memories, dreams, and fears about sexual identity, Deviant makes important contributions to queer coming-of-age and intimate partner violence narratives.
Book details
Publication date: February 2024Series: Robert Kroetsch Series
Keywords: Gay relationships; gay poetry; Identity; Queer Sexualities; Coming-of-Age; Youthful sexual encounters; Intimate partner violence (IPV); Domestic violence in gay relationships; 2SLGBTQ+; Survivorship; Confessional Poetry; Lyrical Poetry; Trauma
Subject(s): POETRY / LGBTQ+, POETRY / Canadian, Modern and contemporary poetry (c 1900 onwards), Poetry, Creative Writing / Poetry, Gender & Sexuality / 2SLGBTQ+ Studies, Gay relationships; gay poetry; Identity; Queer Sexualities; Coming-of-Age; Youthful sexual encounters; Intimate partner violence (IPV); Domestic violence in gay relationships; 2SLGBTQ+; Survivorship; Confessional Poetry; Lyrical Poetry; Trauma, Poetry / Canadian Literature / 2SLGBTQ+
Publisher(s): University of Alberta Press
Book details
Publication date: February 2024Series: Robert Kroetsch Series
Keywords: Gay relationships; gay poetry; Identity; Queer Sexualities; Coming-of-Age; Youthful sexual encounters; Intimate partner violence (IPV); Domestic violence in gay relationships; 2SLGBTQ+; Survivorship; Confessional Poetry; Lyrical Poetry; Trauma
Subject(s): POETRY / LGBTQ+, POETRY / Canadian, Modern and contemporary poetry (c 1900 onwards), Poetry, Creative Writing / Poetry, Gender & Sexuality / 2SLGBTQ+ Studies, Gay relationships; gay poetry; Identity; Queer Sexualities; Coming-of-Age; Youthful sexual encounters; Intimate partner violence (IPV); Domestic violence in gay relationships; 2SLGBTQ+; Survivorship; Confessional Poetry; Lyrical Poetry; Trauma, Poetry / Canadian Literature / 2SLGBTQ+
Publisher(s): University of Alberta Press
Patrick Grace. Patrick Grace (he/him) is a queer author who lives on the traditional and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tseil-Waututh Nations (Vancouver, BC). His poems have been published widely in Canadian literary magazines, including Arc Poetry Magazine, Best Canadian Poetry, Columba, EVENT, The Ex-Puritan, The Fiddlehead, The Malahat Review, Prairie Fire, and more. His work has been a finalist for literary contests with CV2 and PRISM international, and in 2022, his poem “fullblown” won The Malahat Review’s Far Horizons Award. He has published two chapbooks: a blurred wind swirls back for you (2023), and Dastardly (2021), both of which explore aspects of love, fear, and trauma that represent a personal queer identity. Deviant, his first full-length poetry collection, continues to explore these themes. Follow him on IG: @thepoetpatrick.
Why Not
Dastardly
Nick the Dick
The First
A Cone of Light
Watergun
Ravine
Traffic Light
Nightcall
II
Layover
Strawberry Island
Arthur
Teardown
Student Debt
Caterpillar
The Dark Gap
It’s Like That, Is It
The Circuit
III
The Big Dark
Someday You Will Ache
You look older
Afloat
Touch Anywhere to Begin
As If
The Floor Was Water
The Gaslighter
As You Were
switchrail
IV
A Violence
Heatwave
document
Vermilion
Therefore
soft stalker
The Tunnel
Tilt
The Mayfly
Make Good
V
The Calling
fullblown
Fission
Meanwhile
Patrick Grace. Patrick Grace (he/him) is a queer author who lives on the traditional and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tseil-Waututh Nations (Vancouver, BC). His poems have been published widely in Canadian literary magazines, including Arc Poetry Magazine, Best Canadian Poetry, Columba, EVENT, The Ex-Puritan, The Fiddlehead, The Malahat Review, Prairie Fire, and more. His work has been a finalist for literary contests with CV2 and PRISM international, and in 2022, his poem “fullblown” won The Malahat Review’s Far Horizons Award. He has published two chapbooks: a blurred wind swirls back for you (2023), and Dastardly (2021), both of which explore aspects of love, fear, and trauma that represent a personal queer identity. Deviant, his first full-length poetry collection, continues to explore these themes. Follow him on IG: @thepoetpatrick.
Why Not
Dastardly
Nick the Dick
The First
A Cone of Light
Watergun
Ravine
Traffic Light
Nightcall
II
Layover
Strawberry Island
Arthur
Teardown
Student Debt
Caterpillar
The Dark Gap
It’s Like That, Is It
The Circuit
III
The Big Dark
Someday You Will Ache
You look older
Afloat
Touch Anywhere to Begin
As If
The Floor Was Water
The Gaslighter
As You Were
switchrail
IV
A Violence
Heatwave
document
Vermilion
Therefore
soft stalker
The Tunnel
Tilt
The Mayfly
Make Good
V
The Calling
fullblown
Fission
Meanwhile
