Neon Hemlock, a small press based in Washington, DC, is a purveyor of queer chapbooks and speculative fiction. Their recent call for poetry chapbooks resulted in two books: Who is Owed Springtime by Rasha Abdulhadi, and mouth, by me.
I’m super excited to be chosen by NH’s guest editor Saida Agostini. The gorgeous cover art was crafted by dave ring, publisher/managing editor for NH.
Support queer literature! Pre-sale copies are available for purchase here.
Advance praise for mouth:
From Neon Hemlock’s guest editor Saida Agostini:
Agostini chose mouth because it “offers a precise accounting of patriarchal violence, a complicated constellation that cannot be cut down or anesthetized for anyone’s comfort. This work is a dare, a challenge to those who would rather turn away from truth. As they write, Those who try to love me cannot swallow my entirety. If you are lucky you will choke on my hips. We are lucky to be blessed with this witness.”
“In mouth, jo reyes-boitel speaks of deadly fear, the complexity of figs, the constant moon, and survival of the queer body — triumphant and illuminating, juxtaposing domestic abuse with distorted beauty, mysticism, and owning your self. mouth by jo reyes-boitel disrupts fairy tale dreams, by telling it like it is to obtain personal freedom.” — Sarah Rafael García, author of SanTana’s Fairy Tales & founder of LibroMobile
“mouth invites us to experience the words that unravel the terrors of intimate partner violence, the subversion of BDSM, and the fierceness of femme-centered femininity. With luscious language and striking imagery, jo reyes-boitel compels us to occupy those interstitial spaces that define queer Latinx intimacies of survival, persistence, and elation.” — Lilia Raquel Rosas, Executive Director of Red Salmon Arts and lecturer of Mexican American & Latina/o Studies at UT Austin
With pain, power and triumph, Jo Reyes-Boitel’s poems are a meditation, navigating the human geography of longing, loving and surviving, and resisting the seduction of self-destruction to achieve self-redemption. These are strong words and vivid lines that cling to the soul’s memory.” — Charles Rice-González, author of Chulito, Bronx LGBT activist, and co-founder of BAAD! The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance
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