Grief Slut

by Evelyn Berry

Evelyn Berry's debut poetry collection, Grief Slut, is an examination of the queer lineage of pleasure, grief, and resilience in the American South. Berry offers a portrait of a girl living through boyhood and grappling with the violence of nostalgia in poems that blend high art, archival slivers, and Taco Bell. This collection invites us into a landscape home to sloppy kissers, swamp suitors, scrappy "limbwrecked boys," and drag queens drenched in glitter sweat, where "each day is trespass" and queer youth fight to "hear one another breathe just a little while longer."

Genres: Poetry, Queer, LGBT, Womens

106 pages, Paperback

Published December 18, 2023

Reviews

[Sarah Cavar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book goes uniquely and incredibly hard. It is actually incredibly difficult to sustain the power and momentum of a poetry collection for 100 pages; difficult to maintain cohesion without adding a few too many filler poems. What Berry has done here is, then, especially impressive: 100 pages of forceful, authoritative, yet also staggeringly beautiful and richly layered, poetry, and basically no filler.

What struck me continuously throughout this text was the confidence and clarity of purpose with which Berry attends to each of her poems: these are projects of grief, of lust, of joy, of growth, all oriented around the vital project of trans becoming. Berry knows the stakes of trans potentiality, and its crushing under christofascist cisheteropatriarchy, intimately, weaving christian myth, personal history, and trans historical (non)record in the process. Throughout, she is in control, a reclamation of a location-bodymind-language from which she was systematically deprived. For our part, readers feel comfortable under her guidance, in a museum tour given by an expert docent.

This is not always an experience readers of poetry, myself included, want. Sometimes, it is a pleasure to be confused. But Berry's genius is in making that guidance and crystal clarity irresistible, and for that, I thank her.

[nell (noelle) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is more of a gush than a review. I’ve been reading for pleasure these days.

I’ve been searching for poetry that’s reads as Carolina stunned, as coming straight from the heart of the South. Here, there’s drawl, there’s dragging, heat and regret. A little bit of shame too, but that comes with the territory.

And joy, oh wow is Evelyn good at joy.

I wanted to ask her at a book signing how she captured a sense of place and character with short bursts of imagery. I get it now. Growing up queer in the south is a peripheral experience, utterly concerned with the self and the spoils passing by.

Of course we relish in color, that’s our fruit glowing on the trees. Of course there’s beauty in the abandoned mills, we passed through them in mindless awe, just like our teenhood with friends. Southerners understand passing by comments, the under-your-breath remarks, insinuations are a speciality. We don’t have to be precise, we just get it.

The south is everything to me. Being queer is everything to me. I love it here and in these verses. Bravo Evelyn!

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books of poetry I’ve read in a while. First of all, what a title. SOLD. I didn’t even need to read a thing about it, though the arresting cover art sells it too. But the poems are even better, full of electric bolt lights and thunder. There are a series of poems to a friend who committed suicide, and I lost a friend to suicide over his sexuality, so I was moved by those. But I found all the poems full of delightfully delicious lines and wisdom, while being accessible yet well crafted. These poems are gorgeous, and grief stricken, portraits of a coming of age queer narrative of childhood to adulthood. I scribbled quite a few lines from this into my journals to read and reread. My favorite, “I am vulture drunk on grief. Once, a corpse I called friend became a poem, and I woke with a gun.”

[Skylar Miklus · Rating 5 out of 5]

God, what a triumph. So beautiful and musical and raw and intense and joyful and mournful all at once. Evelyn Berry captures the experience of growing up queer in the South, of trans self-creation, of religious upbringing, of elegy for a friend lost to suicide, of queer sexual pleasure, in these daring and innovative poems. The sense of Southern terroir is strong, with sensual flashes of imagery. Berry embraces trans joy, fear, shame, and all the messiness that comes with this identity. Such an impressive debut collection. I am grateful to Sundress Publications for sending me a review copy.

[sunshine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m only just, within the last two years, questioning and understanding by gender identity. Nonbinary? Genderfluid? A gender? Sparkling fairy frog? I don’t know. And I also inundated myself with cis mom divorcees in all the books I read. This is only the third book by a trans author I’ve ever read and god is it important! Important for me but also for a small understanding of trans experience. And something that’s hitting me so damn hard is that in every book there is an endless amount of violence and it’s heartbreaking and sad and ah!! All we want is to love and be safe 🩷

“The chemicals in our blood are no invasive species. We can be baptized and drown in the same creek” 24

[Sophia Whisnant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such stunning, beautiful, emotional writing.

My mother sent me this collections of poems in the mail knowing full well this was something I needed to read as a queer woman from SC. I was brought to tears reading some of these. An amazing and extremely impressive debut collection.

[Kora Dzbinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

“i want only to remember i am animal // haunting the body of an animal.”

slammed out of a multiple month reading slump (of starting and stopping and starting and) with this perfect little collection. sobbed on the bus, at the leather dyke picnic, at home on the couch. thank you, evie.

[Melon · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the people that recommended this to me described it as something along that lines as hot and sad and they were correct

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heavy, lovely poems about the South, about transness, about giving both your old self (and your new self) grace.

[Abby Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

some of my favorites: “iva!”, “musk eater,” “brief history of desire,” and “chandelier”

[Courtney LeBlanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of poems about identity, gender, sexuality, grief, trauma, and survival.

from praise song in lieu of obituary: "bless the tenor in my chest cajoling song / from cement mixer. bless the sprigs of / coarse hair sprouting from my nipples. / bless the burlap skin, bless the razor / scraped across my chin, bruised stubble."

from iva!: "we wear matching / pink lipstick / to waffle house. / we sugar our coffee until lushsweet / & slurp vodka from under the table. / we devour hash browns / until our chins shine / grease-slobbed. we get sick, / & clog the drains with glitter."

from house show: "we dance with new bodies, gender-clumsy, / break them in. we break down. / we learn vocabulary to language ourselves back to life. / we celebrate small survivals. / here, we exist."

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was assigned Grief Slut in a Women in American Literature class. This was a year ago. I have not put it down since.

This is not a collection about being trans. It is about living, seeing the world, learning who you are with the added layer of needing to learn about someone new. Poems like 'aubade with baja blast...' and 'mothman' had me laughing through the sobs. 'praise song' and 'boyhood: revisions' had me wishing that there was a merciful God.

Everyone needs to read this collection. Who cares what your gender is? Berry's words ring true for anyone who has ever had to relearn their new self, which I dare say is the core of the human condition. May St. Andrew bless Evelyn Berry and every other Southern 'quare'.

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

"don't be surprised the ground's so fertile / young queers been fucking in the fields / since the first sin/ the first garden delight / first adam's apple taken in the mouth / first seed spilled / if they bury enough wild queers in the dirt / one's sure to sprout in their backyard"

This debut poetry collection from Evelyn Berry is my favorite poetry book I read in all of 2023. From grieving the loss of a close friend to suicide, to reckoning with the past self while celebrating the new, to paying homage to queer figures from history, this collection has so much to offer, and I'm so excited for whatever the author writes next.

[Annika Warrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ordered this book as a way to pay a submission fee for Sundress Publications, and believe me when I say it was one of my best book purchases this year. The way that Evelyn Berry captures the liminality of life in a trans body, and creates new meaning in all manner of thing from famous paintings to taco bell trips, really made this book sing for me. There was also such a distinct mastery of craft- in particular, line break- throughout this. I found myself reading more than one of these aloud to friends as I pondered them, and came away with a new sense of the way there can still be humor and absurdness, even in the presence of grief.

[Brady McLean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evelyn came to a poetry reading a bit back and I missed it but heard rave reviews so I decided to give her a try. Safe to say, I was amazed. She had such a way of articulating what it is to be queer and southern that warms my heart. The way she uses words is so amazing and witty in a way only trans people are able to do. I so so so appreciated these poems and will absolutely be giving it to everyone in my life.

[Katie Bowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection is reminiscent of being young and sweaty and unsure with the summer humidity sticking to every inch of your body, with the dirt and the grass stains leaving watercolored paintings across the bottoms of your feet and the palms of your hands, all the while, you are desperate for the person you are a little in love with to trace their fingers along the skin of your bare ribs, searching for yourself within the moment and beyond.

A seriously stellar collection!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Berry crafts beautifully creative figurative language and wordplay. I was intrigued by the religious motif connecting many of the poems, particularly as I think some of them were about religious artwork. While the book description says something to the effect of describing “resilience in the South,” I didn’t see the South as being represented in any particular way in the poems. Geography seemed pretty overt and literal, not so much a culture or way of life. Love many of the poems, though!

[Annalisa Ely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe I could have understood some of these poems better, but I think I just have different enough experiences from the author that I don't always know what she is referencing. But the ones I did understand I think were really well done and beautiful and I hope to see more from this author. Chandelier was my favorite.

[Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book - it had a mixture of topics I like - Saint Sebastian, Taco Bell, Caravaggio - thoughts about the past and the future. It also had some misses that made the experience less engaging. I am not sure if I would suggest this collection to many - but I am looking forward to more of this poets work.

[Thing Two · Rating 4 out of 5]

These poems grew on me. Evelyn Berry is a gifted poet. Her poems on grief were especially moving. I found the first section overly-sexual for my tastes, but appreciate the talent it takes to compile this collection.

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much of Evelyn’s poems struck deep cords with my own experiences growing up queer in the south. Beautiful and haunting portrayal of grief and the politics of growing up in a religious environment. So, so wonderful. So glad I know Evelyn ❤️

[Alexa Doran · Rating 5 out of 5]

girl, whatttttt. this book was SO GOOD. Addonizio with more of a narrative backbone. A wild and infectious understanding of the line. YES. Can't wait to follow the lifeline of Berry's work. This is work which teaches you how sound is a source of meaning.

[cacio e petal · Rating 4 out of 5]

highly recommend this! evelyn berry is the coolest. play my evelyn berry xw puzzle https://crossweirdpuzzles.com/2024/07...

[Noemi · Rating 5 out of 5]

My heart aches from the pain and sorrow the author has experienced in her life. I wish I could hug and tell her how much she means to me. I had to read this slowly, taking my time to feel all the feels. Thank you Evelyn for telling your stories.

[el stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

i got this book for my partner and annotated it, and i’m honestly considering getting my own copy and annotating it as well. a beautiful collection of poetry, while triggering at times, what beautiful art isn’t?

[Kath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and relatable and still unique. I felt especially connected to many of these poems as a southern, genderfluid person with a religious upbringing and I have a renewed appreciation for those experiences that upbringing gave me

[Jendi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Witty, sensual, elegiac poems about growing up in the South as a femme boy who became a trans woman. Full of compassion and appreciation for her pre-transition self. And what a great book cover!

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memorable, surprising word combinations. Truth-telling.

[Gardner Dorton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grief Slut is a triumph in contemporary poetry.

[Gabie Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evelyn, you did not need to go so hard with this. This RULES, the kind of book I wish I wrote myself.