Person Unlimited: An Ode to My Black Queer Body

by Dean Atta

You’ve fought and you’ve run away.
You’ve danced with other Black queer bodies until sunrise.
Sometimes you wanted to be caught and sometimes you wanted to be held.
With all that you’ve endured, you are nothing less than miraculous.

From choirboy to drag act, grandson to mentor, poet to lover, Dean Atta has played many roles in his life. In this formally inventive, candid and courageous book, he explores what he has carried in his wins and losses, shame and pride, pain and joy. Dean also investigates how radical self-acceptance and a willingness to abide with discomfort open up the possibility of a life lived beyond a person unlimited.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Queer, LGBT, Audiobook

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 4, 2024

About the author

Dean was shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize for his debut poetry collection, I Am Nobody’s Nigger. His poems have been anthologised by Bad Betty Press, Emma Press, Stripes Publishing, Team Angelica and have appeared on BBC One, BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service and Channel 4. Dean was named as one of the most influential LGBT people in the UK by the Independent on Sunday. He regularly performs across the UK and internationally. Dean is a member of Keats House Poets Forum and Malika’s Poetry Kitchen. He has a Philosophy and English BA from the University of Sussex and a Writer/Teacher MA from Goldsmiths, University of London. Dean is a Tutor for Arvon and Poetry School and a Writer in Residence for First Story. His debut novel, The Black Flamingo, will be published in August 2019 by Hodder Children’s Books.

Reviews

[Jaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first saw deans performance at the roundhouse peeformimg black flamingo.

An aunt had taken me to show she knows i am gay and wants to support me - the first queer performance i had been to and i thought about it for months and months

flash forward to a month ago browsing am art gallerys book section and i find this amazing story and begin reading. Not until it is mentioned did i notice it was the same person but the feeling of awe and love resounded.

growing up black and queer in london makes me feel so lucky too.

[rina dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Dean Atta and recommend his work all of the time, so I was absolutely thrilled to be able to read Person Unlimited, and it delivered absolutely everything I thought it would. When I've seen Dean speak on social media or give interviews, I'm always struck by how warm and down to earth he comes across, and I had that same feeling reading this book.

Person Unlimited is brave, candid, and ultimately a book about self-love and acceptance. The way Dean has used his body to explore his life, from stories from his childhood to relationships as an adult both with the people he loved and the people he was solely intimate with, is incredibly clever. I loved the themes of exploration, the openness with which Dean writes the fact that this is an ode to his black queer body and actually shows how limitless it is even in the face of the often ugly things society projects onto him such as racism and homophobia.

Overall, I would highly recommend this beautiful book. It's truly a joy to read. Insightful, reflective, and full of heart, I'm even more a fan of Dean's than I was before.

[Demi Villanueva · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book did a wonderful job at explaining all the feelings, good and bad, that come with being different. The way Dean explains how little things that happen to us can have great impact on how we speak to ourselves and how we limit ourselves. It is refreshing to hear someone with similar internal dialogue. Dean is so transparent that I can leave this book knowing that I am
not alone. It is okay to feel strongly about everything. Every thing that happens to us matters. Every thing we are matters. Loved this book!