I Hate Parties: poems

by Jes Battis

Fifty poems to dance (awkwardly) between queer and anxious spaces.


Social anxiety runs through I Hate Parties like a current. Recorded on deliberately shaky media, this collection offers the B-side of growing up queer, autistic and nonbinary. From Scruff dates to mix tapes, Jes Battis cruises (and crashes) through wild feelings and minor catastrophes. Dipping readers into a world of missed connections, social disasters and life as a queer party that constantly surprises, Battis uses a light touch and neurodiverse prosody as they chronicle middle-grade queerness and a kind of meandering surreality. From difficult desires, panic attacks and environmental sensitivities, Battis weaves nineties metaphors with current discussions of neurodiversity and trans rights in Canada as they ruminate between past and present like a cat refusing to settle. I Hate Parties guides us through all the best and worst parties of our lives—to the secret room beyond, where being awkward is the one and only dress code.

Genres: Poetry

102 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2025

About the author

Jes Battis (they/them) is the author of THE WINTER KNIGHT (April 2023), the OCCULT SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR series, and the PARALLEL PARKS series. Jes writes in the areas of urban fantasy, horror, and mystery/thriller. They also teach literature and creative writing in the Canadian prairies.

Reviews

[Jillian B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this collection of poems about queerness, anxiety and autism. The author uses beautiful turns of phrase, and yet the poems are so grounded in reality that I felt like I was watching scenes play out over the writer’s shoulder. I would especially recommend this book to people from Western Canada. As someone from Alberta with family ties to B.C. and Saskatchewan, I had a lot of fun recognizing the references. (I never thought I’d see Weyburn mentioned in a poetry book!)

P.S. The cover design is flawless!

[Jess]

I want to give this to my friends.

[Dayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't help myself and read my girlfriend's advance copy of this book and it made me cry, what a beautiful book.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

Queer coming-of-age poems mixed with nostalgic reflections laced in social anxiety—I loved the millennial references here and especially the hockey-related poems, they felt so visceral like I could smell the dank sweat, too.

The reflections on living and loving while autistic felt so relatable and fresh, often leaving me pondering about certain lines and thoughts. I guess where this collection didn’t over the top wow me was that I didn’t love the way certain words or descriptions were used multiple times, it felt almost overused at times. And while I did enjoy this collection, I only saved two poems so I don’t think it resonated as much as I’d have liked, but it’s definitely worth reading for poetry fans.

[Cat Abenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rhythms of queerness and neurodivergence in Jes' collection are affirming and enlightening. Their interspersed interests are delightful and sometimes surprising and all over perfect. And there's bonus cat content. I highly recommend their collection and will be thinking about this smart, timely, and nostalgic work for a long time.

[ツツ]

“Queer, autistic, and nonbinary.” What’s not to like? Yet i didn’t.
I was moved one time, because pet death is a tender spot for me:

She looked at me, aware
and fighting the drugs. I said Okay, okay,
watching death travel down the catheter,

wondering if I would be so perfectly awake.

[Jessi · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Your occasional laugh
cracking a crème brûlée to reveal a sea of
gold, the way Socrates describes goodness as
an even wave swallowing us all. This poem
isn’t about Socrates either, though he clings
to its edge, not wanting to miss out.”

[Spencer Bookcase · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This was a good read. My favourite poemsare Winter Skips, Draft Poems, It's Funny, Pronoun Policy, Hairball, The Repair Shop, Tism.

[SadyeReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
a book I will be revisiting so I can tab the poems that really stuck out to me as someone who never feels content at parties.