Joan

by Jake Rose

A narrative sequence of lyric poems reimagining Joan of Arc as a framework for queer desire, grief, and transformation.

Collapsing biography and autobiography, the poetry of Jake Rose’s debut explores queer identity, grief, and desire through the historical framework of Joan of Arc’s life. Moving through rural landscapes of the speaker’s youth, contradictions of faith, consequences of desire, and fragmentations of trauma, JOAN is structured as an excavation of the speaker’s most intimate moments, combining poetry with historical quotations, visual collage, and a sequence of film stills. Through vivid lyric moments, the poems construct a speaker and world both intimate and charged­—“I have to touch my farthest feeling,” “the sapphire dusk draping its lace arias”—with clarity and vibrant intensity. Refusing resolution, these poems dwell in rupture, reinvention, and fluid forms of gender that come to life outside of inherited boundaries. This collection speaks from the margins, searching for a body the self might inhabit and asking what it means to transform through language, gender, and desire.

JOAN is the winner of the Phoenix Emerging Poet Book Prize.

Genres: Poetry, Queer

106 pages, Paperback

Expected publication March 20, 2026

Reviews

[Jaidee · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.3 "respect the work, difficult to connect" stars !!!

Thank you to Netgalley, the poet and University of Chicago Press. This collection will be published March 2026. I am providing an honest review.

This collection is the winner of the Phoenix Emerging Poet Book Prize. On an abstract level I can understand this. Individually a few of these poems were excellent and I could mildly appreciate and like them. The great difficulty I had however was I did not believe in the vision or connection to Joan of Arc. There was little to no resonance for me and I found some of it anachronistic. I had hoped for vision, mysticism and love of country which did not come through for me. Despite my difficulties in connection I do feel that the poet has some excellent ideas and talent and would be open to reading later works. Although a challenging and rather unsatisfying reading experience this book was overall a fair attempt and will sit on my 2.5 star shelf. (I am certain also that some poetry lovers will love this tome)

Here is my favorite poem in the collection:

the outside green ribbons of normancy
emerge from snow
I dug a grave once for
this ladybug that crawled on my finger
I jumped out of a four story window
and really bombed out
in a ditch splayed
drying in the afternoon sun
someone puts glitter on my eyebrows
because dazzled I feel like a rich bride
over this shrouded earth
I'm just lying here until the guards come
protecting this piece of earth
this small France under my body fills up now
with my red blood
some grass just got
red & so fickle I change its colors
how poetry is to painting
while dying
how romantic am I trying while
the castle walls weep ivy

[Laine King · Rating 5 out of 5]

each page has a different smell. know what i mean?

[Chapters & Chives · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very powerful, moving, and evocative piece of poetry. The writing oscillates between strong strikes of poetic devices and then swings towards more simple grief stricken reflections and imagery, before swinging back again to metaphor and complexities.

I felt this movement really illustrates just how much people (particularly men) clung to Joan as a vessel, a non-human symbol of their freedom and the moral proof of their deserving to win a war. Joan as symbol, as poetic muse, comes through in the high poetic voice, but it forgets, and dare I say, threatens to erase, the human Joan, the one who grieves, the one who is tired of fighting, the one who doesn't want to do the saving, but be saved and loved. To not be alone.

Linking this dual experience of Joan to queerness really begs the reader to reflect on current queer politics and how queer people are positioned in a still queer phobic society (and it's religions), made into political symbols simply by existing.

I honestly am still reflecting on the poetry and messages of this text. I am reflecting on queer politics, the lived experience, and other messages in this text that I am still processing and can't yet articulate. Queer politics and movements are so important, but where does one person draw a line so they can care for their self as a human and live a full life without always being the political symbol or statement in the room?

This text would make a really good addition to a lecture and classroom debate. Thank you Jake Rose for getting me to start rethinking some things and reflecting!

Thank you to Netgalley and University of Chicago Press for gifting me this amazing contribution to poetry, in exchange for an honest review.

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully crafted and incredibly powerful collection of poetry, written from the perspective of Joan of Arc at various points in her life.

Joan of Arc is a figure that means many different things to many different people, and to me, has always – since before I could even start to articulate it – reflected the meeting of my faith and my queerness. I’ve probably DNFed more books about Joan than any other topic, because so much fiction about her felt at odds with my own perception of her.

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I don’t pretend to know anything about poetry from a technical perspective, but I know when I enjoy poetry and when it connects with me. This collection was so powerful and raw, especially as Joan went through her trial and imprisonment.

Rose interprets Joan’s life through an undeniably queer lens. Rather than imagine her as having one or another particular identity, he focuses more on how queerness itself – the way someone can exist outside of society’s rules on gender expression – can be experienced through her. I found the moments that intersected Joan’s queerness with her faith to be particularly powerful and moving, and they felt especially poignant.

I am so glad I stumbled across this collection, and I think it’s going to be one I return to many times in the future.

I received a free copy for an honest review.

[Mait Harkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

6 February 2026

3.75 stars

This collection of poems from the perspective of Joan of Arc was refreshing and creative.

The craftsmanship of the line breaks and the bleeding sentences allowing multiple meanings (thanks to little-to-no punctuation throughout the poems) was lovely. The themes explored in Joan's life and experience were poignant and real. The references to her struggles with gender and responsibility and belonging were my favorites.

***

I wanted more plot to this set of poems, considering the arc of the book follows specific events in Joan's late life. The glimpses of events we saw often came through a screen of flowery language and vague reference; I wanted more.

I thought the first 2/3 of the poems were very strong and moving and beautiful. The last third of the book wowed me less--the poems started to feel choppy and like they lacked much cohesion. Likely a creative choice for how Jake Rose chose to portray Joan's changing emotional state, but it felt odd and off-putting for me.

***

Overall, a piece of art that I am very grateful to have gotten to read. I'll be thinking about Joan even more than I normally do for a while.

[julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rose's writing is sharp, nimble, and incredibly striking. I was not expecting to enjoy this collection as much as I did. I wish I had a physical copy so I could highlight and underline my favourite parts.

Joan manages to balance the strength and struggle of queerness through the eyes of Joan of Arc. The poetry felt raw and filled with emotion, allowing readers to connect with the work despite its complexity. I was surprised by how the writing verged on vulgarity in many moments. While unexpected, I found myself drawn to these areas most within the collection.

I have always been a culprit
for wanting to give meaning
to every discomfort I have felt
like such a snob with my pain

Overall, while this work has a depth that I think will really resonate with queer readers, especially Joan of Arc enthusiasts, I did wish the conclusion was slightly stronger. Compared to the rest of the collection, the ending fell a bit flat for me, but was still cohesive and well-structured within the work. Still an amazing read that I would recommend to any poetry readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and University of Chicago Press for the arc.

[chelsegoose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and University of Chicago Press for the ARC in exchange for a review.
A powerful collection of poetry written from the perspective of various points in Joan of Arc's life. Joan is written through a queer coming-of-age lens, which I found the most resonant part of this collection.
"I used to wait to be plucked
out of gender and situation
to be entirely mirrorless like nature."
This narrative offers a fresh perspective on Joan's life. I will be returning to certain poems again.

"... I wanted to die to get clean
but instead I was refined
I wanted to die
but instead I was refined
not to a bird
with a tongue wrapped
like a ring around
their brain but
something worse
when he looked at me first
when god looked at me
he knew too much already
that I was in love
with what he had made
that I was in love
with what he had made
and he knew this
that I was terrified
that I was in love"

[Tiff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure exactly how to rate poetry, so I'm rating this on my enjoyment. It was good and I enjoyed it but it wasn't change my life good or can't get it out of my head good. I appreciated reading the story of Joan of Arc through first person poetry that used some modern language mixed with older. There was emotional depth to the story through the poetry in a different way than I think would have been gained through standard novel type prose.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

[Keyi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The premise of this poetry book is so cool??? An exploration of one's gender and identity, using Jeanne d'Arc as a backdrop, interspersing it with real historical quotes. The poetry is largely in lowercase and lacks punctuation, which I feel spurs the poems along, almost makes you feel out of air, as if riding into battle or under pressure. There is rage, there is fear, there is exhaustion, and there's a begging to be listened to. All in all, really enjoyed this collection.

Thank you to NetGalley and UChicago Press for this ARC.

[Rachel Randolph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will never not be heartbroken for Joan of Arc, and this narrative poetry collection tore that wound wide open. JOAN is a exploration of queer grief and gender identity through the framework of a most haunting history.

[Peejay(Pamela) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry creating a new mythology of Joan of Arc.

[Venneh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely gorgeous collection that merges the telling of Joan of Arc's life, and a young queer person's experience of their own early life as they come into themself.