Sissy: Poems on growing up gay

by P.H. Davies

The term ‘sissy’ has long been used as a derogatory nickname for effeminate boys who do not fit a prescribed notion of boyhood. This constraining epithet can often lead to violence in the form of bullying and leaves psychological scars on its victim that later surface during adulthood. P.H. Davies attempts to reclaim this word, using it as a framework to push against intellectually, while allowing it to shape a narrative of his young life.

‘ Poems on growing up gay’ is his most autobiographical collection to date, featuring poems from previously published collections alongside over thirty new works. Read as a kind of ‘poetic case study’ examining sexuality from childhood through to late adolescence, the poet attempts to understand just how much being gay is an innate identity and what are the key moments in life that define this for him.

161 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 15, 2015