Why I Was Late

by Charlie Petch

Winner of the 2022 ReLit Award for Poetry With kitchen-table candour and empathy, Charlie Petch's debut collection of poems offers witness to a decades-long trans/personal coming of age, finding heroes in unexpected places. Why I Was Late fuses text with performance, brings a transmasculine wisdom, humour, and experience to bear upon tailgates, spaceships, and wrestling rings. Fierce, tender, convention re-inventing-Petch works hard. And whether it's as a film union lighting technician, a hospital bed allocator, a Toronto hot dog vendor, or a performer/player of the musical saw, the work is survival. Heroes are found in unexpected places, elevated by both large and small gestures of kindness, accountability and acceptance. No subject-grief, disability, kink, sexuality, gender politics, violence-is off limits. A poet so good at drag they had everyone convinced that they were a woman for the first forty years of their life, Petch has somehow brought the stage and its attendant thrills into the book. Better late than. And better. "Charlie Petch's Why I Was Late is a poetic debut with the wisdom of a sage and the emotional range of an expert comedian. Do yourself a favor and read this book. This is a master at work." - Kai Cheng Thom, author of I Hope We Choose A Trans Girl's Notes from the End of the World

Genres: Poetry, Queer, LGBT, Transgender, Canada, Audiobook, Nonfiction

139 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2021

Reviews

[ash · Rating 2 out of 5]

As I always try to specify, poetry isn't really for me, especially contemporary stuff, but I keep trying because I want to be a poetry person! I want to find the language! The crisp emotion! I knew when this started with Star Wars fan fiction that I was probably not going to find it here, but I persisted! And at 23% I'm caving. R2D2/C-3PO fan fiction is one thing -- I love transformative works! -- but self-insert Chewbacca fantasies on main are another.

[Lillian Poulsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really wonderful poetry collection! I loved the audio version and how they used background music and noise to convey the messages. Impactful and wonderfully written.

[Misty Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really want to read more poetry because I’ve been writing some of my own. And I keep trying contemporary poetry to see if I like it. But I never do :( this one was probably my favorite of the contemporary poetry I’ve read so far though. It was very unique and had a lot of different audio elements that I enjoyed while listening to it (it’s only available in that format). I also did appreciate learning about the author’s experience with their gender identity and they had some great points about societal standards that I totally understood as a bisexual woman. I loved experiencing this but again, I think I need to just read more traditional poetry rather than this kind!

[Penn Kemp · Rating 4 out of 5]

“To be performed with dulcimer.”
“Things You Didn’t Know about Me”
Self-referential, engaging fun
Performative poetry like Nerve Centre but stronger.
Day 3 @SealeyChallenge #31BooksInAugust #TheSealeyChallenge #TheSealeyChalenge2022

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was weird and I liked it.

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this way more. I felt that the musical accompaniment and ambient noises for some of the poems were really distracting and took away from the serious content of some of the poems. I just think it was not my style. Also, I feel like I could not concentrate on any thing else after all the horniness for Star Wars. I did enjoy their garage band bit though.

[fern · Rating 3 out of 5]

listening to the audiobook was a very fun experience! quirky little book

[Tanya Neumeyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much for this book, Charlie Petch! It was delightful to read some of the pieces I've heard on stage in print.

[Gabriel Noel · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC given by Edelweiss+ for Honest Review

A very interesting look into the author's life. Poems range from topics such as death, grief, gender, pimples, Star Wars, and much more.

It's a little disorienting to read because some poems will go from thirsting over Chewbacca to one about their dead husband. It does not take away from the enjoyment but does cause a bit of a double take while reading.

I felt connected with a lot of the poems about gender and trans identities.

My favorite poems are: "Why I Was Late", "My Body Is A Vessel?", "Beautiful Baby Blank - A Poem For Fox", and "I'm So Good At Drag."

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful poetry reflecting on gender identity and transition, work, grief, relationships, pop culture and more. Lots of heavy topics in these poems but also lots of humour. My favourite poem was about what made the author strong. I liked the notes on musical accompaniment or the tune a poem is meant to be read-to. The Star Wars stuff was somewhat lost on me which I’m kinda used to haha. Overall a great collection and easy to read, even for this poetry novice.

[K · Rating 1 out of 5]

Music does not belong in audiobooks as background noise. Please for the love of books don’t do it, I couldn’t tell you a single good thing contained in this book because I couldn’t pay attention to any of the poems with music and was too busy being annoyed.
The only line I remember is ‘when puberty became robbery.’

[K.R. Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Come for the pop-culture-infused poems or the ones with the quirky performance notes (which are for real, btw; I recently saw the author perform some of them, and they were delightful). Stay for the ones that crush the breath out of you.

[Xylia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection! I listened to these poems being performed on audiobook, and it really added to the experience. Also, I’m a sucker for anything set in Toronto.

[Cate McKim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A genuine and compelling collection of poems, Why I Was Late weaves memory, observation, and reflections on sexuality and gender identity, into pieces that balance on the knife’s edge of haunting nostalgia and candid insight—the storytelling delivered with the sharpness of broken coloured glass, veteran entertainer timing and melancholy recollection. If you’ve had the pleasure of seeing Charlie Petch perform live, you can hear the mesmerizing strains of the musical saw and the whimsical chords of the ukulele that accompany some of these pieces (music accompaniment noted at the beginning of each piece in the book) as they sit us down to tell us a tale. From takes on childhood, to working on film sets, Star Wars character slash, and wistfully gritty recollections of encounters and relationships, Why I Was Late is a moving, rhythmic, at times erotic and funny, exploration of love, life and humanity.

[Kyle Kushnir · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride. This collection is quirky and queer and sexy and hilarious, and while it was sometimes too clever for its own good, it's overall brilliant. I prefer poetry where I can recognize my self/life/experience but that makes me see it in a different light, from a new perspective. I often find it hard to connect with poems that seem completely outside my realm of experience - but not with this book. Charlie Petch made me see queerness from angles I had never considered, and opened my mind to trans and non-binary stories and images I hadn't encountered before, especially in poems like "One Year Gender-Queer," "Translucency," "Beautiful Baby Blank," and "Transilience."

[Sage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think reading this book is the closest a person can get to feeling and understanding my soul. I have never connected with a piece of writing as intensely as I did with this book. Absolutely incredible.

[Katrina Peed]

I'm not going to rate this cute little book of poetry. I definitely think I did it a disservice by listening to it in my mad dash to 100, but also maybe the chaos that is my kitchen right now for my "read-a-thon" may be the most appropriate forum.

[McKenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of the funniest things I've read in a not good way. Some of the poems were really out there and just did not make sense to me. It was not what I was expecting, but it also was not better than I was expecting.

[Rae Ybarra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry I personally find very hard to review. It feels too personal for me. I will say that I enjoyed it a lot! The audio recording is the way to go! Charlie Petch performs their poetry with life and intention, with humor and openness.

[Eliza · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

I listened to this as an audiobook. And I respect Petch's artistic choices with his work, but for me it took away my understanding of it. There were some real pieces of gold in this book, some parts that made me go "wow." But overall, this wasn't for me.

[bookobsessed_kb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this. It was the perfect mix of funny, emotional, reflective, and raw.

[Jonathan Cestnick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this poetry book. Some of my favourites were…

“Waltzing Armageddon”

“Ashes to Ashes”

“The Saddest Country Song You Ever Wrote”

“I write about sex/ If I wrote about baking/ would I owe you a pie?”

[Cat Abenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

6 stars!

[Reagan Kapasi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liked: musical recommendations to each poem, humor, breadth of content covered. Disliked: pimple poem.

[Schuylar · Rating 2 out of 5]

What did I just read

[Emily Posthumus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this - very funny.

[j3n · Rating 3 out of 5]

funky, quirky, funny! the audiobook experience was enjoyable, and I am excited to see what Petch writes next!

[Dafne D'Amico]

Nope.

[Riah Wamby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a genuinely funny collection. There were times where I legit laughed out loud while listening to this one, which left my spouse looking at me like I’m insane. Would recommend 👌🏻

[Quinn Gillen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed a large amount of Charlie's poetry. I loved the transmasc perspective as I myself am transmasc. I found myself related to a lot of these poems.