Man Eater

by silas denver melvin

a micro collection of original poetry (13 poems) focused on gay love, sex, & relationships under the metaphor of cannibalism

Genres: Poetry, Queer, LGBT, Horror

18 pages, ebook

First published September 15, 2021

About the author

silas denver melvin is a transsexual poet from New Hampshire. His debut poetry book, Grit, published with Sunday Mornings at The River Press, was released in November of 2020.

His work has been hosted by Doghouse Press, Antler Velvet, The Candid Review, Hominum Journal, The Garlic Press, Bleating Thing, Toyon Literary, Bullshit Lit, and other outlets.

silas is a Pushcart Prize and two-time Best of the Net nominee. He is currently the head poetry editor for Beaver Magazine.

Reviews

[Vee]

I had a dream last night that I was a werewolf. The way I entered homes was twisted and unnatural, searching for connection in a cruel manner. My father saw me through the window and was horrified.
I woke up scared, convinced it was a memory, not a dream. I find that nightmares stay the same, and that fear and desire are the same in the place dreams are born. I long to express myself through violence and self-sacrifice; my mother is shocked when I ask if she would bite my fingers off, it's safer to tell her this than the truth, to test her and see if she would still love a monster

[jordi]

silas denver melvin 🤝 using cannibalism as a metaphor for queer love

[theo]

its been days since ive finished reading this and i'm still thinking about it - some of the poems really hit home for me, and some of them take my breath away. a gem of a book that i think ill end up rereading and rereading in the future.

[Kitty]

when will i remember that autophagia is better between love birds?

[Madi]

“the third time we fucked, i couldn’t find a way to write poems about you.
this is how i knew it was our end.”
I wish this had been longer, but was so happy to devour

[Dol Leander]

make a mess all over a perfectly good countertop and let a lover drag his tongue up your nosebleed

this collection made me ache

[sonam karma tshomo]

"what’s so wrong with wanting?
what’s so wrong with wanting
a love that comes along blood-warm?"

"all the old cuts softened in bone broth.
the kitchen smells like love & like blood,
& really, can you give an example of one without the other?"

"autophagia is better between love birds"

oh god what beautiful writing. i reread the entire collection multiple times. visceral, raw and yearning, tongues bitten covered in blood and intimate soup brews, a metaphor for the nonconforming, codes in secret bliss.
couldn't help but think of of my beloved disjointed hannigram <3
i will be coming back many a time to revisit this.

[Cherry]

A fascinating read; it's very visceral but romantic at the same time. I've always liked when authors use cannibalism as a metaphor for love, and this collection satisfied all of that. I only wish that it was longer. My favourite poem has to be 'turning point'!

[zowie basil]

perfect. thrilling and calming. silas captures things like nobody else.

[Aj]

Unsettling in a good way.

[Alex Zaky]

incredible

[Fufu]

chef's kiss, makes me want to write an entire paper discussing the relationship between queerness and cannibalism

[Pei Yuan Li]

using cannibalism as an allegory is everything to me

[Fynn]

he says it had cannibalism in it.
he says naturally i thought of you.

gorgeous poetry!

[neo chiappe]

cannibalism & gay sex. my favorite two things! again, i really love what the author does with the words, it's like twisting the bones until they are shaped in a meaningful & beautiful way.

[chris]

I am so obsessed, I loved the writing, I truly did, like please somebody needs to open me up and eat me now.
I will keep rereading the poems for the rest of the week now