Feats of Alchemy

by Donny Winter, Seth Stang (Illustrator), Alien Buddha (Contributor)

In his sophomore collection of poems, Donny Winter takes readers on a perilous adventure through a futuristic and dystopian world. His experimental free verse poems use science fiction, natural, and pop cultural images to metaphorically illustrate his experiences as a gay man navigating the different obstacles society presents after coming out. These poems create a cyberpunk inspired, symbolic world centered around the cyborg, Solus Arcane, who seeks to understand their existence free of oppressive forces and strives to unlearn the programming given to them by their oppressive creator. Together, our bodies are welded and soldered by the forces of those seeking to silence, erase, or oppress. Feats of Alchemy acts as a circuit board connecting us with pathways toward a self-sovereignty beyond artifice.

Genres: Poetry

112 pages, Paperback

Published October 13, 2021

About the author

Donny Winter is a poet residing in Midland, Michigan. He writes LGBTQ+ themed nature poetry rooted in sci-fi, cyberpunk, and solarpunk subgenres. His debut full-length collection, Carbon Footprint (Alien Buddha Press, 2020) topped Amazon's LGBTQ+ poetry list and his second full-length collection, Feats of Alchemy (Alien Buddha Press, 2021), topped both the LGBTQ+ poetry and American poetry lists. His recent chapbook of poems, Casting Seeds (Alien Buddha Press, 2022) was met with similar success.

His poems, "My Closet is a Reliquary", "My Therapist is a Bumper Sticker", and "On Being Ashamed to Cry", were nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Additionally, his poem "Alabaster" was nominated for the Best of the Net Award. Winter's poetry has been published in multiple magazines and literary journals including Sonder Midwest, Awakened Voices, and Millennium Pulp.

For more information on live events, past publications, and media, visit donnywinter -dot- com.

Reviews

[Arpi Kalikian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beyond amazing and I'm grateful that Donny is sharing his journey through his poems. I'm not a fan of dystopian but he incorporates those elements perfectly with his experiences. Plus I know a lot of these poems couldn't have been easy to write but must have been cathartic, just like the ones in Carbon Footprint. My faves if I had to pick would be the Queer Confessions, the ones he wrote for his partner, as well as his tributes to his colleague and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Also I loved the sass of Snowflake and him calling out bullshit. It's hard to pick faves from the collection because of how everything spoke to me, even if I haven't had the experiences he did.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donny Winter is excellent at self-expression and divulging his experiences in engaging poetry that rocked me to my core. The poems that spoke to be the most in this selection were: Positronic, Spillway, United states of mania, Snowflake, and Some might say. I look forward to reading more of his poetry.

[Matthew McGuirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winter weaves dystopian, science fiction and pop culture poetry into a narrative arc that any reader is going to get sucked into. Through a variety of poetic techniques, literary landscapes and pop culture through the years Donny makes his personal truths universally felt in the collection of poems. It's one you will go through from front to back in a sitting, but it will resonate much longer.

[Megan Vitale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Self-proclaimed “poetry novice” back again to review the talented Donny Winter. “Carbon Footprint” seemed to correct all my preconceived notions that comprehension and enjoyment from poetry was an unachievable goal, Winter’s sophomore collection has officially sealed the deal. “Feats of Alchemy” displays a clear point of view, and the collection’s progression seamlessly unfolds like a story. I think one of the most impressive aspects is Winter’s ability to cover a myriad of genre’s and somehow draw a connection to topics that are so relatable. I was able to throw the constructs of poetry out the door and just enjoy creative writing at its finest. The Queer Confessions series swept me off my feet and will absolutely tug at every reader’s heartstrings. That by itself could stand alone, but it plays a small part in a beautiful compilation. My final, and honestly most important take is that the voice he gives to the LGBTQ+ community is what the world needs. With that being said, I’m beyond excited for what else Donny Winter has in store for future works.