Postcard from P-town

by Steven Riel

Poems. Hand-tied chapbook. Runner-up for the 2008 Robin Becker Chapbook Award, selected by Robin Becker:

"What do Tennessee Williams, Lena Horne, Chris Evert, Robert Goulet and Kitty Carlisle have in common? Steven Riel celebrates them all in this stylish collection of poems that examines the social construction of 'effeminacy' with an ironic artfulness, looking at gender performance in fresh and probing ways."

Cover image: "Fight Like a Man" by Sean-Michael Rau; used by permission.

Genres: Poetry

28 pages, hand-tied chapbook

First published March 1, 2009

Reviews

[Elliel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this small rare find. I found it on the "free books" shelf of my local library. I'm glad I found it. This book of poetry feels like a love letter to LGBT people from across history. It feels like both a heart break and a homecoming. There were so many names I had never come across in my personal queer studies. I loved the opportunity, this 28 page chapbook, to learn even more names I should commit to memory. It's given me hope and reminded me of the queer community's resilience.

I hope if you ever get the chance to read it that you take it. It's a good but rare book. My favorite poem was "Ishmael's Afterthoughts" on page 14-16.