Binded

by H. Warren

“I sew myself together / again and again” in urgent vulnerability, H Warren’s debut collection, Binded , discloses their reality of living nonbinary in the rural context of Alaska. With breasts bound by compression, these poems explore the space that binds the body into itself, stuck in unrelenting forces of binary politics and violence. Each poem is a stitching and restitching of the self—an examination of trans-survival. This is a courageous collection—an anthem of Queer resilience and a reminder of the healing powers of community care.

Genres: Poetry, Queer, LGBT, Genderfluid

80 pages, Paperback

Published July 11, 2023

Reviews

[sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy shit this is so beautifully written. Read in a sitting, never experienced such a feeling of being seen regarding gender. Spoke so beautifully of pain and hope, needs to be spoken aloud as you read

[Courtney LeBlanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of poems about identity, queerness, trauma, Alaska, being non-binary, and survival.

from Clipped: "I forgot the way my tongue snaps in half / when men speak louder / over my own speaking"

from My First Chest Binder: "if I suffocate / in this / compression / call it / a life well spent"

from Anti-Bathroom Bill: A Poem With P: "P is for paraphrase / praising psalms / picked precise / purposed / for powerful protestations / interpreting a straight and / special selection / for appropriate / places for piss / and scripture"

[Terrance · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of H Warren’s Binded calls to mind an old adage about verb tense and human dignity: “meat is hung, people are hanged.” Bound versus binded. Fitting, given how this collection delves into intimate moments of the trans experience in beautiful, open, exhausted rebellion against the systems of power striving to dehumanize us. Whether killing houseplants, working in conversation with Lucille Clifton, or witnessing a list of horrors called God, Warren’s poetry is strikingly personal. And the personal is ALWAYS political.

[Gabriel Noel · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC given by Edelweiss+ for Honest Review

A really touching and honest collection of poetry and prose about queerness, being trans, and learning to live in your body.

While some poems lacked a refined finish the rest made up for with vigor and rich imagery.

My favorite poems are: "What We Don't Talk About May Do You Harm", "Blinking In Knots", and "A Love Song."

[Cori Dunton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely gripping. Buy this book immediately!

[Juliann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not a big poetry person, but this book did hit home with me. I knew I was going to finish when I had tears rolling down my face after reading the first poem.

[Elizabeth Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found most of these poems emotionally riveting in the exploration of the author’s nonbinary gender identity and life in rural Alaska. There is a mixture of different forms, but all resonate with the topic of that poem. The political commentary within the poems especially stood out and resonated with me, particularly “Anti-Bathroom Bill: A Poem with P.” Favorite Poems: Anti-Bathroom Bill: A Poem with P, Buying Clothes, What Wounds Become, Oil and Ice, Your Resistance to My Transition, Break Up,