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I am not a poetry reader. That's on me, definitely not Ocean Vuong. There were some lines I thought were quite lovely.

I'm winning even / if it just looks like / my fingers are shaking

Nobody's free without breaking open

I was made to die but I'm here to stay

It seems to me like a roller coaster. The speaker moves from gutwrenching despair to the heights of victory. Maybe. #QueerBC @PuddleJumper
There's death. Then dancing.

This is the first discussion post for #QueerBC

This is for both Alan Hollinghurst and Ocean Vuong

I've put up a few questions that you can answer or you can just comment with your thoughts about the book you read

As a reminder May‘s author will be Neon Yang

A powerful collection of poetry following Vuong‘s journey of grief after the loss of his mother.

Incisive and sometimes brutal, this is a wonderful collection. But for me, Dear Rose was the strongest poem, by far, and actually brought me to tears & ended up with me texting my mother to let her know I love her. 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

This is a section from “Reasons for Staying,“ my favorite poem from this. You can read the full poem here: https://griffinpoetryprize.com/poem/reasons-for-staying-vuong/

I definitely didn't get all of these poems, but even the bits and pieces I did were powerful and evocative.

#QueerBC #NationalPoetryMonth

I‘m at 60%, one of the characters is trying to pry into the big mysterious scandal at the center of the book, and I‘ve realized that I just don‘t care about whatever it is or whoever is involved. 😅 I‘m just bored.

Which is a pity because Hollinghurst is excellent at grounding his stories in a time and place. I think I‘ll have to try a different book by him at another time.

Really interested in the main character but I couldn't take the awfulness of the situation.

#Roll100 #36
#QueerBC

Sharing for @puddlejumper Mays #queerbc author has been chosen! For more information and to join in see original post:
https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2856215

General consensus was to have one author in May and the other in June.

So May‘s #QueerBC author will be Neon Yang!

What do you think you'll read? If you've got any recommendations, drop them in the comments

Don't forget April we're reading Alan Hollinghurst and poetry by Ocean Vuong

There's a tie between Neon Yang and Zen Cho for May's #QueerBC author

This is the first time this has happened, so we can have a tie breaker or have both authors

Let me know what you would prefer

These poems really unsettled me. The stories Vuong tells here hit me deep and more than once I could relate to the texts. What an impressive writer he is. His voice vibrates and resonates with my soul. Deeply.

#queerbc @PuddleJumper