DEED
Reeks: Wesleyan Poetry Series
torrin a. greathouse
- DEED,
- the
- follow-up
- to
- torrin
- a.
- greathouse's
- 2022
- Kate
- Tufts
- Discovery
- Award
- winning
- debut,
- Wound
- from
- the
- Mouth
- of
- a
- Wound,
- is
- a
- formally
- and
- lyrically
- innovative
- exploration
- of
- queer
- sex
- and
- desire,
- and
- what
- it
- can
- cost.
- Sprawling
- across
- art,
- eros,
- survival,
- myth,
- etymology,
- and
- musical
- touchstones
- from
- Bruce
- Springsteen
- to
- Against
- Me!,
- this
- new
- book
- both
- subverts
- and
- pays
- homage
- to
- the
- poetic
- canon,
- examining
- an
- artistic
- lineage
- that
- doesn't
- always
- love
- trans
- or
- disabled
- people
- back.
- Written
- in
- a
- broad
- range
- of
- received
- and
- invented
- forms—from
- caudate
- sonnets
- and
- the
- sestina,
- to
- acrostics
- and
- the
- burning
- haibun—DEED
- indicts
- violent
- systems
- of
- carceral,
- medical,
- and
- legal
- power
- which
- disrupt
- queer
- and
- disabled
- love
- and
- solidarity,
- as
- well
- as
- the
- potentially
- vicarious
- manner
- in
- which
- audiences
- consume
- art.
- This
- collection
- is
- a
- poetic
- triptych
- centered
- on
- the
- question
- of
- how,
- in
- spite
- of
- all
- these
- complications,
- to
- write
- an
- honest
- poem
- about
- desire.
- At
- its
- core,
- DEED
- is
- a
- reminder
- of
- how
- tenderness
- can
- be
- made
- a
- shield,
- a
- weapon,
- or
- a
- kind
- of
- faith,
- depending
- on
- the
- mouth
- that
- holds
- it.[sample
- text]from
- EtymythologyI'm
- clocked
- by
- etymology,by
- the
- way
- even
- stilettos
- take
- their
- name
from
- a
- knife.
- The
- way
- a
- knife,
- well-honed,
can
- strip
- anything
- to
- the
- bone.
- Bearwith
- me,
- sometimes
- even
- the
- myths
- grow
blurry
- in
- the
- distance.
- The
- root
- of
- Artemis,
goddess
- of
- the
- hunt,
- is
- still
- unknown,but
- likely
- comes
- from
- artamos—butcher.
Let's
- call
- this
- a
- kind
- of
- etymythology,
post
- hoc
- history;
- let's
- call
- Artemisthe
- root.
- For
- her
- wild
- heart.
- Her
- failed
femininity.
- Goddess
- of
- gender-fucked
girls.
- Crooked
- prayer.
- The
- word
- worshipis
- shaped
- from
- two
- shards—meaning
- worth
&
- its
- giving.
- A
- mouth
- gives
- faith
- shape
like
- clay.
- I
- mean
- that
- to
- pray
- is
- to
- goda
- God.
- To
- be
- butch
- &
- butcher
the
- myth
- of
- a
- son,
- was
- to
- make
a
- goddess
- of myself.
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