Binded

(Paperback)

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I sew myself together / again and again in urgent vulnerability, H Warrens 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 selfan examination of trans-survival. This is a courageous collectionan anthem of Queer resilience and a reminder of the healing powers of community care.

Reviews

"These are all love poems--to Alaska, to a dog, to the homeless community and the queer community, to one's own body. And if they spill over with indignation and rage then it's only because they are so full of love. Binded is an important book, a beautiful and expansive book, both confrontational and tender. You'll want to read these poems aloud, shout them, sing them. A marvelous debut."
--David Nikki Crouse, Director of Creative Writing at University of Washington

"In their debut collection, Binded, H A Warren tackles the infinite constraints of our current context, how individuals and institutions try to remake, rename, and undo us, even before birth. Here, suffering recognizes suffering: 'she writes a list of her horrors and titles it God / or whatever God names her in the night / black latches like shadow puppets.' With musicality and visceral imagery, Warren illustrates how a desire to be seen and understood often leaves us vulnerable to being targeted and prescribed. Yet, 'if I suffocate in this compression, ' the speaker proclaims, 'call it a life well spent.' And a life well spent it is--Warren is a poet spurned by empathy and kinship. Here is someone who understands how the body, especially a nonbinary one, is always in process and that we are made through our own ever-unfolding imagining of ourselves: 'when I tell you I am transitioning / what I mean is / I am always in transition.' These poems sound the alarm at how our eroding political and economic systems continue to demean and endanger so many of us. We would be wise to listen, 'our bodies bent / in riot.'"
--Caitlin Scarano, author of The Necessity of Wildfire and Do Not Bring Him Water

Author Bio

H Warren (they/them) is a poet and musician from Fairbanks, Alaska. They received their MFA in creative writing poetry from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and are currently a MSW candidate with the University of New England online. H Warren is a 2019 Rasmuson Individual Artist Award recipient.