{"product_id":"trouble-the-water","title":"Trouble the Water","description":"\u003ch4\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWinner, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.boaeditions.org\/pages\/a-poulin-jr-poetry-prize\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eA. POULIN, JR. POETRY PRIZE\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFinalist, 2017 Kate Tufts Discovery Award\u003cbr\u003e2017 Thom Gunn Award for Gay Poetry\u003cbr\u003e2017 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry\u003cbr\u003e2017 Norma Farber First Book Award                                                                     \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRich in religious and artistic imagery, \u003cem\u003eTrouble the Wate\u003c\/em\u003er is an intriguing exploration of race, sexuality, and identity, particularly where self-hood is in constant flux. These intimate, sensual poems interweave pop culture and history—moving from the Bible through several artistic eras—to interrogate what it means to be, as Austin says, \u003cspan\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003efully human as a queer, black body\" in 21st century America.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003ePrimer for Sainthood\u003cspan\u003e”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eSo you want to kiss the passionflowers\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ein his hands, the blooming flies and blood?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eSo you would fast and serve his meals,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003emeats and bread, liquors, sweets?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eHappily, you say, drunk on the waters\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eof his smile. And if he does not smile\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ethat day? If out of boredom he says, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ekneel\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eand wash my feet, every day you must\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003edrink of this water.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e Happily, you say. Again\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ewith this happiness. And if he breaks you?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eBatters you with his fists? Batters you\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003elike a dorr and hands back your happiness\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e—a dozen knocked teeth—would you say\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAgain my lord?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e What wouldn’t you pay \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003efor an endless night with the god? O you\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ewho would starve for such music,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ethere is another sweetness saved for those\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ewho wash and bind the wounds, who join the feast.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003cem\u003eTrouble the Water\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003eSkilled with the ability to harness detail and stringent images, Derrick Austin creates a lush and smoldering landscape in which the very soul is tested.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eTrouble the Water\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis a book of devotion, a metaphysical book that troubles God, the landscape of Florida, the always-fallible bodies of men, and even the body of art. Austin writes: ‘Lord in the pigment, the crushed, colored stones. \/ Lord in the carved marble chest. I turn away \/ from art.’ But you will not be able to turn away from this beautiful debut.\u003cspan\u003e”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—C. Dale Young\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003eAustin’s remarkable debut collection opens with a quote from John 5:4–6 . . . foreshadowing how water, religion\/spirituality, and body focus become vehicles to explore being black, homosexual, male, and a human being in a troubling century. ‘San Souci’ epitomizes the sophistication of form and thought in Austin’s poetry by using an effect resembling Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors as the poem’s speaker reflects on paintings, how they reflect life, his body, his lover’s body, how he can see his lover as a painting or see the act of pleasuring another artfully reflected back to him. Whether encountering European catacombs or the Gulf Coast’s post-oil-spill devastation, all of Austin’s lyrical poems are poignant and empowered.” \u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eBooklist\u003c\/em\u003e, *Starred*\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This collection is well-suited to readers prepared interrogate what they love and what they distrust. In Austin’s hands, the exquisite can be ominous while the grotesque can turn charming, and his poems wisely assert that the world is unforgiving and yet full of mercy—that one can question beauty and yet still be beholden to it.” \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—Publishers Weekly\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003eTrouble the Water\u003c\/em\u003e is an auspicious debut, a deep and resonant volume which nurses wonder in the face of sorrow and anger, wonder in the presence of loss. Here we follow a speaker who proclaims early on, “my heart swims\/ in gladness at the changeable world.” I want to keep these words as a credo, recite them often. I want to receive the world this way every day.” \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—The Rumpus\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003eDerrick Austin’s stunning debut, \u003cem\u003eTrouble the Water\u003c\/em\u003e, gives readers unique insight on what it means to be a queer, black man in today’s world. He navigates the complicated worlds of race, sexuality, and religion with such fearlessness that we as readers can’t turn away even if we wanted to. . . . Austin is an important voice in poetry. His book comes at a time when it is becoming more and more difficult to ignore the social injustices these communities face. Trouble the Water is not just the title of Austin’s book; it is a command. The only question now is whether or not we will listen.” \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—PANK Magazine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“‘\u003c\/span\u003eExpect poison of the standing water,\u003cspan\u003e’\u003c\/span\u003e Blake warned, highlighting the dangers of imaginative stagnation. I’m now tempted to believe that Blake himself has sent us Derrick Austin and his remarkable collection, \u003cem\u003eTrouble the Water\u003c\/em\u003e. At once gospel and troubadour song, these deeply spiritual and expansively erotic poems are lucid, unflinching, urgent. This is an extraordinary debut.\u003cspan\u003e”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—Mary Szybist, winner of the National Book Award\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch6\u003ePublication Date: April 12, 2016\u003cbr\u003eISBN: \u003cstrong\u003e978-1-942683-04-9\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e© BOA Editions, Ltd. 2016\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BOA Editions, Ltd.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":8420423685,"sku":"9781942683049","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0982\/0178\/products\/TroubletheWater_FinalFront.jpg?v=1527683771","url":"https:\/\/shop.boaeditions.org\/products\/trouble-the-water","provider":"Boa Editions","version":"1.0","type":"link"}