A Shiver in the Leaves

In his debut poetry collection, Luther Hughes explores the interior and exterior symbiosis of a gay Black man finding refuge from depression and death through love and desire. The book depicts a Seattle entrenched in violent anti-Blackness and filled with vulnerable and personal encounters. Through reverent and careful imagery, Hughes fashions deeply saturated, tender vignettes that reckon relationships between family and friends, lovers, nature, and the police-state. The collection is stunningly cinematic in its portrayal of the dualities of a queer Black poet's life in the city, offering a reimagining of what it means to be alive in a body and to live.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 80 pages
Publication date: 10 November 2022
Publisher: BOA Editions, Limited

Nestled against the backdrop of Seattle's flora, fauna, and cityscape, Luther Hughes' debut poetry collection delves into the intricate interplay between the interior and exterior realms of a gay Black man seeking refuge from the menacing shadows of depression and death through the embrace of love and desire.

Hughes skillfully transports readers to a Seattle deeply entrenched in violent anti-Blackness, where vulnerable and personal encounters from both the speakers past and present unfold. Through reverent and meticulous imagery, he crafts deeply saturated, tender vignettes that explore the intricate relationships between family and friends, lovers, nature, and the oppressive police-state apparatus.

A Shiver in the Leaves is a stunningly cinematic portrayal of the perpetual dualities that shape the life of a queer Black poet in the city. Hughes' profound interrogation of selfhood yields a profoundly intimate and viscerally powerful reimagining of what it means to inhabit a body and what it might entail to live fully.

Weight: 174g
Dimension: 177 x 228 x 9 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781950774678