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A review by honeyandthyme
Lord of the Butterflies by Andrea Gibson
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
From small, intimate moments between lovers to overarching, political poems, this collection does an excellent job of encompassing the American queer experience. The pacing from work to work is lovely - a good mix of shorter/ longer poems and heavy/lighthearted topics.
My greatest mistake was reading “Orlando” in public. Of all the poems, this one most thoroughly sucker punched me in the gut. It is incredibly difficult to read, and perfectly portrays the terror inherent in the LGBTQ+ community after the Pulse Nightclub. There are no words to fully express how the author’s amazing writing explores and contextualizes that day. It’s a poem that never should have needed to be written, but because it was, I’m glad Gibson was its author.
Not all poems were as raw as that one, but all were equally as breathtakingly written.
My greatest mistake was reading “Orlando” in public. Of all the poems, this one most thoroughly sucker punched me in the gut. It is incredibly difficult to read, and perfectly portrays the terror inherent in the LGBTQ+ community after the Pulse Nightclub. There are no words to fully express how the author’s amazing writing explores and contextualizes that day. It’s a poem that never should have needed to be written, but because it was, I’m glad Gibson was its author.
Not all poems were as raw as that one, but all were equally as breathtakingly written.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Suicide