{"product_id":"tvrdy-josh-smut-psalmpb","title":"Tvrdy, Josh: Smut Psalm","description":"\u003cp\u003eButton Poetry, paperback\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePublication Date: December 3, 2024\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePublisher Marketing: \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWinner of Button Poetry’s 2023 Chapbook Contest, Josh Tvrdy’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eSmut Psalm\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis a queer coming-of-age, equally drenched in religious guilt and eroticism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSmut Psalm\u003c\/em\u003e’s poems reckon with self-discovery and sexual curiosity–interspersed with “Church Board Interrogation” interludes, which act as a dialogue between a homophobic church voice and a witty, increasingly defiant poetic speaker. Altogether, Tvrdy crafts an intimate, surreal spectacle.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eSmut Psalm\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eshapes the raw messiness of queer adolescence into its own kind of holiness. Charming and intoxicating, Tvrdy’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eSmut Psalm\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis a strange, sinewy experience that can’t be missed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this stunning come-of-age, shame is a den of vipers—a beloved father may be lost among them. Holiness can come violently unhinged, at a touch or a sound. We all long for tenderness. Longing is as human as it is holy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e–Gina Franco, The Accidental\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat a little book of gems. A boy, looking at the world through a hollowed out cucumber, rubbing his father’s vast back with lotion, the spot he can’t quite reach. Tvrdy’s hand is steady, gaze intent, heart wide open—painfully, but humorously, truthful.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e–Dorianne Laux, Only as the Day Is Long\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese smut psalms render the spectrum of desire. Family, religion, kink, home, and queer agency are singular forces, but they also touch, overlap. Playfulness is a survival strategy and a craft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e–Eduardo C. Corral, Guillotine\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Open Books: A Poem Emporium","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44975957114903,"sku":"9781638341154","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0004\/6497\/7956\/files\/Tvrdy-SP-marketingcover.jpg?v=1775933944","url":"https:\/\/open-books-a-poem-emporium.myshopify.com\/products\/tvrdy-josh-smut-psalmpb","provider":"Open Books: A Poem Emporium","version":"1.0","type":"link"}