![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/There-Back-Again-Tour-1-1-819x1024.png\")
Still read for the book recs! I have an absolutely FIRE schedule lined up for the summer, including Stephen Graham Jones, Lincoln Michel, Carmen Maria Machado, Justin Carter, LJ Pemberton, and a book about being a water protector. Come hang. Besides, it’s not like the LINKS aren’t going to be great. They’re just not going to be current. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What I’ve Been Reading This Week:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A book that you’ll be unsurprised to learn that your man the shipwrecked sailor bought based on title alone. Another book that I’ve read before. A book that traces a family lineage of generational tragedy, and pulls from history to illustrate its themes. A book that does the exact same thing, but pulls from religion to illustrate its themes. Two books by authors who use they\/them pronouns\u2014Pride Month has temporarily become nonbinary month on the Shipwrecked Sailor blog, given the last two weeks. I’m talking, of course, about Ankle Deep In Pacific Water<\/em> by E. Hughes and Judas & Suicide<\/em> by Maya Williams. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ankle Deep In Pacific Water<\/strong><\/em> by E. Hughes: <\/strong>not entirely unlike my beloved Bob Sykora’s Utopians In Love<\/em><\/a>, in that it dedicates a lot of time to historical accounts. Have to give a big TW for physical abuse of children, though. These poems are at times harrowing, but far more often heartbreaking. I was reminded a lot of someone on Bluesky\u2014possibly former Cracked<\/em> comrade<\/a> Cezary Jan Strusiewicz<\/a>\u2014saying that you are a child’s pillar of safety, and to hit them is to shatter that safety in a uniquely devastating way. That said, again, these poems aren’t all sadness and hard stuff. There’s an elegance to each line, and a compelling and convincing story of how trauma moves through generations is there, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Judas & Suicide <\/strong><\/em>by Maya Williams: <\/strong>I had to revisit my friend’s book before going to see them! I appreciated this book even more the second time around. The first time, I hadn’t really read Sonia Sanchez or Gwendolyn Brooks. There’s definitely an influence of 50s-70s Black revolutionary women in the poetic style here. There is also a refreshing reminder that Judas is canonically a traitor and a snitch\u2014things I know<\/em>, but sometimes gloss over when I’m thinking about the cool idea that Judas was the first vampire, or making the case that his actions weren’t his fault, since it was preordained that Jesus would be betrayed and murdered. Remove divine plans from the equation, and Judas is a guy who sold out his revolutionary, take-care-of-the-poor friend to FBI. Speaking of taking care of each other, Maya’s book is a great reminder to do that. There’s also a moment\u2014sorta like in I Keep My Exoskeletons To Myself<\/em>, when Kris uses her daughter’s name for the first time<\/a>\u2014where the speaker of the poems refers to themselves as “them” for the first time. This comes after lots of poems of femininity either failed or perilously masked. It’s incredibly moving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n LINKS!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Something to listen to while you browse? My very dear friend, former bandmate, and the bandleader for Chattanooga’s own Pinch Hitter, is about to release a new album. Let’s listen to the single, “Every Little Nazi,” and let’s all have clean consciences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Ankle-Deep](\"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IMG_6111-1024x682.jpg\")