Paces the Cage

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Interspersed with ambient sound, lighting and stage directions, Henry-Smith's poems read as an improvised performance fusing the literal and metaphoricalS*an D. Henry-Smith's secon d full-length book of poems, Paces the Cage, lifts off from their previous book by expanding an already-queered language to near breaking point. Through the complexities of Henry-Smith's personal experiences and the use of a poetically fragmented voice, the literal and metaphorical are remixed in real time. Henry-Smith's occasional inclusion of ambient sounds, stage directions, lighting cues and an environmentally musical language helps to build a rich auditory landscape that enhances the immersive quality of the poems, creating a deep and evocative experience by this adventurous and endlessly exciting poet. The spontaneous shifts in tone, style and subject matter offer a mirror to personal and historical narratives of oppression, adversity, the act of speaking and what it means to be truly heard by your community of fellow creators.S*an D. Henry-Smith (born 1992) is a poet and photographer. Their first poetry collection, Wild Peach (2020), was published by Futurepoem and shortlisted for the PEN Open Book Award. They are also the author of two chapbooks. Show more