{"product_id":"the-willies-9781943735662","title":"The Willies","description":"\u003cb\u003eAdam Falkner is a poet with a heart of gold and a spine of steel. We need his prophetic voice in these bleak times. \u003c\/b\u003e --DR. CORNEL WEST \u003ci\u003eThe Willies\u003c\/i\u003e, Falkner's first full-length poetry collection, offers a sharp and vulnerable portrait of the journey into queerhood in America. Departing from a more familiar coming out narrative he centers the stories of dueling selves. Masquerading white boy. Child of an addict. Closeted varsity athlete. Drifting seamlessly between the scholarly and conversational, Falkner's poems showcase a versatility of language and a courageous hunger, unafraid of depicting the costumes we use to hide legacies of toxic masculinity. Through snapshots both tragic and humorous, merciless and humane, Falkner offers powerful new ways of understanding the intersectional linkage that binds queer shame to cultural appropriation. At its core, \u003ci\u003eThe Willies \u003c\/i\u003e asks us to consider who we will become if we do not grapple with what scares us most. \u003cb\u003e Advance praise for \u003ci\u003e The Willies \u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e Adam Falkner has heard what hums at the marrow of men who deceive themselves in order to survive America. \u003cb\u003e-- SAEED JONES \u003c\/b\u003e This is truth that changes the air it reaches. This is poetry that, damn it, you can't shake. \u003cb\u003e-- PATRICIA SMITH \u003c\/b\u003e In these urgent and sometimes mysterious poems, Falkner traces questions of identity, family, love and the self. His language is angular and surprising, his content intimate and profound. \u003cb\u003e-- ANDREW SOLOMON\u003c\/b\u003e I am thankful for the incisive mind and eye of Adam Falkner. In the poems, the work of balancing several selves at once is done gently, deftly, and with the brilliance of someone curious about how limitless they can become. \u003cb\u003e-- HANIF ABDURRAQIB\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Button Poetry\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/04\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781943735662\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 96\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.30lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.30h x 5.40w x 0.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeword\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/26\/2020\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Adam Falkner","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36671888392348,"sku":"9781943735662","price":13.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_bda0a954-1222-482e-825a-7b5c31f7eeec.jpg?v=1603926466","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-willies-9781943735662","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}