So much of life is made of little deaths and rebirths. We all, at some point in our lives, are forced to leave a life or love behind; we must lose who we thought we were in favour of who we are. Often this ruptures, causing a mess. We don't do it perfectly. In some stories we're called the villain, and in others, the victim.
What does it mean to be called something? And what does it mean to choose what you're called? How do we hold the duality of harm and healing? What does it feel like to step into a reinvention of self, one that may not yet be fully structured?
DEADNAME is a collection of poems that shares the coming of age of one trans and queer person in the new millennia, yet it echoes across all identities to show how embracing the liberating and revelatory act of queer love and transition can not only free queer people, but all of us.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abhainn Connolly (they/them) is a trans and queer poet that splits their time between Drogheda, Ireland and the Pacific Northwest of the USA. Their written work can be found in esteemed Irish & UK literary journals like Poetry Ireland Review, Banshee Lit, and Oxford Poetry, as well as US publishers like HAD, Frontier, and Hole in the Head Review. They were a finalist for Write Bloody's Jack McCarthy Book Prize in 2021 and longlisted for the Frontier New Voices Contest 2022. Their debut released in 2023. Find them on Instagram at @meabhainn.
So much of life is made of little deaths and rebirths. We all, at some point in our lives, are forced to leave a life or love behind; we must lose who we thought we were in favour of who we are. Often this ruptures, causing a mess. We don't do it perfectly. In some stories we're called the villain, and in others, the victim.
What does it mean to be called something? And what does it mean to choose what you're called? How do we hold the duality of harm and healing? What does it feel like to step into a reinvention of self, one that may not yet be fully structured?
DEADNAME is a collection of poems that shares the coming of age of one trans and queer person in the new millennia, yet it echoes across all identities to show how embracing the liberating and revelatory act of queer love and transition can not only free queer people, but all of us.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abhainn Connolly (they/them) is a trans and queer poet that splits their time between Drogheda, Ireland and the Pacific Northwest of the USA. Their written work can be found in esteemed Irish & UK literary journals like Poetry Ireland Review, Banshee Lit, and Oxford Poetry, as well as US publishers like HAD, Frontier, and Hole in the Head Review. They were a finalist for Write Bloody's Jack McCarthy Book Prize in 2021 and longlisted for the Frontier New Voices Contest 2022. Their debut released in 2023. Find them on Instagram at @meabhainn.
