UYP 7

Dior J. Stephens

i.

PLUM HONEY PLUM SMOOTH PLUM OVERABUNDANCE
PLUM SPIRAL PLUM MERITOCRACY PLUM HAY BEETLE
PLUM WEIGHT OF ALL PLUM OVERTURNED REINSTATED
REDEFINED PLUM SHIVER LIKE HONEYBEES PLUM SASHAY
IN THE GOLD SWAT PLUM INTERRUPTION FROM THE SUB/
DIMENSION PLUM RUTABAGA PLUM SACRIFICE ON MOLE
HILL PLUM BELIEF THAT ONE DAY THE SIGNS WILL BE
CLEAR AS FROST PLUM FIRE FISH LIKES NOTHING RAW
PLUM FOOL PLUM IRONY PLUM MEAT THAT GRINDS AND
REDEFINES PLUM SUFFRAGE FOR AN OVERDUE SPRING
PLUM HONEYSUCKLE PLUM PLUM WHAT WASTE IS IMPLICIT
IN FRUITION PLUM MIGHT PLUM DIRECT HOLY PLUM HOLY

PLUM HOLY,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

ii.
pretending at something,
plum split open,
purple puss—
                                            playing computer,
                                            billowing
                                                          dry
                                            palm,

praying sideways,
praying more,
                                            cause
possibly

pirouetting up riptides
               with a
pumpkin headed
prissy-boy
pristine in
painted neon,

 

pretending &
polling & proclivities &

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Headshot of Dior Stephens.

Dior J. Stephens (they/he), a proud Pisces hailing from Lake Erie, is the author of three chapbooks, with their debut full-length collection, CRUEL/CRUEL, now available from Nightboat Books. Dior has been recognized as a Cave Canem, Lambda Literary, and Sewanee fellow. They previously served as the Managing Poetry Editor before moving into the co-ElC role at Foglifter Journal and Press. Dior’s work can be found in journals such as HaveHasHad, Peach Mag, Somesuch Stories, and fourteen poems, among others.

CRUEL/CRUEL is the manifestation of a Black, queer voice grappling with the intricacies of (un)belonging and identity. These poems use genres of queerness and race to reckon with the pervasive power of oppressive institutions, shaped by art and a soundtrack of Black musical traditions of resistance: from jazz to soul to experimental to hip hop. A hybrid visual and literary object, CRUEL/CRUEL feels relentlessly present, and yet emphasizes the archival and documentary as intrinsic to our personal and collective survivals.

“Stephens’s beguiling book puzzles out the interconnections of seemingly opposing forces as it wrestles with issues of race, language, and legibility in the wake of 2020’s twin cataclysms of police violence and COVID-19.”

-Harriet Books

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