CRUEL/CRUELDior J. Stephens 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

Haki Madhubuti

human beings and nature

beyond the anger and wisdom of Black America

all exploring the so-called pathetic or awkwardly-felt moments and revelations around which lives are both built and undone

Natalie Diaz

correction and apology

Deftly dissolving the seam between language and sensation

"Without the copying process

the appearance of parables: mountains

and sustain themselves on mini pizza rolls

As Anselm Berrigan has written: "Doug Lang's poems are the only poems that matter

proza en poëzie