Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Perfect Bastard: Poems

The Perfect Bastard: Poems

Carver Johnson, Quinn

Paperback

General Poetry

Publisher Price: $18.00

ISBN10: 0810146509
ISBN13: 9780810146501
Publisher: Curbstone Press
Published: Sep 15 2023
Pages: 120
Weight: 0.40
Height: 0.24 Width: 5.91 Depth: 8.90
Language: English
Winner of the 2024 LAMBDA Literary Award in LGBTQ+ Poetry

An innovative poetic interrogation of wrestling, queerness, and staying true to oneself

Quinn Carver Johnson's debut collection, The Perfect Bastard, follows its titular protagonist, a nonbinary and queer professional wrestler, as they travel across Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri, working for a booker known as the Puppeteer. Inspired by their idol Adrian Street, the Perfect Bastard strives to positively represent queerness and resist the Puppeteer's stereotypical and demeaning kayfabe. In the ring, they face off against the likes of champion Jack Holiday and the First Crusher, but their most important battles, against the Puppeteer, take place behind the scenes. They must choose between person and persona, authenticity and humiliating hype, if they want to succeed in the industry.

When offered success on the grandest scale--the championship belt--in exchange for mocking their own queerness, the Perfect Bastard questions their path: Will they betray their identity to achieve their dream, or will they walk away from the world of professional wrestling--a world that refuses to make a genuine, healthy space for them?

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