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Tiller and Shears
Paperback
ISBN13: 9781639809394
Publisher: Kelsay Books
Published: Oct 20 2026
Pages: 84
Weight: 0.27
Height: 0.20 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
In these deft and quietly dazzling poems, David Milley explores grief, the natural world, queer identity, and love. In Like You, the eleven-year-old narrator is told that, because he's gay, he'll never know love and should find an early, unmarked grave. Milley's book is a fierce, gorgeous rebuttal of that early lie. Writing into the white space of erased queer history, Milley uses ekphrasis and formal experimentation to exhume loss and celebrate devotion.
-Rebecca Jamieson, author, The Body of All Things
From the Jersey Devil in the pines to Poseidon rising from the sea, these poems reclaim places of queer recognition. Tiller and Shears shapes meaning through myth and tangible connection. Family poems deepen this truth, grounded in small human gestures that shape a life. In poems of queer history, names are spoken so they are not lost - memory becomes light in the dark, illuminating love that endures.
-Christine Redman-Waldeyer, Poetry Director of The Poetry Center, author, The Nest
Start with something small, begins Cygnus, a fitting invitation into this grounded, earthy collection that finds breath in even the most ordinary moments of the day. These poems roam back roads, hum through beehives, and stroll backyard gardens. Told with brutal honesty, each poem records subtleties through the poet's discerning eyes.
-Christine Salvatore, Geraldine R. Dodge poet, NJ State Council on the Arts fellow
David Milley's poems call for inclusion, championing queer voices and diverse perspectives. Treasure each line from this remarkable poet.
-Sarah Fertsch, 2024 Somers Point Poet Laureate
The extraordinary poems in David Milley's Tiller and Shears range in style and length from short poems like Cruised, to the narrative poem Names, which recapitulates the 1987 LGBTQ+ March on Washington. These poems reflect the author's deep affection for his subjects, a testament to lifelong love.
-Ernestine Whitman, author, Countermelodies: A Memoir in Sonata Form
David Milley's open-hearted sharing of the joy, fear, passion, pain, and devotion in his long marriage invites us all to experience the truth that love is love.
-Roberta W. Francis, ERA Education Consultant, Alice Paul Center for Gender Equity
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