Plush: Selected Poems of Sky Gilbert, Courtnay McFarlane, Jeffery Conway, RMVaughan and David Trinidad

Ian C. Nelson is assistant director of libraries at the University of
Saskatchewan, and président de la Troupe du Jour, Regina Summer Stage.

The editors are right on the mark when they introduce this anthology of
gay poetry by characterizing the poems as “skillfully crafted,
thoughtful, intricate and gorgeous studies of the intersection of the
personal and political” and the poets’ voices as “distinctive,
playful and penetrating.” (That the five poets are widely published
does not excuse the lack of biographical notes.) The line between many
of these pieces and finely polished short stories is almost nonexistent.
More than one poet describes sexual encounters as if drawing from a very
personal journal. Sky Gilbert’s pieces are intensely political. From
David Trinidad’s poems, one can practically construct a history of
early 1960s pop songs and of the Barbie-doll phenomenon, to say nothing
of masculine-feminine constructs. R.M. Vaughan’s work displays perhaps
the greatest variety of subject and style. Virtually all of the pieces
are a joy to read. Each poem is distinguished from its neighbors through
the use of different type styles; the shifts from bold to roman require
some visual adjustment.