Reliefs

Winner of the 2022 Thomas Shapcott Award

To be a man
is to scrutinise
all men.

And then lie about it.

In this striking debut, Jarad Bruinstroop offers a frank and tender exploration of Queer history, art, beauty and pain. These poems delight in the audacious power of vulnerability and the revolutionary potential of Queer joy. With skill and wit, Bruinstroop plumbs the manifold pleasures of language in search of connection, transcendence and home.

By bearing witness to the lives of Queer people past and present, Reliefs celebrates the resilience of the desiring body and pulses with renewed possibilities.