Before she became an award-winning novelist, Michelle Tea wrote poems about life, love, and heartbreak
“Hers is an art of emotions and direct statements, casual and harsh at once.” –Publishers Weekly
“A wonderfully light and simultaneously deep collection… Her poetry speaks with a disciplined and passionate clarity.” –San Francisco Chronicle
“Tea writes with a raw-hearted, wry but wide-eyed ebullience, rendering dyke bohemia with intense, gritty, glittering romanticism.” –San Francisco Bay Guardian
Before penning her contemporary classic novel, Valencia, Tea wrote wonderfully honest narrative poems, which she self-published in small editions, now collected here for the first time. These poems bring to life Tea’s early experiences, from the challenging family home she left in Massachusetts, through college and Tucson sex work, to a more fulfilling existence in San Francisco, where queer activism includes risky affairs, alcohol and drug fueled adventures, and occasional self doubt. A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2004, a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, and a Book Sense 76 pick.
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Hi, I'm Michelle Tea
Michelle Tea is the author of over a dozen books, including the cult-classic Valencia, the illustrated Rent Girl, and the speculative memoir Black Wave. She is the recipient of awards from the Guggenheim, Lambda Literary, and Rona Jaffe Foundations, PEN/America, and other institutions. Knocking Myself Up is her latest memoir. Tea's cultural interventions include brainstorming the international phenomenon Drag Queen Story Hour, co-creating the Sister Spit queer literary performance tours, and occupying the role of Founding Director at RADAR Productions, a Bay Area literary organization, for over a decade. She also helmed the imprints Sister Spit Books at City Lights Publishers, and Amethyst Editions at The Feminist Press. She produces and hosts the Your Magic podcast, wherein which she reads tarot cards for Roxane Gay, Alexander Chee, Phoebe Bridgers and other artists, as well as the live tarot show Ask the Tarot on Spotify Greenroom.
