Book Review: Debut Poetry Collection 'Scream/Queen' Views Trans Identity Through Horror

The LGBTQ+ community has a long, sometimes fraught relationship with the horror genre; there's a kinship in the Othering, in being feared and hated and cast out from society. CD Esklison's new poetry collection examines this connection, whether overtly or by putting the two things side by side and leaving the associations up to the reader's interpretation.

Eskilson's broad talent belies the fact that "Scream/Queen" is a debut. Certainly the poet is well published, with many entries in the collection previously appearing in various anthologies and websites, but the cohesiveness of the collection makes the book seem almost predestined.

"Scream/Queen" is broken into parts with titles that play on sub-genres. "Para/Normal," "Found/ Footage," and "Body/Horror" take a more literal second meaning as the individual words separated by a slash.

Employing a whole range of poetry types, from the more common couplets and free verse to blackout and cleave poetry, Eskilson's voice pitches between lyrical legato and percussive staccato. The book's back cover mentions off-handedly that the author was in a band once, a fact that seems random until you experience the musicality of their language.

Eskilson references favorites like "Halloween," "The Witch" and "The Fly," noting that "each horror movie archives a resistance."

The poems examine the celebration and sorrow behind that concept with intelligence and verve. In "How Are They Picking the Next Halloween Director?" Eskilson draws parallels between a horror movie antagonist and an unassuming queer person upon whom society projects fear; who, regardless of how small and non-threatening they try to make themselves, is seen as a menace.

But it's not all scary monsters and creepy crawlies; one entry about "When Meryl Streep Sings 'Dancing Queen' in 'Mamma Mia!'" imagines the women in Eskilson's family getting to experience that synth-crescendo, movie-climax level of happiness.

The collection is introspective and highly vulnerable, showcasing revealing poems about chronic illness and failed relationships. Eskilson writes in conversation with contemporaries, family history and current events, weaving in interviews, pop culture references and other poets' work for a solid collection that respects the art while pushing boundaries.

"Scream/Queen" is a breezy 80-ish pages, but definitely not a book to breeze through.