Proceed – if the title of the very first poem in this collection, “I Want You to Fuck Me,” entices you rather than turns you off. You immediately know that Savannah Sipple is a straight shooter; you will also soon learn that she is comfortable about being queer. These poems take us along for the ride she is navigating away from the parts of a fundamentalist Eastern Kentucky background that shamed her – “a girl that fat should have bigger tits” - and into a full acceptance of who she is. Savannah Sipple is not trying to freak the reader out. She is welcoming the reader into a world that grapples with crucial questions directly, colloquially, wisely, and artistically. “Purging shame with every line, these poems love the Kentucky from which they rise as much as they reject the self-hatred that place instilled in a girl neither thin nor straight, and ultimately (and yes, even miraculously), emerge blatant about desire and body-proud.” – Nicole Brown. “The mingling of fear, eros, and outright violence in these poems is handled with that rare combination of vulnerability and tough candor--as well as a laugh-out-loud humor infused with Kentucky idiom . . . Considering again Sipple's title for this collection: What would Jesus do? . . . Savannah Sipple has been listening. To all of us. Let's stop hiding, y'all. And give a big welcome to one of our most vital new poets.” Justin Bigos. “This is an arresting and triumphant debut."- Julie Marie Wade. The author, Savannah Sipple, taught community college in Eastern Kentucky, and now lives in Lexington.
Little Rock, Arkansas: Sibling Rivalry Press, 2019. 66 pages. Trade paperback.