Overview

Bakar Wilson's debut collection of poetry titled, Daddy Show, deals with the loss of Wilson's father in a tragic car accident as a child, the sexual abuse he survived as a young teenager from his step-father, and how these events have affected his romantic relationships with men as a Black, gay man. He deals with these things at times with humor and analysis. In addition to this, he also critiques American politics and traditions, as well as how he deals with the Coronavirus as it breaks out in New York City in 2020. At its core, Daddy Show is an exercise in play. Wilson plays with language and form using wit and humor to portray sometimes difficult topics and ideas. There is an innovation in his work that is truly unique and thoughtful. His collection is an exercise in healing through poetry. Bakar Wilson's Daddy Show is an unflinching exploration of identity, trauma, and resilience. With sharp wit and humor, Wilson dives into the complexities of love, faith, and survival, reflecting on the loss of his father, surviving sexual abuse, and navigating his relationships as a Black, gay man. His poems speak with both tenderness and audacity, capturing the difficult truths of his life with precision and emotional depth. Through vivid language and a playful approach to form, Wilson creates a space for both healing and revelation, all while critiquing American politics, traditions, and the personal toll of living through crises like the 2020 pandemic. Daddy Show is a brilliant debut-equal parts dramatic and tender, full of wit, erudition, and fierce emotional clarity.

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Reviews

Bakar Wilson's gift as a poet is to stamp his experience with wit and humor. As the reincarnation of Lot's wife, he can claim, ""This time I'm prepared to live,"" and we need not take it with a grain of salt. And in a spoof of the personal ad, he advises, ""If interested, reply to men / you see on the streets."" Wilson walks through the streets of these poems as a person and poet you would be happy to know. His poetry has all the honest ambiguity and endurance of survivorship. Mark Jarman, author of Zeno's Eternity ""In this blazing collection, Bakar Wilson dives headfirst into the raw edges of identity, love, faith, and worship-to 'navigate the body like an elegant puzzle.' This poetry offers a lyric typology of desire-it howls, whispers, laments, and roars. At turns fierce and searching, piercing and attentive, Daddy Show is a dare, a fever dream, a change-agent, a psalm rippling with cadenced grace and incinerating power. A true gift and essential voice in queer liberation."" -Margot Douaihy, USA Today bestselling author of Scorched Grace and Blessed Water Bakar Wilson speaks difficult truths in lucid, terse lines. Daddy Show demonstrates courage, wisdom, and a keen ear for the drama to be found in reticence. I admire the patient attentiveness behind these direct yet gnomic poems, their narratives sharpened by audacity and a tragicomic showmanship, a knowledge of how to create a riveting, emotionally turbulent spectacle. --Wayne Koestenbaum

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