Publisher's Synopsis
In a world that wants to shuffle girls and boys into complementary boxes, and keep black people of all genders docile and afraid, Evolve Benton is having none of it. Their debut chapbook SIR is loud, alive, and smart.
The collection is divided into three parts: "Allow Me to Introduce Myself", a whirlwind tour through different aspects of self and family; "My Blackness Will Be Televised", which situates the poet in relation to broader issues of blackness and queerness in America; and "Dear Femme", a short collection of love letters to a femme partner or partners.
In all three parts of the book, Benton seeks out contradictions, attends to them, and encouraging them to sing. B-O-I stands for beaten outwardly and internally, but also for born obviously incredible. - Ray Briggs
Benton's SIR is a three part articulation of the internal agony of seeking freedom, love and lust in this economy of black death. In the poem "Boi" Benton asks "why must womanhood be wrapped in expectation?" these expectations can be defied and Boi's can also be understood as "institutionalized to be feminine" The institution of femininity is something Evolve plays with in the concept of Boi: Born, Obviously, Incredible. Evolve wants boihood not to be a defect but actually an honoring of uniqueness. In the poem "Dedication to Kerrice Lewis" Evolve states "don't try to erase our bodies," which speaks again to the ephemeral nature of boihood. With the constitution of what it means to be stud, butch, a dyke, AG, Evolve reminds us to understand what battle remains- the erasure of our full existence.- Kerby Lynch
Benton's collection is an introspective journey through the emotional clockwork of black boi intersectionality. SIR explores the relationship between the author's axes of identity and the landscapes of family, society and Southern California, in which they evolve. A fearless examination of boihood and its rituals, Benton writes these coming-of-age stories from places of empathy, reflection, and guidance. A compassionate and thoughtful collection that asks, "who am I safe to be?" - Brennan DeFrisco
