We've All Seen Helena is such a comet. This bright, burning emo-punk poetry collection explores the complexities of finding your identity and placing your trust in a role model when you only know their surface. Lip Manegio navigates their journey to understanding queerness by summoning, dissecting and conversing with their personal icon, Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance fame. Raw, visceral and unapologetically vulnerable books don't come around often, so love this one while you can.
"A reliquary of tucked knives, fanfiction, & gritty vocals, We've All Seen Helena grips a universe that is both tender & resolute all at once. Holding a mirror to the flame, Lip interrogates how we understand our idols & then reimagines the face of survival. What a gift it is that we've been invited to journey through these pages, each poem reminding us: 'comets don't come around often, kid--you gotta love them while you can."--Brandon Melendez
Poetry. LGBTQIA Studies. Music.
