Ynygordna by Kellan Williams: a review

One day I’ll get onto that project of reading through my project of reading my way through my bookshelf, but today is not that day. Instead, I’m reading my classmate’s work, and then making my way through my local library.

            Ynygordna by Kellan Williams is a poetry collection that explores the use of pronouns outside of the binary, the roles of androgynous lesbians in society, and recovery from traumatic events.

CW: sexual assault

If you’ve never read one of my poetry reviews before, I’ll be looking at a few poems in particular that help to give you an idea of my thoughts of the wider collection, and then give my overall thoughts at the end.

getting over it

File this under “poems that, in the best way possible, made me put the book down and stare into the distance”. It hit me really hard and is an incredible way to show the personal nature of this collection. Also, this is poetry that has scratched and clawed its way to the surface and has been forged in defiance: defiance in the face of personal battles as well as wider ones.

I guess not, but who gives a fuck

I adored this poem, especially the final two stanzas. There’s this building elation and joy that culminates in these final lines, and it’s beautiful. Williams shows wonderful skill with the way they work with emotion here. His own emotions burst into every word.

lemon licker

I love a good extended metaphor, and ones built on spite are even better. There’s piss and vinegar in these lines, as there should be given the subject matter. Williams is so eloquent here.

Stonewall Inn

Catch me thinking about:

‘No empty beer barrel can splutter like

the caged-up wrath of a drag queen’

from now until the end of time.

 

What an absolutely fantastic poetry collection. Kellan Williams does a phenomenal job covering a variety of topics that are challenging and rarely spoken of. Their explorations of these topics show his incredible prowess. I cannot recommend this collection enough and it’s always worth your while to support independent creators. I’ll not be linking anything of my own for this review. Instead, here’s where you can access this collection, and their small press, Seafront Press.

Ynygordna: https://kellanriverwilliams.bigcartel.com/product/ynygordna

Seafront Press: https://theseafrontpress.wordpress.com/