Dead Girl Cameo - by M Mick Powell (Paperback)

About the Book

"In Dead Girl Cameo, m. mick powell closely examines the experiences of Aaliyah Haughton, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Whitney Houston, and other notable superstars who died tragically too soon. How did these starlets challenge conventional representations of Black femininity and friendship, and forever transform the musical landscape? How were the artistries of these women of color impacted by surviving in the limelight and, often, in the very same industry as their abusers? How did the literal and metaphorical deaths of these Black women superstars establish legacies of Black queer femme existence and afterlife? In stunning imagery and sensual wordplay using ekphrasis, erasure, digital collage, archival research, and speculative nonfiction in verse, Dead Girl Cameo traverses the intimate realms of superstars to reconfigure Black girlhood, survivorhood, femme friendship, and queer fandom"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

A dazzling docupoetic debut collection interweaving ripped-from-the-headlines pop culture herstories with the personal narratives of Whitney Houston, Aaliyah, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, and others, to interrogate celebrity, identity, sexuality, industry abuse, death, and the afterlives of stardom.

"I made, of my bones, an earth for you: turned the oceans
your favorite shade of light, that deepened, nearly bruised
dusk. reflected in my palms, what I've made into water
glows amethyst: when you drink from it, you are iridescent"

In Dead Girl Cameo, m. mick powell closely examines the experiences of Aaliyah Haughton, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Whitney Houston, and other notable superstars who died tragically too soon. How did these starlets challenge conventional representations of Black femininity and friendship, and forever transform the musical landscape? How were the artistries and addictions of these women of color impacted from surviving in the limelight and, often, in the very same industry as their abusers? How did the literal and metaphorical deaths of these Black women superstars establish legacies of Black queer femme existence and afterlife?

In stunning imagery and sensual wordplay using ekphrasis, erasure, digital collage, archival research, and speculative nonfiction in verse, Dead Girl Cameo traverses the intimate realms of superstars to reconfigure Black girlhood, survivorhood, femme friendship, and queer fandom.

Review Quotes

"An orchestra of tenderness marks the brilliance of this book. mick is a star."--Camonghne Felix, author of Dyscalculia

"M. Mick Powell's gorgeous debut poetry collection highlights the devastating conundrum of many famous and beloved Black singers. Though they led highly publicized lives, Powell's poems reveal that these women were, in some ways, ghosts while they were living. Bulldozed by the misogynistic music industry, abuse, and crippling societal expectations, Whitney Houston, Aaliyah, Billie Holiday, Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes, and others were essentially making cameos in what should have been their leading roles. Through an innovative blend of queer feminist theory, collage, and docupoetics, Powell pens a gorgeous elegy to some of our greats and revives them in perpetuity by countering their life's violence with a love that is pure, queer, and infinite."--Dr. Taylor Byas, author of I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times

"Dead Girl Cameo stitches many tender odes, counter-narratives, and snapshots of Black girlhood--from the violence to the beauty of it--into the warmest protective quilt for its subjects. Every single poem radiates such care, love, and craft that I was left breathless, unable to stop reading until the end. Interview snippets and headlines from the archives spotlight the voices and stories of the stars Aaliyah, Whitney, and others, yes, but Powell's precision, wit, and sensuality make their own voice shine as a rising literary star. Powell's formal and lyrical prowess make Dead Girl Cameo a propulsive and genius debut that I'll never stop thinking about."--Jae Nichelle, author of God Themselves

About the Author

m. mick powell is a queer Black Cape Verdean femme, a poet, an artist, an Aries, and author of the chapbooks threesome in the last Toyota Celica and chronicle the body. Their poems have been nominated for the Best of the Net Anthology and a Pushcart Prize, and appear in RHINO, Muzzle, Up the Staircase Quarterly, and elsewhere. mick is a professor of gender and sexuality studies at the University of Connecticut and an adjunct in Bay Path University's MFA in creative nonfiction writing program. A former Tin House Resident, she enjoys chasing waterfalls and being in love.