Love Is the Drug & Other Dark Poems

Love Is the Drug & Other Dark Poems features the work of 33 poets and 8 artists, with 10 black-and-white photographs and 2 illustrations. The poems and photographs in these pages speak to each other—some in conversation, some in call and response, some in reflection. The anthology attempts to answer questions like: Who do we become when we lose ourselves to lust, when we become dependent on or addicted to the chemistry of another? What happens when we try to pin down the moment when lust turns to love? What happens when we betray someone we love or when we are betrayed? The poems and artwork in this book offer a meaningful reminder of the importance of love, intimacy, identity, sexuality, gender, and feminism.

Love Is the Drug & Other Dark Poems does not contain sweet, lighthearted verses about romance. Even in “Faith,” the most reverent poem of the anthology, Josey Rose Duncan tenderly states, “You are the bacteria to my gutless marine worm.” This book is not pretty, yet each poet’s honesty is incredibly beautiful. This anthology contains a range of perspectives and voices extending across different sexual orientations, gender identities, ethnicities, and lived experiences.