Local author Andrés N. Ordorica joins us for his newest poetry collection _Holy Boys_ that explores themes of masculinity, the church, and nationhood.
Andrés is a queer Latinx writer who was picked as an _Observer_ Best Debut Novelists for 2024 and has already cemented himself as an unmissable voice in the Scottish poetic and literary landscapes with his previous poetry collection _At Least This I Know_ and debut novel _How We Named the Stars_.
His writing often addresses themes of queerness, liminality, and concepts of belonging and _Holy Boys_ expands and builds upon these themes, using language and the multilingual power of poetry as a means of excavating the self.
_Holy Boys_ _seeks to address the lingering echoes of adolescence and the pains of living a life in the shadows of unspeakable desires and all-consuming longing, combining English, Spanish and occasional Scots for a unique sonic landscape, adding to the richness of Scotland’s poetic heritage. These poems are a means of finding language in youth, gathering experience in pubescence, and serving as testament to survival in a world that demands silences throughout queer life._
_These poems are an archive which maps physical desire and emotional needs while pushing past dogma and self-hating. They are a means of naming the many lovers and loved ones who have helped move the speaker from boyhood into manhood. This is a collection that is informed by faith, sexuality, loss and love, a celebration of the growing pains that eventually allow us to unfurl into whole beings._
So join us in the bookshop for an evening of celebrating a unique and powerful voice in Scottish poetry.