Holy Boys by Andrés N. Ordorica
Edinburgh-based poet Andrés N. Ordorica returns with his second poetry collection, an exploration of heritage told through lenses of queerness, liminality and desire
After his critically acclaimed debut novel How We Named The Stars, Andrés N. Ordorica returns to his first love of poetry with Holy Boys. Following on from his previous collection At Least This I Know, the poet continues to examine his own life through themes of family, liminality, belonging, love, desire, sexuality, and much more. There are explorations of his Latinx heritage in poems such as La terecera rueda, and La Reza del Viento, and he also displays an exquisite taste in classic films in Dating from Across an Ocean.
Wearing influences with pride, poems are dedicated to, among others, poets Zaffar Kunial, Tomás Q. Morín and Tishani Doshi. But one name looms large – the late Edwin Morgan, who not only provides the book’s epigraph but whose influence is felt throughout, which Ordorica acknowledges calling him “[…] a mentor I never met but who has influenced my writing like none other.” Speaking to each other across generations, both write beautifully about queer love and identity, and that is in evidence in both the substance and style of Holy Boys. There are even examples of concrete poetry similar to that which Morgan was known for, most notably with Forty-one monarch butterflies dancing in a summer shower.
Written with a mastery of language and imagery, and displaying a sensuality which is palpable, Holy Boys is an exquisite and often heady collection of poetry from a writer who continues to explore and dig deep into what it means to be alive.
