Madame Deluxe
Poems by Tenaya Darlington

Glitter, ruckus, rhinestones -this debut collection of poems screams and snickers, slinks to the couch and growls, struts on stage and strips.

Madame Deluxe is all things loud and leopard-print. Inspired by years of watching drag shows, Darlington evokes a persona who wanders the periphery of femininity, catcalling paradigms from Venus to Victoria's Secret. Striking out against artifice, staging her own myth, Madame Deluxe is a she-male Vesuvius. Expect scat, expect 350 lb. poems, expect a guide to the pleasures of leather and a manual for modern marriage. All categories relinquish their boundaries -even prose poems become "discount sonnets."

The curtains open and the spotlight shines on "Sequined, Size 16," and Madame Deluxe emerges to perform an entertaining show -sassing Venus, riling Aphrodite, resisting modern womanhood. By the last section, "The Bawdy Betrayer," allows the reader a glimpse of all sides of Madame Deluxe.

In this scintillating debut collection of poetry, Darlington shocks, seduces, and intrigues us -spurring us to rethink our ideas about women and femininity.