Description:
In his sixties Richard knew life as a man did not fit who he was. He began the journey of transition, becoming "Richelle," author of this magnificent and unique collection of metrical, honest, and moving poetry in public and private "letters."
Brief description: Thomasina DeMaio painted the cover image which was photographed by Thomas Heinser. Dan Stricker designed the cover.
Review Quotes:
In Richelle Lee Slota's Letters to My Dead Name, each letter grips the reader and causes
reflection on what it is to live a life where you do not feel you belong or where you feel helpless
to be the person you want to become. In varied meters and forms, Slota reveals her agency in
poems labeled as private letters and public letters. Her private letter poems share deep
vulnerability and intimacy that allow the reader to feel the conflict writhing in her narrator's
body. Her public letter poems allow her shadow to become a path of transformation for anyone
ready to follow. This magnificent collection of metrical poetry contains an overarching passion
and a good dose of humor. Lines like "Catch the cis-brained psyches' sober iambs / write,
thrumming clever like a cleaver transgender tie-ins" relax the reader into seeing the human
behind the "dead name" and to be captivated by the human proudly signing their true name after
each letter.
- Kim Malinowski, author of Buffy's House of Mirrors
Letters to My Dead Name illuminates the ways that gender norms and assumptions confuse,
divide, restrict and terrify. These intimate and inviting epistolary poems lift off the page, singing
an anthem for the trans community. Richelle Lee Slota's expert use of rhyme is unparalleled in
today's poetic landscape. Her rhymes are integral to each poem. They create a dazzling energy
that is sometimes playful, sometimes ironic and sometimes devastating: "Mother like an
army/raped the darling child/ unhinged, glassy-eyed, wild." Richelle Lee Slota is not afraid to
confront trauma and expose those who have tried to destroy her, yet optimism prevails again and
again. Refusing to give in to hate, insisting on finding joy, Richelle Lee Slota is "taking back the
flowers."
--Autumn Newman, author of A Flower Burst Open
In Letters to My Dead Name, Richelle Slota both grieves and celebrates the death of a mother, a
gender, and a way of being. Her stunningly visceral takes on the traditional nostalgia poem will
have you enraptured by her embodiment of rhythm and her emotional honesty. Slota's poetry is
the perfect marriage of love song and fuck you.
-Jennifer Schomburg Kanke, author of The Swellest Wife Anyone Ever Had