the abyss is staring back - Digital

Digital copy of the abyss is staring back by nat raum

“in their exemplary confessional style, nat raum consults the void in the abyss is staring back. this collection is an invitation into raum’s personal gravity—a space exploring monotony, queerness, and disability with a stream-of-consciousness type spirit. however, raum is also just as gifted with precision. the result: words that are as raw and real as they are beautiful, and writing that is truly for anybody…even a black hole.”

 —arden will, eic of the winnow and author of acts of performative newness

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“nat raum's the abyss is staring back is a symphony; a video game soundtrack, equal parts comforting & existential. Commenting on the ubiquity of the internet and the rise of the digital age, & how that affects our communication & sense of identity, raum's words speak to alienation, confusion through an illumined blue screen, & of course it is like the flakes of skin on your lips as you chew them or the master sword in Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - a chimera at the end of a long labyrinthine exploration of love, queerness, & identity. This collection is a broken wristbone, a phone screen at 3am; it is equal parts dysphoric and euphoric; it is a bleeding thing. I am truly stunned.”

 —Noah David Roberts, author of STRIPS

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“’inside skin, / make heat. / make light.’

in the abyss is staring back, nat raum unabashedly explores what it means to be housed in a body that at once doesn’t feel like home yet is the only home known. is a home somewhere you go only go because there is nowhere else? how do you ever feel whole in a body? can you ever? raum’s brutally frank expressions of depression, chronic illness, and transness explore the complexities of living in a body that is not the most welcoming home. Startling in its clarity, this collection navigates the human search for wholeness with an ardent and sincere voice.”

 —dre levant, author of icarus rising (kith books ’23)