Strange Husbandry by Lorcán Black
Lorcán Black’s brilliant debut, Strange Husbandry, contrasts modern-day stories of queer passion with older stories from myth and history. The title references not just husbandry in farming of crops and animals, but a more personal rendering of the word, calling on the etymology of the word, meaning to manage carefully.
Strange Husbandry is rooted in the city of London during the years of the COVID-19 pandemic and the beginning of war in Ukraine, and it is a strange moment in the metropolis characterized by lockdown, missing persons and terror attacks.
Figures from myth offer larger-than-life stories about passion and love, which might teach us something about how we live our lives today. Stories of Circe turning men into pigs, the wily Salome, or Juno having her revenge on Io, channel anger and the instinct for survival, reminding us of the human hurt behind actions that may initially seem morally dubious. Alongside mythical tales are woven modern stories of queer love and passion, pinpointing the joys and difficulties of tending to these relationships in a heteronormative society.
The title poem ‘Strange Husbandry’ struggles with jealousy as it depicts a relationship with a lover who continues to keep a sexual partner from the past on the hook. Via a sensuous celebration of queer eroticism, the poem asks the lover not to be cruel, but to adopt a queer husbandry, which means not vanilla monogamy, but a deep, erotic connection.
Details
Imprint: Seren
Publication Date: 15th July 2024
ISBN: 9781781727447
Format: Paperback