J.D. Debris’ Debut Reviewed in The Boston Globe

May 15, 2023

We’re thrilled by The Boston Globe‘s review of The Scorpion’s Question Mark by J.D. Debris. J.D.’s debut was the winner of the 2022 Donald Justice Poetry Prize and was released last month. Of the poetry collection the Globe said:

There’s music in these poems, João Gilberto, samba, tango, a corrido beat, a sinuous texture in his lines, and the stick-and-move rhythms of boxing, too; he slips the jab with the deepest tenderness, a reverence for the time we have here. He writes of “a garden-variety goon/ with a garbled, guttural monotone/ & shriveled steroid balls.” We expect a meathead villain, preening at the gym, but “every word he spoke was praise.” Debris upends our anticipations, opens us to the wilder good. 

To read the full review, check out The Boston Globe‘s website (NB: you must be a subscriber to read the full piece).
Filed under: Review