Queers Like Me is Michael V. Smith’s seventh published book, with his assembly consisting of four poetry collections, a memoir, and two novels. Smith is an award-winning filmmaker, drag queen, and professor at UBC Okanagan, in Kelowna BC.

His first words leap off the page in bold, “Grandma Cooper’s Corpse”, piquing my penchant for dark humour. Delving into the real-world poetry that Smith masterfully delivers, I anticipated an interesting ride straight out of the gate with his first poem, where we learn about the interdependent and tenuous dynamics of Smith’s grandmother’s family, namely, her son Bob, who has just been arrested for transporting a corpse. The corpse of Smith’s grandmother. Bob, the antithesis of a loving uncle, who still lived at home with Grandma Cooper, seemed to fall somewhere on the spectrum of being a bully and a menace and was a great source of shame and confusion for young Smith.

Bob brought the two of us in

to his new place for the first time

and sat us on the couch

then he put Terra the dog

in front of our faces

Dobermans sit tall.

Bob said,

You have to stay on that couch

and not move, until I introduce you to Terra

in our house. And if you move,

she’s going to chew your face off.

Bob appears to have been Grandma Cooper’s gatekeeper, an insidious wedge, driven between a boy and his grandmother. And though Smith fought to circumvent this with grace, I could feel the loathing in his words, as he truthfully exposed Bob’s behaviour.

Queers Like Me is the story of a man, nostalgically recounting the details of his childhood, growing up queer in a small town, and he poignantly encapsulates his exploration, alongside the fear he felt surrounded by bigotry.

imagine the rooms

inside the closeted boys

who got sexy with

other boys

other boys

who later

hung themselves

Smith beguiles with magnetically candid storytelling of his experiences as a young Queer man. Leaving some things to the imagination, and others not. He brilliantly evokes pain, while layering in humour, as needed.

something wilder.

a vodka-infused birthday cake

licked out of your butt

demonstrates an ability to try something new

Miraculously he entertains with his trauma, giving a raw look into their dysfunctional (albeit loving), family existence, artfully weaving empathy with disdain as he showcases a beautifully flawed family, doing its best, and a young man, learning to forge his own beliefs. Smith captures a truth that is relatable for so many. None of us are perfect. And to truly love someone, is to accept them; warts and all.

Texting dad about the surgery.                                                  GO LEAFS GO

he might not survive. Life

can be very small and very big all at once.

I was touched by the story between Smith and his dad. Particularly when learning later in the book, the seemingly random sections to the upper right of the page, flecked throughout the collection of poetry in section 3, titled Facebook, were actual Facebook status updates made by Michael and his hospitalized father from that period. The updates showing “real life” goes on, even alongside heartache.

Smith is a man full of love. Though it appears elusive, thanks to his dry humour and sarcastic wit; you can’t miss it.

The problem

with a big heart is that it’s just

so damn heavy  

Michael V. Smithis a writer, performer, filmmaker, and full professor at UBCO in Kelowna. Smith’s most recent project is The Floating Man, a feature documentary memoir examining a lifetime of untrue stories about his body. His latest book, Queers Like Me, is a poetry collection about growing up as a small town queer, released in Fall 2023 with Book*hug.

Smith appears in the Literary Cabaret, October 18, 8 p.m. at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler. Tickets are available now. 

Hannah Davis is an emerging writer, living in Whistler BC. She discovered her passion for writing through Facebook updates of her own and is now writing her first memoir – Sugar Hit, the Wild Emancipation of a Sugar Baby; where she takes us on a deep dive into her queer journey, struggle with substance abuse, and her many years of relying on lavish experiences with mature and wealthy men to fill a void, leading to her ultimate awakening. When her fingers aren’t madly tapping, Hannah can be found working with her personal training clients in the gym, skiing, mountain biking, or playing with her two cats, Teddy and Sass.