Spotlight: Aubrey Jane Jones’s ALL MY LOVE, AUBREY
All My Love, Aubrey is a collection of poems by Aubrey Jane Jones, a transgender writer who has written an intimate love letter to herself. Each section of this book, labelled, “Backward, Forward, Inward, Outward”, is a piece of Aubrey throughout her life. The sections explore the deep and complex journey that is becoming ones true self. It is especially harder path when that person isn’t the one that is looking at you in the mirror or the one accepted by the outside world. The poems in this collection give the reader a real account of a trans person growing into themselves like a beautiful sidewalk flower, overlooked, unappreciated and pushed into the cracks that are walked over day by day. Despite the struggles inward and outwardly, there is this miracle of color and life that sprouts from the hardened concrete, breaking through and blossoming. This is a story of freedom fought for over a lifetime of pushing up beauty through the cemented heteronormative society that tries to ignore the existence of Trans people. The way Jones broke up this poetic story into chapters complete with artwork and introductions, is innovative and give the reader a way to absorb this work while processing the deep pools of Aubrey’s heart ingested. The artwork gives a visual element to help break up the sections but also see more of the writer and the speaker in the text.
Reviewing poetry is hard because it is so subjective, and the reviews often look like a lit professors critique more than a true review. It becomes a list of quotes and stanzas the critic breaks down the technical elements academically. I feel that is not a genuine way to look at poetry, especially a collection like this, which is personal and venerable.
I will only quote this one stanza from the poem “To Be Seen”:
To truly be seen, for all that I am
To be known and be loved, all over again
To find rest, to find peace
To find hope and release
As a Queer writer and poet, I feel in love with this very naked exposed literary diary of unbounded truth. It is gorgeously heart breaking as it is life affirming, giving inspiration to always fight through the darker greys into the light of who we are meant to be. This might be a letter Aubrey, but I think it’s a love letter to anyone going through the uncertainty, pain, and triumph of navigating a queer existence.
Order All My Love, Aubrey on Amazon.
