Smut Psalm

by Josh Tvrdy

Winner of Button Poetry’s 2023 Chapbook Contest, Josh Tvrdy’s Smut Psalm is a queer coming-of-age, equally drenched in religious guilt and eroticism.

Smut Psalm’s poems reckon with self-discovery and sexual curiosity–interspersed with “Church Board Interrogation” interludes, which act as a dialogue between a homophobic church voice and a witty, increasingly defiant poetic speaker. Altogether, Tvrdy crafts an intimate, surreal spectacle. Smut Psalm shapes the raw messiness of queer adolescence into its own kind of holiness. Charming and intoxicating, Tvrdy’s Smut Psalm is a strange, sinewy experience that can’t be missed.

Genres: Poetry

54 pages, Paperback

Published December 3, 2024

Reviews

[peyton!! · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 stars; pretty good poetry collection!! I especially enjoyed the “Church Board Interrogations” scattered throughout the anthology

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean no disrespect to the author. I am not a poetry reader. I have always struggled to connect with the various styles of poetry I have tried to engage. And this volume was no different. I was intrigued by the content and audience, so wanted to give it a try. I could follow and appreciate a few of the passages. But honestly, I struggled to really connect and understand what the author was seeking to say. I hope these pages might connect better with those with more insight and understanding of poetic writing.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25

{gifted as a part of my internship at the publisher}

fantastic, fantastic poetry collection. I especially enjoyed the “church board interrogation” series, in which the church literally interrogates queerness—but does it really? felt as though the church was on the stand.

stunningly creative and funny: had me laughing out loud on the bus.

[Jacob Holt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super gay. Not smutty. Pretty good poetry in this collection, but not what I’d hoped for.