Nin, Aaiún: Broken Halves of a Milky Sun

An Lager!

With the emotional undertow of Ocean Vuong and the astute political observations of Natalie Diaz, a powerful poetry debut exploring the effects of racism, war and colonialism, queer love and desire.

    In their breathtaking international debut, Aaiún Nin plumbs the depths of the lived and enduring effects of colonialism in their native country, Angola. In these pages, Nin untangles complexities of exile, the reckoning of familial love, but also reveals the power of queer love and desire through the body that yearns to love and be loved. Nin shows the ways in which faith and devotion serve as forms of oppression and interrogates the nature of home by reclaiming the persistent echoes of trauma. A captivating blend of evocative prose and intimate testimony, Nin speaks to the universal vulnerability of existence.“A queer song of emergency, this books floored me. Each poem is like a pound of flesh with a razor hidden inside. I'm here for the catholic paganism, the pain, the power, and the authority. Aaiún Nin's writing is fearless, it’s in transit, and runs as if to catch up to language. These are hungry poems, constantly crossing the border between violence and desire. I will never forget the first time I heard them read. BROKEN HALVES OF A MILKY SUN is a testament to how great poetry can turn powerlessness into crushing, dazzling agency.”
—Olga Ravn, author of The Employees

"Incendiary and engrossing. Throughout this collection, Nin deals divine blows to white supremacy, colonialism, the heteropatriachy, Europe’s unending assault on human life emanating from across the Mediterranean, and other institutions of systematic violence and inhumanity. With cutting and illuminating art in its highest form, Nin offers us stunning portrayals of love, lust, sorrow, hope, happiness, and pain that are sure to resonate deeply with readers. This is life-giving literature that will echo in my mind and chest indefinitely." 
—Massoud Hayoun, author of When We Were Arabs