Blurb
Borderland is not just a poetry collection—it’s an invitation to explore the most vulnerable corners of the human experience. Award-winning author Ross Victory takes readers on an emotional journey across the intersections of masculinity, race, bisexuality, and grief. In a fearless blend of narrative and free verse, Victory dismantles societal expectations, offering a space where identity can exist fluidly and unapologetically.
Through its evocative imagery and bold storytelling, Borderland tackles life’s most complex themes—love, loss, strength, and defiance. Each poem immerses readers in raw emotion, from tender vulnerability to fierce defiance. This collection is perfect for readers seeking honest, unfiltered reflections on what it means to exist at the crossroads of identity and experience.
With a voice that’s as unique as it is powerful, Ross Victory has created a collection that speaks to anyone searching for connection and understanding. Borderland isn’t just a book—it’s a movement, a conversation, and a space to find yourself reflected in its pages.
Step into the borderland, where identity knows no boundaries.
Excerpt
Bisexual Villain
An enigma, cloaked in reflective armor,
a man built in isolation,
made of light.
He walks a tightrope:
Each step a liberation,
Every word a defiance.
He is the man who returns the stolen fire, embodying a harmony of contradictions in a world demanding silence.
He is... Conformity’s antichrist; But only when he says his name.
Do they know that, beneath his armor,
there is a man searching for meaning?
Flesh and pulse under mirrored shield,
A Brother, a Son, a Guardian;
He was a Boy with bright eyes,
and he was Loved.
**
I stand before the jury, unmasked and true.
They are armed with judgments that explode like bombs, their hatred a mask of sincerity.
I wonder, "Am I on trial for spurning stale norms of monosexism, a banquet of bias, an indictment of my very being?"
Faceless facades wear hypocrisy like skin,
Bigotry in their blood. They thirst for dominance.
I see, society lives an illusory script, homes built in narrow alleys of convention, foundations hollow and empty.
We are neighbors, but we are strangers.
"You are the antagonist! You are the villain!" the jury shouts.
“No!” the bisexual villain proclaims.
"We are a legion, a chorus in the midst,
their heart akin to mine."
“We are canaries whose wings you’ve clipped,
trapped in your rusting cage.
Some have become orphans bereft of connection, adrift in the gap—kin to the fluid.”
“You are an abomination! You are confusion!” they roar.
"Though we may be solitary stars, together we form a galaxy.
In me beats a heart; within you, the silent expanse where once echoed, now, the void of a million corpses."
**
I am ink, you are eraser.
I am your projection.
About the Author
Ross Victory, (he/him), is an award-winning author, music artist, and entrepreneur from Los Angeles. Featured in LA Weekly, LA Blade, American Reporter, and Bi.org, Ross rediscovered the healing power of writing after losing his father and brother. A former English teacher, Ross creates immersive narrative experiences. He published “Views from the Cockpit,” a father-son memoir, in 2019, resulting in a portfolio of six original titles and a music catalog of 20 songs. His works explore self-discovery, adventure, bisexuality, and family. In 2023, he released the Pride anthem “Bisexual Daze” and Book 1 of the L.A.-based horror series “Grandpa's Cabin.” Ross also publishes articles and reflections about grief, biphobia, and elder abuse on Medium.com and recently spoke at their Annual Writer’s Conference. This fall he will release his first poetry collection titled, “Borderland,” exploring the intersection of race, masculinity, and sexuality.
Website: https://www.rossvictory.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rossvictoryofficial
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rossvvictorius
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Borderland-Poetry-Intersection-Masculinity-Bisexuality-ebook/dp/B0DJ1PHR13
The author will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
6 comments:
Thank you so much for featuring BORDERLAND today.
Welcome to Beyond Romance, Ross! I am always happy to support poets.
Great excerpt
The excerpt sounds good.
This looks like a very interesting book.
I like the cover!
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