The Beautiful: Collected Poems

by Michelle Tea

Before penning her contemporary classic Valencia, Tea wrote wonderfully honest narrative poems, which she self-published in small editions, now collected here for the first time.

Genres: Poetry, Queer, LGBT, Feminism, Nonfiction, Contemporary, Lesbian

228 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2003

About the author

Michelle Tea (born Michelle Tomasik) is an American author, poet, and literary arts organizer whose autobiographical works explore queer culture, feminism, race, class, prostitution, and other topics. She is originally from Chelsea, Massachusetts and currently lives in San Francisco. Her books, mostly memoirs, are known for their views into the queercore community. In 2012 Tea partnered with City Lights Publishers to form the Sister Spit imprint.

Reviews

[Jules Vilmur · Rating 3 out of 5]

best line, at the end of a wistful what-might-have-been poem: "you are right where you should be / now act like it"

[Claire Pilarski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to make fun of her the whole time and then she told about the holes in the wall and then I felt bad :/

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found Michelle Tea by randomly googling for queer poetry. After reading snippets of her book, I knew I had to order it. I am not disappointed. I ordered two copies, one to give to a friend, that is how amazing it is. Everyone needs this book in their life.

[Kimber · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book from my freshman year of college. I finally purchased it after checking it out from the library a million times.

Borrow it from me.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are ENDLESS gems in this book. Tea is so clever and imaginative, seamlessly weaving her story—and the greater story of what it means to be queer, anti-capitalist, etc. in America—with striking yet sensible metaphors. (TW: incest, child abuse/sexual abuse, sexual assault, violence, police brutality.) Only a couple downsides. First, sometimes the writing ages itself with offensive language. Aside from that, the lack of punctuation and overuse of line breaks brought confusion I deemed unnecessary. It frustrated me because I just wanted to focus on the amazing stories being told. Also, I would have liked more breaks overall in the form to make the poetry more digestible, but of course that’s a personal preference. It took me awhile to finish the book, and I had to take a long break from it because of the density/subject matter, but I love knowing it’s on my shelf. (I NEED to hear some of these poems read aloud.) A couple of my favorites are “Our Lady of Ridiculous Wishes” and “What I Mean by American.”

[Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complete transparency here, I did not read every poem in this book. But I read a lot of them, and they were beautiful. Fem, queer, depressed, brilliant, and sometimes just weird--Michelle Tea is an author I will be coming back to. I really enjoyed my experience with this book. As a queer writer myself, these poems came very close to my heart. Why not read them all then? Because Tea is an incredibly honest and sincere writer, and she shares experiences of trauma in her poems. Very real experiences that were just a bit too raw for me at this point in my life. I have no doubt that I will return to this book though.

[Terri Noftsger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book of poetry through the Queer Liberation Library. I’m glad I read it. I found reading these poems out loud made the poems make more sense. Perhaps these poems are best experienced as spoken word. I found brilliant phrases yet often the poems went places that were hard to grasp. These poems gave me a glimpse into lives that I have not lived while also showing me glimpses from my own life. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Rachel P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Messy gay congressional poetry at its finest

[māris šteinbergs · Rating 3 out of 5]

tbh this was rather disappointing

[Jared Levine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really dig Michelle Tea as a literary figure, I dig the lineage of writers she belongs to, sister spit is amazing(!), and she's just really cool!

But I hadn't actually read a book of hers until this one. There were moments of pure unadulterated rawness that really fucked me up, but otherwise I really don't think I should have started her collection with this book.

Anyone want to suggest the best Michelle Tea book to start with?

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a difficult thing to go read to an author's earliest work when you're otherwise familiar with her entire catalogue, particularly the most recent stuff (I've actually taught the estimable Rose of No Man's Land twice). The temptation to compare is high, even if that isn't fair-- Tea wrote the earliest poems in this volume when she was 22, whereas her most recent work is the product of someone in her mid-30s, I guess? Anyway, these are very much the poems of someone in her mid-20s. They remind me a great deal--a HUGE DEAL--of stuff I was writing when I was the same age, only they are definitely far better than mine were. Still, they're the product of a certain stage of life and the myopia that comes from having only seen that much--in Tea's case, the impoverished horror of her life growing up abused in Massachusetts, followed by the comparative liberation of sex work in San Francisco. She'd seen and lived more in her early 20s than a lot of people ever do, but even then, she has certain fixations and blind spots that reveal themselves if you read all the poems in this volume in a few large gulps. Her poems about screwed-up relationships start to sound more or less the same, even though there was one that almost made me cry with how much it expressed feelings I once had for someone, and there are a lot of them. And her political poems (a lot of those as well) are deeply felt but very much the product of the mid-90s--they could pass for Ani Difranco lyrics in both the good and bad senses that they can be intimate and witty but also strident, tone-deaf, and self-righteous.

Strangely, her poetic style seems hugely influenced by Charles Bukowski, himself no friend to women and not especially sensitive to the types of horrific things that Tea endured both as an abused teen and later as a sex-worker. She even mentions reading him-- and that's the problem writing poems in your early 20s, even if you're as talented as Tea, you can't help but reflect your influences.

This is nonetheless an entertaining book and I enjoyed reading it, but it isn't even as reflective as Valencia, which itself has none of the pathos and resonance of the Chelsea Whistle. Rose of No Man's Land, not memoir, is its own thing, but it too stands so far beyond these other works. Tea has a new book coming soon; if she's already gotten as good as she is today, from this point of demarcation two decades ago, by her early 40s, I can't wait for the next 20 years.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

My love affair with Michelle Tea continues. To be sure, not all of these poems are brilliant. Some are not much more impressive than my own college years' scribblings. But every now and again there are flashes that strike me to the core. And like reading her memoirs, it's a glimpse at a life I could never lead, might otherwise never witness.

I struggled for ages to come up with a cute little digestible bite that I could post here and not hide behind a cut tag, something that would make enough sense without its context, something to show how witty and passionate she is, but this is the best I could do:

my horoscope said Try Something Different
so i thought i would have many girlfriends
instead of the traditional one.
love is like art
you know,
don't quit your day job.
-- "august september"

[Arcade Annie]

g up in working class Chelsea Massachusetts and eventually Provincetown, Tucson, and San Francisco.

She first gained notable success not as an author but as a poet, in San Francisco's then-popular poetry scene of the early 1990's. She organized tirelessly with other self-identified queer poets and gained some local notoriety with her own spoken word performances and chapbooks sold in coffeehouses, bars and bookstore of San Franscisco for next to nothing.

She is also credited with the founding of Sister Spit, a traveling lesbian performance poetry road show which included such poetry greats as Eileen Myles.

[Bri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michelle Tea writes conversational poetry that feels very familiar, like you're talking with a friend about life, love, and ideas, and then those moments when it turns from mundane caring words to crystallized meanings, where words are clever and clear and convey in beautiful ways what you've tried to say so many times before. Some of them are much better than others, but I liked moving through this book piecemeal, considering a couple poems at a time.

Some favorites:
If You Leave a Woman Flowers, You'll Probably Scare Her Away
For Zanne For Zanne For Zanne
Go Kiss Go
We are Girls
Lovesad
Percentages<3
What I Mean by American

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is my favorite book by michelle tea, although i have a special place for her in my reading heart. this collection of her poetry is the best presentation of her unique style. she flows from idea to image, taking you through her own pain and interesting life experieinces. raw and gritty in places, these poems are very personal. if you like traditional poetry, this is not for you. best read in a contemplative (possibly grey) mood. alone.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
I fall in love with these poems over and over again.

Her style of writing can be a little...I want to say disjointed, but that's not right. I like disjointed. Lacking in follow-through, maybe.
And sometimes the tropes she picks don't strike me.
But that's the way of poetry. You aren't going to strike soul every time. But when she does? Damn, she can knock you right off your feet.

[Tasche de la Rocha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly love this book. It must be up in my favorites right now. It was dark and charming. She speaks so clearly. I feel as though I went through all that she did just by reading her fantastic writing. It was worth while. I loved every second of it and still sometimes open it up and suck it dry once again.

[rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tea has a very down-to-earth way of writing. Her poems are very gritty and beautiful all at the same time. There's often a bit of humor thrown in as well (like her poem crabs are no big deal), even when they're heartbreaking... I love them.

[Alisa Raymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I carry this book around with me like its my bible. and really it is. This woman's words are amazing. My copy is highlighted with all the verses i love and wish i could have thought of. This woman is poetic genius

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

my favorite volumbe of poetry. it's modern and raw. michelle tea does a great job of slapping you in the face with often vulgar but original metaphors and similies. theres always a mental image and often i find that these images are brilliant.

[willow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michelle Tea tells it like it is.
I love her disgruntled love voice:
" take what you need
and shit the rest
flush
was i just a burger or something?"
Vivid poems about her take on life, the streets of San Francisco and shamans and sluts who live there.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never has quasi-love-angst poetry been so elegantly pulled off.. while simultaneously being "raw". This is kind of like "Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist", but in poetry form.. and more.. beautiful. And less lolfunny. Though it is clever. Also... I think I want to marry Michelle Tea.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wry,raw and real poetry. I bet these poems sound awesome performed aloud.
Tea writes from a queer perspective, a woman's perspective, a human perspective. If you've got a brain and a heart, this collection is for you.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting collection, i enjoy her style although sometimes she does carry on a bit too long, getting lost on a tangent or going somewhere completely different. I think suicide poem might be my favourite.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my coworkers loaned this to me to read during short breaks throughout the day. I’m not incredibly interested in poetry, so I was surprised when I realized how much I was enjoying it. There were certain lines that were so raw and powerful that I would read them over and over again.

[P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lawwwd, Michelle. Be my mommy.
But seriously. These poems are raw and real and amazing. Full of passion and truth and, dammit, I just love that she feels no need to use proper caps, because WHY? Exactly.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

'It was some guy asking me to read pornographic poetry at a performance but I don't write like that, my writing is waiting for something that already happened, pulling it back, over and over, impossible.

[Tina Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't my favorite book of hers but I did enjoy reading it a lot and found it a bit inspirational as far making me want to write.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you haven't discovered Michelle Tea yet, now is the time

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book of poetry. It is amazing!!