The Birth of Atlas
Atlas, the mythological symbol of strength, resilience and masculine beauty, embodies the aspirations of debut poet Henry Izard-Bater. The Birth of Atlas: Collected Works captures a trans man’s ever-growing life in its fullness, depicting romance, the body and politics while striking an insightful balance between hope and tragedy, terraforming through perseverance the deep pits of despair and yearning into wells of aspiration and affection.
Henry Izard-Bater’s accessible metaphoric poetry takes an anthological journey through multifaceted styles and atmospheres, painting gothic scenes with uncanny gore and visceral abjection that evocatively portray feelings of devastation, isolation, and alienation from one’s own body. Mythologising the body as a landscape to hyperfixate on monuments to gender dysphoria, The Birth of Atlas documents the resilience of an optimistic realist, emerging from a liminal genesis to awaken and to proselytise his achievement of positive masculinity.