Advanced Praise for I Always Wanted to Be a Bond Girl
Alive with lust and agony, I Always Wanted to be a Bond Girl is an alluring blend of pop culture and poetry. Strongly crafted, beautifully worded. At turns playful and poignant, Norman’s work will speak to anyone who has loved a Bond film.
–Tiffany Belieu, author of Fairy Tale Therapy
Ryan Norman’s “I always wanted to be a Bond Girl” asks the reader to reconsider not only love but also life and death—where they intersect, who holds the authority, what happens if that power shifts. Norman invites the reader into the chapbook as a confidante, as someone with whom he tangoes throughout a suspenseful journey of stealthy lust and love. The tight language and images seduce the reader, so when the narrator asks, “Are you still watching?” at the end of the opening poem, all the reader can do is speechlessly nod their head yes at the page.
–Preston Smith, author of Red Rover, Red Lover
Ryan Norman (he/him) is a queer writer from New York living in the Hudson Valley. Ryan enjoys swimming in mountain lakes and climbing tall things. He is a contributing editor of creative nonfiction with Barren Magazine. His work has appeared in From Whispers to Roars, X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine, Black Bough Poetry, Hobart, Maudlin House, and elsewhere. His chapbook I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A BOND GIRL is available with The Daily Drunk and his chapbook CICADA SONG is forthcoming with Finishing Line Press November 2021. You can find him on Twitter @RyanMGNorman or ryanmgnorman.com