Poetry/Fiction. 74 pages. 2017. ISBN:  978-0-9992103-7-6

Cover art by Samuel Prowse

When two people’s lives and experiences intersect, they learn to support and love one another, enabling growth and compassion. This is the journey of Peter, a transgender man built from complex relationships and studies of violence, and how he meets Wendy, a queer woman navigating the nuances of mental illness and inner discoveries. Through their connection, they learn to rise from the ashes and rebuild a future for them, one piece at a time.

Sample:  

Why can’t I wear a suit?

Peter asks both his mother

and the rabbi.

His mother

hands whirring

can’t even answer.

She spits 

and

tells him

not 

to

bring 

shame

or was it

pride

to the party.

He should be grateful

to have such an honor.

Rabbi laces

fingers together,

gestures his thumbs a spire.

Why can’t you wear a suit?

he repeats, but Peter

already knows the answer.

“Maura Lee Bee’s innovative and tenderly lucid collection of poems, Peter and The Concrete Jungle, trace the coming-to-age narrative between Peter and Wendy, their bonding enriched by energizing allusions to J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. The poems illuminate the intimacy—emotional, mental and spiritual—within a myriad of relationships mirrored in the LGBTQ+ community as it expands and redefines loving kindness. Bee has created both a tribute and a hard-won celebration of togetherness and warmth in poems that are clear, specific, and revelatory. She gives her readers a unique form for the unique heart within us all.” - Star Black, October for Idas

Maura Lee Bee is a queer, LatinX writer based out of New York City. Her work has been previously published in Huffington Post, Public Pool, and All in Your Head. When she isn’t busy dismantling an otherwise oppressive system, she enjoys drinking gin, baking pies, and meeting new dogs. She can be found on Medium and Twitter.