Facture Anthology By Joshua Burton Annotated

Joshua Burton is a poet from Houston, Texas who writes and creates with the intention of connecting to his audience of young adults who are interested in creative media types like zines, on a deep and personal level. Through an analysis of his poetry book of zines, Fracture Anthology, as well as interviews of Burton and research from his social media and poets alike, it is clear that Burton’s goal for his work is to reach a young, progressive audience of creative minds who can appreciate and relate to Burton’s creativity in delving into his mother’s life of sexual abuse and trauma. In his book of zines, Fracture Anthology, he is able to connect himself to his mother’s past of trauma and sexual abuse, allowing his target demographic of young,

In his explanation for writing Fracture Anthology, he writes, “I’m taking my mother’s life and attempting to internalize them because I believe she has taken on an emotional war within herself for decades. And my job as a poet is to place a mirror within myself and outside of myself as a way to reflect her experiences: being raped from the young age of five by her other brother, dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, and dealing with post-partum depression” (Burton). Burton’s description for his purpose in writing Fracture Anthology is clearly important in understanding why he feels so compelled to explore his mother’s life and interpret it in his own way, as younger generations can also look through the “mirror” Burton speaks of and interpret their own understandings of his writing. By inheriting the history that comes with living as a black man in America, Burton must have felt the desire to take this inherited history and utilize it to convey the hardships of his mother’s past. Furthermore, Burton’s interpretation of his work helps his audience of young and creative minds find their own reflections of his

He reads, “I always thought my mother was crazy for the way she wore blackness like a new wristwatch… her sin was speaking, we are difficult in the sense that we can’t ungod ourselves” (Burton). Burton’s confusion over his mother’s pride in her culture stems from growing up in a society where African American men and women are racially profiled and targeted for their skin. Burton’s vocal emphasis and use of line breaks add an aural tone that simply reading the lines of the poem does not provide. In other words, reading the poem opens up his audience to those who may enjoy the more creative and expressive side of poetry. Similarly, on the “Bread & Poetry Podcast”, Burton shares that his origin story of poetry began when he first discovered the singer, Elliot Smith. He explains how he was inspired by Smith’s ability to write about such horrific and depressing experiences, in a comforting way. Soon after Burton realized he could not write music, he began to write poetry (Bread & Poetry). This instance provides another piece of evidence to explain Burton’s target audience, as he wants his readers to be inspired by his writing and creative zines just as he was inspired by Elliot Smith. Additionally, writing with comfort and vulnerability is a challenging factor that separates young poetry from aged poetry. Burton also has an upcoming poetry reading