self portrait as several clusters of stars, by nat raum

Prose, chapbook, 24 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

self portrait as several clusters of stars draws inspiration from Ross Gay’s essayettes to paint a portrait of the author through astrology. Ridiculed by many as fake or useless, astrology often has an uncanny way of explaining personality traits and behavior patterns. In this collection, nat raum examines the ways their eleven core astrological placements manifest in their life—good, bad, or ugly.

While they have established themself as a poet and visual artist, self portrait as several clusters of stars represents a new direction for nat raum: their first published collection of prose. Inspired by Gay and Mary Ruefle, raum blends humor and their signature navel-gazing memoir to create an intimate portrait of themself and their birth chart.

nat raum (b. 1996) is a disabled artist, writer, and genderless disaster from Baltimore, MD. They’re a current MFA candidate at the University of Baltimore and also hold a BFA in photography and book arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art. nat is also the editor-in-chief of fifth wheel press and the author of preparatory school for the end of the world, you stupid slut, and specter dust, among others. Past publishers of their writing include Delicate Friend, perhappened, Corporeal Lit, and trampset. Find them online: natraum.com/links.