The Burnt Alphabet: Erotic Vespers for the Gods Who Left Me on Read, by Mat Wenzel

Poetry, chapbook, 40 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

The Burnt Alphabet is a series of erotic prayers—or vespers—written to a long line of divine beloveds. These poems confuse the lines between the sacred and the profane, exploring the world of cellphone hookups with the fervor of the pious devotee. From supermarket encounters to the Second Coming, the chance meetings are variations on the same ancient hymn of longing.

Bound by the strict constraints of a rolling abecedarian form, the speaker seeks more than just a fleeting physical and divine connection; they are searching for a sanctuary—a circle to call home.

Readers are invited to eavesdrop on a fiery, deeply human yearning for an unreachable love. Through wrapped alphabets, sonnets, and concrete poems, The Burnt Alphabet acts as a puzzle for the devoted, inviting them to find their own way through a labyrinth of (un)holy desire.

Mat Wenzel is a poet, zinester and writing instructor based in Fort Worth, Texas. He holds a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from Florida State University and was a 2015 Lambda Literary Fellow. His work frequently explores the intersections of queer life and desire, and his poems have appeared in journals such as Homology Lit, Meridian, Carve, and Cottonmouth. When he isn’t teaching, he spends his time collecting squished pennies and trying to add to the 37 stamps currently in his National Parks Passport.