Poetry. LGBTQIA Studies. This new printing has French flaps. Julie Marie Wade's lush post-confessional poems are unabashed in their desire, tentative then bold in their knowledge. They're sparkly talismans to transform and transport us, delicacies with creamy insides to fill us up. WHEN I WAS STRAIGHT is a profound 'before and after' examination of the self, complete with cultural and family commentary--delightful, heartbreaking, magic and real stories with a multitude of prepositions to guide us: a gifted young poet's coming to, coming out, coming jubilantly back into self.--Denise Duhamel and Maureen Seaton