Shame and acceptance, love and loss, life and death. These dichotomies of being are at the heart of Joseph Leahey's LGBTQ+ experience and this volume of collected poems. The Dreamer and the Dreamed: Collected Poems of Joseph Leahey Vol. 1 navigates the poet's evolution starting with his tumultuous, life-changing artistic self-discovery in the early 1980s. Throughout this collection, Joseph grapples with the haunting memory of that experience and the ways his upbringing has shaped him sexually and socially. This process of coming to terms is underscored by a conflicted period of mourning following the death of his mother. Moving from themes of love and sex to grief and ageing exposes the tension between the adventurous young poet and his mature, older self.

More than an exploration of the passage of time, these poems inhabit the liminal space between reality and the dream world. They consider the ways altered states of mind and dream consciousness influence life and art. Film, popular music, and literary icons infuse these words with rhythm, style, and musicality. They illustrate the ways different forms of expression and lyricism inspire the poet. Readers will recognize the influences C.P. Cavafy, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and James Baldwin, among others.

Poetry lovers will enjoy the breadth of scope in this collection. From astrological phenomena and spirituality to homoeroticism and death, The Dreamer and the Dreamed reveals the complicated experiences of existence.