Super Short Summary

Trouble the Water by Derrick Austin is a collection of poems exploring the intersections of identity, race, art, and queer theory, centered on living in a "queer, black body" in contemporary America, with a focus on Florida's Gulf Coast and an imagined Venice. The poems delve into ancestry, cultural heritage, and religion, blending queer sexuality with Christian iconography and blackness, while capturing vivid atmospheres in their settings. The book includes discussions of racial identity and queer experiences.