My Alexandria

Summary

These poems confront the devastation of the AIDS crisis through an intensely sensory, almost painterly attention to the beauty of the material world, finding in elegance and ornament a form of resistance against mortality. Doty's voice is lush without sentimentality, drawing on the visual richness of Keats and the American urban tradition to transform personal grief into something genuinely radiant. His win marked an important moment for queer literature's visibility within British literary prizes.