DITCHLAPSE / [REALLY AFRAID]
poems in the pursuit of survival / poems unravel identities until something shakes out
happy friday the 13th! today, i am welcoming a tête bêche that comprises of two collections: DITCHLAPSE (chapbook) and [REALLY AFRAID] (full length).
the *vibes* of each book
DITCHLAPSE
the exploration of dissociation through liminal spaces of TikTok and infomercials
poems in the pursuit of survival
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Perfect Blue, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair
words//gray, static, twitch, mist, woozy, inertia, glitch, faeriegreen, night
[REALLY AFRAID]
the origins of Self through a play, a quiz, [adult swim] inspired bumpers, and more
poems unravel identities until something shakes out
Skinamarink, “Ocarina of Time”, Fall Out Boy, Glass Animals, Donnie Darko
words//vessel, vertigo, wraiths, russet, linger, starkserious, courage, shimmer
quick background
each title approaches trauma and dissociation, as they were written while i was in an intensive outpatient program and the year that followed, in which i was diagnosed with DID, re-examining myself/history, and escaping a decade of domestic violence.
DITCHLAPSE follows a period of time where i was struggling to sleep. i’d spend hours on TikTok ASMR or on lives, witnessing the most random things (i saw speed dating once on Live).
[REALLY AFRAID] is directly tied to my initial shock and concern toward my DID diagnosis, which continues to shift to new kinds of shock and concern throughout. i lunged to media at this time for an emotional escape as i had to learn uncomfortable truths about childhood and beyond.
fun facts!
DITCHLAPSE was longlisted by dogleech books during their first chapbook reading period
a section in [REALLY AFRAID], titled “TAKE THIS QUIZ! 11 questions to see if you agree with courage as a metaphor”, was published in the Ghost City Press: Summer Series in 2023
praise
DITCHLAPSE
The leading voice in tommy wyatt’s DITCHLAPSE expresses a relatable sense of subservience to uncertainty. Each piece in the collection is a loop in itself, asking its audience to “unplug the TV … before it consumes us whole.” In these pieces, wyatt emphasizes what it means to be consumed. How a shadow can be so devastating. How a shadow can be the “parasocial love in the netherhours.” In a collection so visceral, wyatt actualizes desire in its most digital form, describing a person being the self in self-destruction; the hidden figure in a figureless moment.
—Aldrin Badiola, editor-in-chief of Artists from Maryland
DITCHLAPSE, in its pursuit of exploring the liminality of the digital world and the experiences of mental health issues, creates a liminal space in itself. A world in which infomercials play mid-poem, selling you a miracle cure, as you listen to your inner monologue replay some of wyatt’s experiences as if they were your own. The poems trap you like you’re doom scrolling late at night, forcing you to listen with expert craft of form and metre, like they’re exploiting the algorithm of your brain. DITCHLAPSE is a tour de force of glitches, stutters, and pixel projections, that make you feel seen in your darkest moments, lit up by neon. It aches with the burden of internet culture—the good, the bad, and the stigmatised.
—Ozzy Welch, author of Toothache
tommy wyatt’s writing ensures you get winded and wounded in this vivid recollection surrounding modern technology, identity, tragedy, and loss. right from the beginning, tommy's words guide you through their body and their personal tragedies, taken apart and meticulously inspected through the form of modern social media. DITCHLAPSE is the true amalgamation of the juxtaposition of tommy's selves: on media and in life. tommy's words ensure a crisis in DITCHLAPSE's readers, while furthering their own understanding of tommy, both as a poet and as a person. there is no limit to the level of understanding, tragedy, and identity crises that DITCHLAPSE induces upon its readers. DITCHLAPSE itself is best described as raw and visceral, and tommy does an absolutely amazing job conveying their emotions to their readers.
—arushi (aera) rege
[REALLY AFRAID]
if you believe as i do that we make art to make sense of our existence, then tommy wyatt’s is asking, what happened and why? throughout his career wyatt has played with form, voice, and perspective to keep coming back to the moments in his life that shaped him, each effort an attempt to find answers this time. in [REALLY AFRAID] wyatt builds on the breadth of his offerings to tighten the circle, get closer, and show us something new.
—wK blair, kith books
[REALLY AFRAID] is a detail-rich, genre-defying collection. wyatt’s innovation of what poetry can look like from one page to the next offers an engaging experience for the reader the whole way through.
—Audrey T. Carroll, author of The Gaia Hypothesis and In My Next Queer Life, I Want to Be
tommy wyatt’s words blow you away in this gently violent recollection surrounding their personal struggles with dissociation. right from the first page, their words hold your hand through what it means to live as tommy—a vivid retrospection of memories that surround you with tommy's experiences juggling personal identity, trauma, and PTSD. tommy's words ensure a thought-provoking, identity-crisis-inducing journey throughout [REALLY AFRAID]; wrapped in the bounds of words, there is no limit to the profound emotional impact tommy inflicts upon their readers.
—arushi (aera) rege
selected works
DITCHLAPSE
“do not resuscitate” in bullshit lit: third anthology
“is this analog horror or another nightmare?” in fifth wheel press (blog)
“*~tommy's room~* as a TikTok live” in Fatal Flaw: WITNESS (vol. 10)
[REALLY AFRAID]
“hey, have you ever considered the word 'rewind' may drop from the next generation's lexicon?” in MAYDAY: online
“when every birthday costumes itself a clown, a spirit halloween opens” in manywor(l)ds: issue 1
“remember when you picked out your grandma's coffin?” in The Eunoia Review: online
“DEEPCREEK, MARYLAND VACATION” in fifth wheel press: come sail away
“you replicate personalities like a shattered mirror” in moth eaten mag: issue 1
where to purchase
white whale books (pittsburgh bookstore)
Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovanni's Room (philadelphia bookstore)