Broken Megaphones: Christ-Haunted Poems about Loving & Losing Religion

These deeply theological poems are the howling prayers of an anarchist-pacifist antiracist queer-affirming Christian fighting against the creeping Christocratic nationalism of his region, the stolen Cherokee land of Tenasi. These rants and chants chart the author's journey through religious deconstruction into the defiant redemption of the Christ who haunts the Bible Belt with an underground solidarity and witness of grief, hope, and human liberation. "In Broken Megaphones, Andrew Smith is the reincarnation of Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Ferlinghetti, who died in 2021, lived to be 101, but he didn't live long enough. Fortunately, Smith picks up the story where Ferlinghetti left off, after Ferlinghetti's Christ climbed down from the cross, and Smith takes us to the places Christ is going today. A Christian in spite of himself, Smith has seen the glory, and his poems are a reminder that once we've seen it, we don't un-see it, even when we close our eyes. He is a prophet for our own times." -Martha Highers, editor of Under The Sun "I don't know many poets and mystics, but Andrew William Smith is the genuine article. His poetry exudes passion, and his vulnerability on these pages is nothing short of stunning. There is a deep religious fervor in these pages, unafraid of the call to abandon idols and name the violence inherent in religion as a weapon. Poets are often feared because their deep vulnerability can expose our dangerous illusions. Mystics find themselves marginalized because they see through our artifices. But we need them and their honesty. Broken Megaphones is witness and testimony, fire and love. It is a gift. Take. Read. Receive." -Rick Quinn, writer at PopMatters and Ordinary Space "America is facing a mass exodus from churches everywhere as a result of the ongoing abuse, bigotry, homophobia, racism, sexism, idolizing nationalism, and plain hate that the mainstream American church has clung to for decades. Andrew explores these reasons and more as he walks, runs, and plummets us into his own deconstruction journey. Jesus has left the church, and if that bothers you, infuriates you, unsettles your soul, this collection is for you." -Chelsea Meeks, advisor and instructor