Dead Girl Cameo

“powell is a ferocious writer with an unapologetic voice. She explores how we treat our heroes, and what heroes do and do not owe us. The poems are odes to those we lost (Whitney Houston, Left Eye) and a reminder that we’re all hiding pain. Moving and refreshing. A knockout.”—Debutiful

“In poet m. mick powell’s debut collection, Dead Girl Cameo, the deaths of iconic Black female singers and musicians—Whitney Houston, Aaliyah, Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes, Billie Holiday and Phyllis Hyman—go beyond the headlines. Powell resurrects their vivid lives and artistry to paint a more humanizing picture of their legacy while exploring themes of sexuality, survival, grief and stardom.”—USA Today

“This lyrical and haunting debut poetry collection follows the lives of music icons, including Aaliyah, Selena, Whitney Houston, and more. It reflects on the work they have done that impacted the author’s childhood as a queer Black woman. These icons transformed more than just the music industry; their artistry shaped generations of fans beyond their time.”—She Reads

“Dead Girl Cameo: A Love Song in Poems is a poetry collection described as ‘docupoetry,’ a form that blends existing material with the poet’s own words, much like found footage in film. In this work, Powell creates a love letter to Black musicians whose legacies endure far beyond their tragically short lives. Drawing on interviews with Tammi Terrell, Minnie Riperton, and others, the poems form a textured collage where archival voices meet lyrical reflection. The collection is deeply personal to Powell, yet it resonates with readers through a shared parasocial connection to these powerful women.”—Platform

“A bricolage of ghosts, stardust, music hits, and generational trauma, Dead Girl Cameo offers a unique path to communication with ancestors and asks those still living to consider what becomes of discarded idols.”—The Rumpus

“Studded with perfect little jewels of looking, of feeling, of deep knowing . . . These poems haunt, and celebrate, and mourn, and, to borrow the poet’s own language, invent ‘other words for gold.’ I adore this book, and I look forward to seeing its work in the world.”—Safia Elhillo, author of Girls That Never Die

“Dead Girl Cameo is not only an interrogation of the way society and celebrity culture fails girls, particularly those who are Black and queer; it is also a generous imagining of the lives that are possible when girlhood is protected and tended to.”—Brittany Rogers, author of Good Dress

“An orchestra of tenderness marks the brilliance of this book. mick is a star.”—Camonghne Felix, author of Dyscalculia

“Through an innovative blend of queer feminist theory, collage, and docupoetics, powell pens a gorgeous elegy to some of our greats and revives them in perpetuity by countering their life’s violence with a love that is pure, queer, and infinite.”—Dr. Taylor Byas, author of I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times

“Dead Girl Cameo stitches many tender odes, counternarratives, and snapshots of Black girlhood—from the violence to the beauty of it—into the warmest protective quilt for its subjects. powell’s formal and lyrical prowess make Dead Girl Cameo a propulsive and genius debut that I’ll never stop thinking about.”—Jae Nichelle, author of God Themselves

“Dead Girl Cameo is a revelation, returning pounds of flesh to our fallen icons with a lyric pulse strong enough to resurrect. Its pages reach through the mycelial network of Black queer girlhood, recovering the fugitive eros of their lives.”—Kemi Alabi, author of Against Heaven