Matthew C. Draughter's debut poetry collection is accompanied by a photography collection, depicting the essence of a man forging his rainbow after years of trauma. It unearths the definition of possession as one redefines meaning when one can no longer "be a thing to someone." Icons diverse as James Ijames, Mariah Carey, Ntozake Shange, Emily Dickinson, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter appear across poems configured between the essence of rapture and survival. Musings on personal and cultural history are woven between a mesmerizing photography collection, inspired by the four ashramas in Hindu culture, which Draughter has represented in his own four phases to BLUME. Draughter navigates the scarring of love, loss, and the sublime. IN BLUME is charged by his electric imagination, fueling us with enough water to bloom in our own right.
 
ISBN 979-8-218-44784-7
Cover art by Tyla Maiden.
Photography by Ja'me Almonte, Jon M. Dailey, III, Matthew Draughter, Eric Ellerbee, Miles B. Jordan, Judy Kim, Doug Spearman, Sydney Walker, Brandon Washington, and Adam Vo.
Published by Saturn Return Studios.
Pgs. 98