Judas & Suicide — Maya Williams
Suicide is often framed as betrayal, even though we live in a world that betrays us. When this world tells us that death is better, what does it mean to have faith in life? Judas & Suicide is a poetry collection navigating religion and suicidality. It approaches these topics through the lens of Black family and community, sadness, medication, sexual violence, the prison industrial complex, media, and Bible verses. Judas & Suicide explores how to be convinced to stay alive without feeling obligated to.
Suicide is often framed as betrayal, even though we live in a world that betrays us. When this world tells us that death is better, what does it mean to have faith in life? Judas & Suicide is a poetry collection navigating religion and suicidality. It approaches these topics through the lens of Black family and community, sadness, medication, sexual violence, the prison industrial complex, media, and Bible verses. Judas & Suicide explores how to be convinced to stay alive without feeling obligated to.
Suicide is often framed as betrayal, even though we live in a world that betrays us. When this world tells us that death is better, what does it mean to have faith in life? Judas & Suicide is a poetry collection navigating religion and suicidality. It approaches these topics through the lens of Black family and community, sadness, medication, sexual violence, the prison industrial complex, media, and Bible verses. Judas & Suicide explores how to be convinced to stay alive without feeling obligated to.
Maya Williams (ey/they/she) is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who was selected as Portland, ME's seventh poet laureate for a July 2021 to July 2024 term. Maya received a MFA in Creative Writing with a Focus in Poetry from Randolph College in June 2022. Eir debut poetry collection Judas & Suicide (Game Over Books, 2023) was selected as a finalist for a New England Book Award. Their second poetry collection, Refused a Second Date (Harbor Editions, 2023), was selected as a finalist for a Maine Literary Award. Their third poetry collection, What's So Wrong with a Pity Party Anyway?, was selected as one of four winners of Garden Party Collective's chapbook prize in 2024. Maya was one of three artists of color selected to represent Maine in The Kennedy Center's Arts Across America series in 2020, one of The Advocate's Champions of Pride in 2022, and one of Maine Humanities Council's recipients of the Constance Carlson Public Humanities Prize in 2024. You can follow more of eir work at mayawilliamspoet.com
