The Apple of Their Throat

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The Apple of Their Throat is a love story, and a testament to the quiet, defiant resilience it takes to build a life when the world says you don’t belong.

This is an intimate and unflinching journey through self-discovery, first love, heartbreak, and the faith we lose and find on the way to becoming. Told in three powerful movements—Pollination, Fertilization, and Ripening—this memoir-in-verse begins with the breathless urgency of early desire and the ache of wanting to be chosen: by God, by family, by love. It weaves through grief, guilt, and rupture, arriving at a reclamation of self that is healed, scarred, and still tender. It is both a prayer and a battle cry, laying bare emotions in all their contradiction—divine, flawed, and achingly real.

With language that is both accessible and precise, these poems capture the ache of longing, the quiet fractures of faith, and the fragile bloom of first love. This is a collection that interrogates religion, asking what holiness looks like for those cast out and it pulses with honesty, restraint, and the kind of intimacy that feels like being handed a secret.

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Description

Kevin T. Norman is a queer writer and content creator based in Los Angeles, California. Followed by over 400,000 across TikTok and Instagram, he redefines what it means to tell stories in both the digital and literary worlds. He is the founder of Violetear Books, an imprint under Bindery devoted to publishing bold, marginalized voices.

Kevin’s poetry and creative vision have led to partnerships with Spotify, Amazon, Wattpad, and more. In 2022, he was honored as a TikTok LGBTQ+ Trailblazer for his advocacy in the digital space. He lives in Los Angeles with his partner, Dan, and their beloved cat, Darrow.

The Apple of Their Throat is his debut collection.

“The poems in The Apple of Their Throat make my queer heart do so many things: sink, shimmer, do a little jig. I read them and I’m reminded of what happens when we, as Norman writes, ‘let grief sing’—when we allow ourselves to open, to make art—we find each other. We realize, sometimes in the pages of a book, we were never, and are never, alone. I want to give this book to every queer kid hiding in the back pew, trying not to be seen. Kevin T. Norman sees you.” – Grant Chemidlin, author of In the Middle of a Better World

“Poems that plant hope deep in my chest! Kevin uses the alchemy of poetry to evangelize the queer experience into delicious fruit, no longer forbidden.” – Joe Santini, author of Inside the Riptide

“Poems that feel like you’re seen through words. In life, in love, in loss, and in growing pains. Words that perfectly bring emotions you can’t even begin to describe. Who should read this book? Every single person who’s ever felt they didn’t possess the love they seek out.” – Dean Lin, Creator, Host, Motivational Speaker

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