Poetry about bodies, death, and Dolly Parton

April 13, 2022
Denver poet Nicky Beer. Denver poet Nicky Beer. Courtesy Nicky Beer
Denver poet Nicky Beer.

The new poetry collection from Denver’s Nicky Beer is both profound and campy. “Real Phonies and Genuine Fakes” is like a literary cabinet of curiosities. She explores her own mental health and imagines a troop of drag queens at an amusement park. Beer, a collector of things and ideas, is an assistant English professor at CU-Denver.