The Weeds Grow Anyway
Nico Wilkinson's debut full-length poetry collection and handmade book The Weeds Grow Anyway is a celebration of that which lies beyond resilience in the face of adversity: audacity. Writing from Colorado Springs amidst a time of anti-trans violence, they examine the relationship of trans people to this world through the lens of nature's relationship to humans. What makes a plant into a weed, something deemed unacceptable to the landscape? The poetry within - much like the local flora and trans people who live there - is rooted in the experience of queering the inhospitable landscape that is Colorado Springs.
The handmade edition of the book released on June 27th at UCCS GOCA in Colorado Springs, and copies are still available for sale.
If you’re interested in me coming to your show, school, or event and sharing my work, please contact me here.
![The Weeds Grow Anyway [Please Read Description]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/586b3bac579fb3ccd8aa1deb/c9e8bf76-8a57-4bfe-b6b3-65f792409fe1/9b3b8ba4-ce6f-4761-9623-febdd202bde5%7E1.jpg)
The Making of the Book
(Everything below is in progress)
I started assembling my poems into a manuscript in 2023, and in doing so, I struggled to picture the Word document I was assembling them into as a capital-B “Book,” so I decided to experiment with formatting the poetry into a hardcover book, which I bound in May, 2023. In doing so, I remembered my love of editing and bookbinding, and decided I might as well create the books myself.
With the help of The Press at Colorado College and Ladyfingers Letterpress, I designed, carved, and printed the covers using linocut and risograph printing in June, 2024. In the months since I’ve worked on figuring out the best construction of the book, as well as re-working the manuscript with the help of some friends who have offered edits and feedback.
The book released on June 27th at GOCA in Colorado Springs. The ebook and the audiobook are set to release later this year.
How It Started
Designing and Printing the Cover
The inciting idea for the book started simple: I wanted to assemble a manuscript of the poetry I’d been writing over the last few years and send it out to potential publishers.
However, I found it difficult to envision the Word document in which I was assembling my poems as a book, so I decided to return to an old hobby and assemble the initial manuscript into a hardcover casebound book.
