Deer, Silent and Open-Eyed
Deer, Silent and Open-Eyed
Beetle Samuel Rooke-Dutton
my new name has nothing save for
vowels or the sound you get when
your jaw unclenches
Beetle Samuel Rooke-Dutton’s debut poetry collection, Deer, Silent and Open-Eyed, is both a tender and visceral reflection on natural decomposition and his experiences growing up as a trans guy in southern Maine. Through metaphors relating to fish, insects, fruit, and roadkill, the collection conveys themes of violence, connection, joy, and resilience. Exploring topics ranging from the sharpness of razor clamshells to the look of deer sleeping on the sides of highways in the dark of morning, he captures the essence of humanity through the eye of a boy lying still on a dirt road.
POETRY | Paperback | 2025 | ISBN: 979-8-9909764-3-6
Photo by Winky Lewis
About the Author
Beetle Samuel Rooke-Dutton (he/him/his) is a trans guy from California who currently lives in a beach town in southern Maine. Deer, Silent and Open-Eyed is his first published collection of poetry, though he has been writing for over ten years. When not writing, Beetle is active in Maine’s queer youth community, running workshops that work to create safe spaces and improve the accessibility of communities. He also enjoys linguistics, photography, and the outdoors, especially when hiking or on bike trips. Though Beetle plans to eventually move away, Maine is his home, and he is forever grateful for the community he has gained because of that.
Book Discussion Guide
Age Recommendation: High School
Discussion Questions
How can the cycle of rebirth found in the natural world through plants and animals connect to the growth associated with a trans identity?
What do each of the poems’ structures on the page tell you visually about how the author is feeling about the focus of each piece? How do differences in structure with stream-of-consciousness poems versus broken up poems affect meaning and feeling?
Analyze the poem “Anthropology.” Which lines feel the most impactful? How does the line “would you break my leg for me” standing out in the poem work to create meaning? What does this poem say about humanity and growth?
Writing Prompts
Though the book explores many different animals and fruit, deer come up consistently in the narrative, perhaps as a reflection of the writer’s connection to them. What animals do you feel connected to? What animals reflect your thoughts and feeling about your life?
While some poems explore thoughts or ideas, others reflect on moments in the author’s life. What moments have shaped you as a person? What moments have allowed you to understand others more deeply?
In what ways have you been transformed by experiences? In what ways have you transformed yourself? What has led to this?
How has your environment allowed you to develop? What aspects of your environment, whether it be your town, state, family, or community, have impacted you the most?
Group Activities
Follow a train of thought you feel deeply about and write it out in a stream-of-consciousness poem. Break this poem up and create another poem from it, omitting or adding words as you see fit.
Flip through a book or magazine until you find a word that jumps out at you. Write a poem from this word.
Take a walk outside and observe the different stages of life plants and animals are in. Write about the cycle and different parts that stood out to you.
