From the Silence of Duchamp to the Noise of Boys

“Blanco seeks out a point of unity between the primitive energy of mystical rite, the raw vitality of youth and the relationship between pop and urban culture.” –VogueFrom the Silence of Duchamp to the Noise of Boys is the first book of poetry by New York–based performance artist and writer Mykki Blanco. Coinciding with the release of Blanco’s two new albums—their first in four years—and two new queer anthologies, We Can Do Better Than This (Vintage, 2021) and The Queer Bible (HarperCollins, 2021) that include essays penned by Blanco, this reissue of the sold-out first edition of From the Silence of Duchamp features the original collection of poems with a new introduction by the author. Written over the course of six years with revisions and additions that span across different ages and locations, From the Silence of Duchamp draws heavily from folklore and oral traditions to convey the energy of rebellious youth and challenge a contemporary indifference to spirituality. Blanco, who came of age first in the Pacific Northwest and then as a 16-year-old runaway in New York City, refers in these poems as much to their own experience of life as to the more far-reaching worlds of mysticism, metaphysics and psychedelia. From the Silence of Duchamp is arranged and illustrated by Nikolai Rose, the New York–based creative team of Jacob Melinger and Alan Paukman, who experimented with wine and salt crystals to create the haunting ink washes that accompany Blanco’s visceral words. Michael David Quattlebaum Jr. (born 1986), better known by the stage name Mykki Blanco, is a songwriter, musician, performance artist, poet and activist.