Christopher Rose

Afropunk Blues

Afropunk Blues is a tribute to the Seattle of yesteryear, exploring the unexamined intersections of the Black and Filipino diasporas in the Pacific Northwest. In this debut, Christopher Rose meditates on race, music, and grief, interrogating the space between adolescence and adulthood to find meaning in love and acceptance.

Cover design: Kenji Liu
ISBN: 978-1-950404-21-6
Paperback: $18
Publication date: November 1, 2026

Excerpt from Afropunk Blues

 Salutations

Dear bruised eye, open

Dear broken bone, heal

Dear wrist scars, fade

Dear pills vomited on floor

Dear untied noose from tree

Dear empty street after midnight

Dear country road without cars

Dear ocean crashing on rocks

Dear cold morning at sunrise

Dear light glinting off water

Dear spray from waterfall

Dear rainbow with gray skies

Dear moon between clouds

Dear thunder on stormy night

Dear thirty-seven hours of rain

Dear muddy shoes on clean floor

Dear coyote on ridge at sunset

Dear black cat of good luck

Dear sleep-filled night

Dear Imagination

Dear Universe

Dear Possibility

Christopher Rose is originally from Seattle, Washington and currently resides in Hillsboro, Oregon. He previously taught composition, literature, and poetry at Portland Community College. Chris has received grants from the Oregon Arts Commission, Jade District/Midway Artist Placemakers Project, and the Regional Arts and Culture Council. In 2019, he was a recipient of an Oregon Literary Fellowship. He’s completed fellowships at Voices of Our Nations Arts (VONA) and Cave Canem.  Afropunk Blues is his first collection of poetry.