The Tulip Poplars

“The Tulips Poplars is a great big orchestra of a book—it's a story that is tiny and epic, ancient and new, local and global all at the same time. It's a song of repair at a time when we need to heal. It's also a brave book, and transgressive in the very best sense. Pulling the strayed strands of America together, Silas House manages to compose a narrative that recognizes the importance of every small and glorious note of our lives.”—Colum McCann, author of Twist

"Drawing partly on a true family story, the former Kentucky poet laureate crafts a sweeping tale that spans most of the 20th century, starting in the tobacco fields of the early 1900s. Two couples’ forbidden love strains against the bonds of religion, race and social norms, bringing anguish, betrayal and mortal danger. This sensual portrait of 20th-century Kentucky illuminates the often-overlooked complexity of rural queer and Black lives."—People magazine, book of the week

“Silas House’s The Tulip Poplars is a story of love between people that society says should not love each other . . . . The South, and the rural South in particular, is often flattened in stories. Here, the pain, beauty, danger and community of life in a small Southern town are all on full display. Amos, Tom, Paschal and Maeve find their voices as they fight for what matters—for the land, for their home and for their hearts.”—Bookpage, starred review

“Set in a world of lush beauty and dangerous prohibitions, this tender, big-hearted novel about the abiding power of love will move you to tears.”—Thrity Umrigar, author of Honor and Missing Sam

“I couldn't put down this heart-panging novel of forbidden love.”—Garden & Gun

“Silas House’s newest novel is a sweeping exploration of forbidden love over a lifetime in the 20th century . . . His prose makes the readers feel each character’s longing as they make conventional choices and search for happiness. Even as these characters struggle with their emotions and desires, House wants his readers to know that gay people have always existed, even in the rural South.House’s prose is a thing of beauty."—Denver Post

“Silas House has always been a masterful storyteller, and with each new book, I'm amazed at how he pushes further in his empathy while never turning away from the difficult ways the world tries to break us. In The Tulip Poplars, House has crafted an ambitious and utterly beautiful love story, sweeping and yet so attuned to the minute moments in which a life can change.”—Kevin Wilson, author of Run for the Hills

“House offers unflinching depictions of the era’s prejudice and cruelty . . . but also threads the novel with hope by showing the characters’ capacity for growth. There’s much to savor in this wise tale.”—Publishers Weekly

“A sweeping Appalachian love story about longing, identity, faith, and the enduring pull of home. This will resonate with readers of historical fiction, LGBTQIA+ romance, and Appalachian literature.”—Library Journal

"The Tulip Poplars reminds us that love is never far away. Amid suffering and mistreatment, there is hope. The book asks us to remember that love has the ability to save us and to heal us . . . a beautiful reminder of love’s everlasting power."—Southern Review of Books

"Took my breath away . . . . The Tulip Poplars pushes against what House calls the “escape narrative”—the notion, so common in popular media, that a rural person can find a better life only by leaving. [The] novel’s greatest achievement: it shows us that how we reckon with our desires and how we reckon with whatever power guides this universe are not mutually exclusive, that they are, in fact, equal parts of life’s mysterious beauty."—Salvation South

“Equal parts historical fiction, romance, and (found) family saga, The Tulip Poplars tells the story of four friends…and how their complicated relationships change and grow over five decades. Tom and Amos fall passionately in love almost instantly. . .  the intensity of the connection between the two young men continues to form the beating heart of the novel. . . . House’s remarkable talents are on full display.”—Chapter 16