Dominique C. Butler has created a deeply personal and intimate compilation of poems, short essays, journal entries, and inspirational messages. The result is a powerful look at one "young beauty's" often painful coming-of-age. Butler's work reveals the rich inner workings of a young girl's mind while also showing how society conspires to silence voices like hers. As this beauty matures, she begins to truly understand the prejudicial and sexist undertones of contemporary culture.
Butler divides her work into nine separate sections: "Society," "Family & Friends," "Love," "Passion," "Heartache," "Anger," "Postliminary Sometimeness," "Goodbyes," and "Reflection." Within each section, poems are ordered chronologically. You can see the beauty's maturation before your very eyes as she encounters pain, grief, and sexual abuse but never lets it break her. Her story is one of self-discovery and empowerment.
Butler hopes that girls and women of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds will take her inspirational journey to heart. She believes it can provide light for every woman who has been harmed by individuals or society itself. Through Little Young Beauty, Butler explores the very meaning of being beautiful and the strength that inner beauty can give you.
About the Author: It is Dominique C. Butler's mission in life to inspire everyone to rise up and speak their minds. She knows that your voice is your most precious gift.
Butler first became interested in poetry in middle school. She received her bachelor's degree in theatre arts from Morgan State University and continues to sing, act, and write. In 2013, Butler participated in a Play Slam competition and wrote a fifteen-minute play in less than twenty-four hours.
In 2016, Butler directed seven fifteen-minute plays written by students in inner-city Baltimore. The production, Efflorescent Artistry, highlighted the talents of middle schoolers and gave them the opportunity to see their works performed by professional actors.
Butler has also made her directorial debut in film. She directed SPIN, a documentary focusing on HIV/AIDS awareness in the United States.
