Pride month is coming to an end tomorrow! And so is my time at my current home! So this edition of trans poetica will be a little brief. Stay tuned for a long post next week about what I read during pride!
So, first off, I deleted my twitter, finally. I feel so free!!! And I have more time and energy to bug my subscribers here!
This past Tuesday, I hosted a pride reading and open mic with dear friends and amazing writers Bri Gonzalez, CD Eskilson, and Diamond Braxton. I cried at least five times! AND we raised $200 for Transgender Education Network of Texas! It was my first time facilitating something of this magnitude and I’m so fucking proud, happy, moved, humbled, honored— all the mushy adjectives! It was truly what I needed after a transphobic ass pride month. Please, check out these writers, check out TENT, support queer artists!
Some trans &/or literary links:
Raspa Magazine’s exhibit Aquí and Now is on display at Houston City Hall from now til August. Please go check it out if you’re able! I’m in awe of the work of these 8 queer Latinx poets, and I’m so honored to be a part of it. Check out my manifesto-disguised-as-poem “Latinx Poetry” here. My lil portrait is so dykey and I love it (photo creds to my beautiful partner)
This article in Cosmopolitan, “This Is Your Gender-Affirming Care Counterprogramming,” is such a vital read. In it, five young trans people talk about the importance of gender-affirming healthcare. Though of course transness takes many shapes and forms, I saw myself, my siblings, my loves in many of these entries. The theme of the month must be me crying about trans people being ourselves.
Reminder that the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund Name Change Project exists
Applications for this Queer Art grant are open til July 12. From the website: The Illuminations Grant for Black Trans Women Visual Artists sheds light on the under-recognized contributions of Black trans women visual artists and provides critical support to their continuing work.
Check out the latest issue of the queer planty journal ALOCASIA
Last of all, while ~researching~ for a thing I hope to share with y'all soon, I found out that until tomorrow, Black Lawrence Press is donating to queer charities, including the one that helped me find my therapist! If you buy Jody Chan’s poetry book sick, which you should, BLP will donate $1 to The National Queer and Trans Therapist of Color Network
Suits corner:
Okay, I admit, I miss the white people escapism and daddy issues that Succ provided me each Sunday. So in an effort to watch as much Netflix before I am inevitably logged out of a shared account for *reasons*, I started Suits.
Turns out it’s not as white as Succ! One of the leads is Afrolatina badass Gina Torres! Why have I never heard of this show! It’s like Psych meets Succ meets Community with the occasional campiness of Glee. Also, I know next to nothing about Meghan Markle beyond the racist British nonsense she’s had to deal with, but she is my favorite character in the show so far!!! My second favorite character is all the 2011 music.
If Harvey were in Succ, Logan absolutely would have him, as the kids say, unalived.
No, I will not stop calling it Succ.
Why-I’m-Not-Scared-of-AI corner:
Spotify, what is this?
Like, yes, please add random music to my faves playlist. You already somehow think I want to listen to the Nepo Daddy despite having ignored every Lana release since NFR.
Currently reading: A Shiver in the Leaves by Luther Hughes; A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt
Currently listening: Baby Keem; Citizen (the Youth show last week was top tier); Steady Hands! Sean had the alliest fundraiser for the Trevor Project last week :’)
Currently watching: time tick away before we move and before I have things due tomorrow hehe
<3
You may have noticed that I added a paid option for this newsletter. I’m currently going through a few big life transitions AND recently got accepted to a residency to finish my first full-length manuscript! Subscriptions will help offset these expenses. Plus, if you subscribe as a founding member I’ll send you a zine grab bag!
That said, trans poetica will always always remain free. I do this because I love writing and connecting with likeminded folks. “From each according to their ability, to each according to their needs.” Thanks for reading this far down!