Entrapta + Space

1x01 // 7x02

In the wake of JK once more being a total jk, here’s a (non-exhaustive) thread of works by Black trans writers.

Don’t Call Us Dead - Danez Smith, poetry about Black masculinity, police brutality, gender and queerness. Probably the best book of poetry I’ve ever read. Smith has several collections available and you should read them all.

The Deep - Rivers Solomon, a speculative fiction novella about the descendants of murdered slave women. Themes of trauma and memory. Really beautiful writing. Their sci-fi novel An Unkindness of Ghosts is equally unmissable.

Redefining Realness - Janet Mock, the memoir of Mock’s childhood and adolescence as a trans woman before she transitioned. Mock’s second memoir, Surpassing Certainty, focuses on her life in her twenties.

Felix Ever After - Kacen Callender, a YA novel about a teenage trans boy (at the start of the book), Felix, as he further questions his identity, tries to find love, and works on his artistic future. Everything that makes YA novels great.

Reacquainted with Life - KOKUMO, a debut about Black trans womanhood and the power of her voice and body. This work is so hard to describe. Ferocious? Lively? Witty? Completely different to literally any poetry I’ve ever read? All of the above and more.

Mannish Tongues - jay dodd, a poetry collection about Black youth, queerness, religion, family, and gender. I hate how pretentious the word ‘visceral’ is, but it’s pretty accurate here. dodd’s collection The Black Condition ft. Narcissus is also phenomenal.

Pet - Akwaeke Emezi, a YA novel about a Black trans teenage girl and having to confront the existence of monsters. Emezi also has an acclaimed adult novel out, Freshwater, and I believe their new adult novel, The Death of Vivek Oji, is out in August 2020.

trigger - Venus Selenite, poetry about being Black, trans, queer, and unapologetic. This one is hard to get hold of, but worth it if you can. Selenite also co-edited and is featured in Nameless Woman, an anthology of writing by trans women of colour.

Surge - Jay Bernard, a poetry collection written in response to the 1981 fire at New Cross Road, as well as Grenfell Tower and the Windrush Scandal. Bernard is one of those poets who can use 10 words to say more than most of us can in 1,000.

Nameless Woman: An Anthology of Fiction by Trans Women of Color - ed. Venus Selenite, Ellyn Peña and Jamie Berrout, this one includes several stories by Black trans women and is, as a body of work, completely invaluable. The stories here range from semi-autobiographical and romance to sci-fi and speculative fiction.

Resilience - ed. Amy Heart, Larissa Glasser and Sugi Pyrrophyta, an anthology of writing by ©AMAB trans people. Again, this anthology is not specifically dedicated to Black trans people, but it includes work by KOKUMO and CHRYSALISAMIDST, amongst others. This book is super varied, with short stories, poetry and personal essays.

Consider ordering these, where possible, from independent Black owned bookstores.

You can also financially support Black trans people through donating to organisations such as this and these.

Important addendum: I tried incredibly hard to find published works by Black trans women, because trans women are the focus of JK Rowling’s tweets and indeed an overwhelming amount of violence and bigotry in general, but I’m sure it’s no surprise to anyone that Black trans women are enormously discriminated against by the publishing industry, and are routinely denied a platform for their work and their voices. Literally, when you Google ‘black trans woman author’, you just get Janet Mock’s author page. I think all of the books by Black trans women in the list above, with the exception of Janet Mock, are self/indie pub.

I have trawled through online indie and radical publishing magazines, message boards, and nearly 100 lists of ‘trans authors you must read now!’ and I would charitably say that about 1% of people featured in such lists are Black trans women. Obviously, Black trans women are writing, but the lack of available platform for their work is a huge barrier to their voices being heard. If anyone else has recommendations for work by Black trans women, whether it’s a physical book, an online chapbook, an Insta account of poetry, or anything else, please add it, because there must be so much more than I’ve managed to find.

Source:

AP NEWS

Black Lives Matter protesters face rare leak charge in Iowa

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Prosecutors in Iowa have filed a rarely used leak charge against Black Lives Matter protesters accused of stealing a

Bail fund link:

Eastern Iowa Community Bond Project

Donate to provide resources, supplies, and aid to protesters

We are proud to say that we have helped free every protester held on bail in Iowa. But our protesters still need support! Funds given here w

Free Viet Tran!! He is only 21 and still in jail!

hey if ur lgbt rb this with ur orientation and ur fave soda

it’s so heartbreaking to see how the general public has lost momentum for black lives matter. it’s a clear demonstration of how so many people are more interested in trends than they are in ensuring justice is served. not only are breonna taylor’s murders still walking around free, but there are also countless other victims of police brutality who go virtually unheard of. are you going to wait for another hashtag to trend in order for you to care and start fighting? i fucking hope not.

concern, sympathy, and even intentions aren’t enough. it’s your actions that bring about change.

Black people do not have to be exceptional for their right to life!!!!

Repeat after me:

Black people do not have to be exceptional for their right to life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fuck all romance except for whatever the fuck that running guy and limping kid had in that maze book

reasons why i am basically richie tozier

- violently bisexual

- uses humour as a defence mechanism

- has undying love for eddie kaspbrak

deus in absentia 🌛

The World Stands in Solidarity

Italy

Germany

Australia

United Kingdom

Canada

Japan

New Zealand

Sweden

Netherlands

Denmark

Ireland

Syria

Brazil

Iran

Switzerland

Slovenia

Spain

France

Israel