Pride Month is here, and I’ve been building/hoarding my reading list in preparation. This year’s focus? Poetry! Specifically, romantic poetry written by and for queer people.
A friend gifted me a copy of Andrea Gibson’s Lord of the Butterflies over the holidays, and I was captivated instantly. I needed more! As a result, my Pride Month TBR is basically a big stack of recommendations by queer friends. When I asked for opinions to build an intentional list, the results were an embarrassment of riches. I thought it was a fun hook for an article: which queer poets would queer friends recommend to me, an ally and a professional reader, as must-reads? Here are the top three picks from MY little community (in no particular order, of course)!
1. Aditi Angiras
“You’re a mouthful. I kiss you like no one’s looking. You kiss me back. I tell you about the things I don’t dream about. You tell me about dreams you do. We torch them with a cigarette and decide to quit smoking again.” – So Far, So Good
Not only is this poem a lovely look at the minutiae of relationships, it asks the question of the ages: ”what do people do with their time when they’re not in love?”
South Asian poet Aditi Angiras is funny, relatable, empathetic and a must-read author. Cigarettes are optional!
You may also enjoy The World That Belongs To Us, an anthology of contemporary queer poetry from South Asia edited by Angiras with poet and queer activist Akhil Katyal.
2. Owen Keehnen
Want to hear a really weird sentence? I cannot WAIT to read Sex Tour in a Hearse. This queer poetry collection, penned by prolific writer and historian Owen Keehnen, is a true mediation on community and all of the things that can change with the passing of time. Topics range from the early days of gay rights to AIDS, aging and more. Each work is rooted firmly in the queer experience.
Don’t miss 2023’s Man’s Country: More Than a Bath House, the story of the landmark institution that was a staple of gay life in Chicago for nearly half a century. Man’s Country included a stage, which was graced by acts like Divine and the Village People. There was also a snack bar, the largest steam room in the American Midwest and an orgy room. “Something for everyone!” indeed. Man’s Country fell victim to the wrecking ball in 2018, but thanks to writers like Owen Keehnen, the memories live on!
Sidebar: If you have ever been curious about the goings-on and life of a XXX star, don’t miss Keehnen’s Starz. He interviewed more than 60 of porn’s top stars back in the early 2000s, and this book is packed with an amazing time capsule of photos of all of your favorite gay porn stars. And yesssss … there’s a sequel!
3. Leila Mottley
Former Oakland Youth Poet Laurate Leila Mottley looks at the oft-celebratory side of living the queer life in Woke Up No Light, helping readers consider a future in a world that’s constantly on the brink of disaster.
This work moves in sections from “girlhood” and “neighborhood” to “womanhood,” with some “falsehood” in between. Mottley’s powerful voice is wry, witty and rhythmic, and the language will work its way into your heart.
“These are the hymns of a new generation of poetry. Young, alive, yearning. A mouth swung open and ready to devour. A quest for home in a world that knows only wasteland and wanting.”
Her other books include The Girls Who Grew Big and Nightcrawling: A Novel.
This is, of course, just the tippy, tippy tip of the iceberg that is queer writing, and the sea is basically bottomless. Ask around at this year’s Pride events to see what YOUR community is reading! Sharing thoughts on art and culture is its own form of activism, and although I do love a good rally, it’s definitely my favorite way to connect with like-minded folks!
