Some poetry reaches across the page and holds your hand. Alok Vaid-Menon’s poetry goes further—it holds your grief, your beauty, your questions, and the parts of yourself you think to hide. A non-binary internationally acclaimed poet, performer, and advocate, Alok (they/them) is a force of nature in full bloom. Their writing speaks to the ache of being seen and unseen. Their performances are a celebration of vulnerability. And their words? They don’t just stick with you, they speak to you. Poetry as Liberation Alok’s poetry isn’t confined to form. It’s ceremony, question, meditation. In Femme in Public, their 2017 collection, Alok asks us to confront what femininity means in a world that punishes it. These poems are sacred and searing. A meditation on anti-trans violence. A ceremony for grief. A survival guide and a blueprint for freedom. Alok’s work captures what it feels like to live in a world where shrinking your softness is necessary just to stay safe. It’s poetry that speaks to everyone. It doesn’t flinch when it comes to saying the difficult parts out loud. “What feminine part of yourself did you have to destroy in order to survive in this world?” – Alok Vaid-Menon, Femme in