Queer Poetry

[ysabetwordsmith]

I'm pleased to take part in QUILTBAG Pride week here on Poetree. We're celebrating the anniversary of the Stonewall riots and people's right to love whom they love, as they love, free of persecution. There are lots of different stripes in the queer rainbow, so I'm trying to gather examples from as many as possible.

Why does this matter? First, it's good for people to see reflections of themselves in literature; that's validating of their identity, and something that mainstream folks may take for granted. Second, It records and shares the experience of different groups so that their discoveries may be known. These two factors may entice people to read poetry even if they didn't care much about it before, because it can do something for them. Third, those impressions let people of other groups widen their awareness beyond their own personal experiences, which aids tolerance.

Voices of under-represented groups are especially valuable because they share insights that are not widely known or told. It's like the difference between opening a window in a room where there are already 20 windows open, vs. a room where there is only 1 window open. You've just doubled the light in that second room, while the first room might not even show a visible difference.

Below are some resources about QUILTBAG poetry that you might enjoy exploring ...

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Poem: "Midnight at the Oasis"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem is from my fantasy setting, the Whispering Sands desert. There's a tribe there, Waterjewel, that recognizes five genders: male, female, both, neither, and I'm-not-telling. Both is hirshn, which can be any combination of physical and psychological traits spanning male and female; and that can be either inborn or acquired. I'm posting this poem here for a canonical example in the intersex category. It's a love poem to a hirshn dancer.

Midnight at the Oasis

When I see you dancing in the sand, beloved,
Your fatal grace makes my heart skip a beat.

Beside you the wind seems clumsy
And even silk less supple.

Your colors are copper and verdigris, plum purple and apricot
Soft brass and coral set with steely blue

All the colors of the desert in bloom
Touched with the perfume of musk.

You are trim as the tassels on a chieftain's tent
And the soft curves of your body echo those of the dunes.

How you enchant me, hirshn,  your hips and hands
As nimble as your feet, your breasts a beauty blinding.

Your every move evokes the patience of woman,
The power of man, partaking of male and female with equal glee.

You are a blend of contradictions and complements
And I find myself captivated by your dance

As surely as wine befuddles the hungry wasp;
Only let me watch, and adore, and I will rest content.

Some of My QUILTBAG Characters

[ysabetwordsmith]

As a gender studies scholar, I frequently write about characters whose sex/gender identity and/or sexual orientation is something outside the center of the bell curve. Add the speculative fiction elements of my work and there are many races in fantasy, science fiction, and horror who do not have the same divisions in terms of culture and/or biology. I've done this all along. Periodically I discover a new idea, although more often I find a movement relating to something I've already had going. So for instance, I've been doing more with asexual characters in the last year or two since I found that branch of queer culture; but I've had neuter and asexual characters from much earlier.

Worth mentioning is that the series Hart's Farm, which is historical fantasy set in Sweden, features alternative sex and gender dynamics as a prevailing theme. Many different sexual identities and orientations appear in these poems. If you're into QUILTBAG poetry in general, I recommend reading the whole series, which you can find listed on my Serial Poetry page.

If you don't see a representation of your identity and/or orientation in what I've already released, let me know. I may add it to my list of things to write.

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