Ten Books for Pride
Books To Watch Out For
Corporations may have taken the rainbow filter off of their Twitter avs, but we’re here for queer and trans lit year-round. (Besides, we hear it’s still Pride in Europe.)
1. FABULOUS: THE RISE OF THE BEAUTIFUL ECCENTRIC, by Madison Moore
“The story I’m telling is about fabulousness as a queer aesthetic, an essence that allows marginalized people and social outcasts to regain their humanity and creativity, not necessarily to boast about power.” Enter the world of clubs, vogue balls, and street fashion and never look back. Oh — and don’t miss the color plates! Snatch it from Yale University Press.
2. NOT HERE, by Hieu Minh Nguyen
Ignore Nguyen’s warning that he knows “not a damn thing” about trust or forgiveness: his sophomore book is all aching wisdom. Where can you find Not Here? Look no further than Coffee House Press.
3. SISTER LOVE: THE LETTERS OF AUDRE LORDE AND PAT PARKER, edited by Julie R. Enszer
An intimate view into the platonic correspofndence of two Black lesbian icons. Plunge into a precious Sapphic archive and feel the love from A Midsummer Night’s Press.
4. THE GOOD HOUSE & THE BAD HOUSE, by Doe Parker
A not-to-be-missed long(ing) poem about gender, family, memory, and growing up. Art Zarko’s room-by-room graphics supplement Parker’s exquisite excavations. Recenter Press will help you with your house h(a)unt.
5. IF THEY COME FOR US, by Fatimah Asghar
I’d say Brown Girls creator Fatima Asghar is the voice of a generation, but her work is intergenerational in scope. Her debut poetry book is timely, daring, and breathtaking: “the long years we’ve survived the long / years yet to come I see you map / my sky the light your lantern long / ahead & I follow I follow.” Coming to you in August from One World.
6. HOW TO WRITE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL, by Alexander Chee
Genre? Who is she? Good luck trying to classify this book — better to just dive into Chee’s revealing essays for a master class in vulnerability. Wondering how to get your hands on an autobiographical novel? Mariner Books has you covered.
7. A VIEW FROM ELSEWHERE, by Victoria Sin
A kaleidoscopic, performative hybrid-genre “fantasy in three acts” from one of London’s most electrifying nonbinary drag queens. “From the other side / Of unknowable knowledge / You see me / Everything at once / Infinity perspectives.” PSS will slip you a copy.
8. TRAP DOOR: TRANS CULTURAL PRODUCTION AND THE POLITICS OF VISIBILITY, edited by Reina Gossett, Eric A. Stanley, and Johanna Burton
Visibility is complicated in our post “trans tipping point” moment. Who does trans representation speak for and who does it endanger? Trap Door’s essays and interviews explore the contradictory mesh of relationships between trans visibility, privilege, economic security, respectability politics, and danger. Fall through the trap door at MIT Press.
9. INSIDE/OUT, by Joe Osmundson
Not to be mistaken for my favorite Pixar movie, this lyric memoir from Food4Thot co-host Joe Osmundson is no less of an emotional firecracker. Writing in Bluets-esque fragments, Osmundson is direct and urgent while addressing matters of the heart. Go topsy turvy at Sibling Rivalry Press.
10. INDECENCY, by Justin Phillip Reed
A difficult but necessary read with both tender and violent poetry. Reed’s textured, warped experimental poems make sound bodily in rhythmic and visual smears. Indulge in an indecent treat from Coffee House Press.
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11. Hang on! We’re not done here! Editor’s note time! I’m adding a Number 11! WITH, by Noah Fields!
Get haunted at Ghost City Press.
Hi! It’s Sarah, Anomaly’s Features & Reviews Editor. Noah wouldn’t add themself to this list — but it looks like I just did!
Noah Fields does excellent work as Assistant Features & Reviews Editor, and puts in so much hard work to boost the work of amazing writers. Well. Noah’s an amazing writer, too, and deserves the same support and community that they work toward with everything they do, here at Anomaly.
Noah’s debut, WITH, is a pay-what-you-can microchap from Ghost City’s 2018 Summer Micro-Chapbook series.
WITH is an intimate and daring collection, a text that twists and entwines, that tells lovers’ secrets. Exploring form, voice, and play, WITH is a kinetic and restless text, connected by the liminality and intensity of a long-distance relationship. These poems capture the suspended time of distance with a charming vulnerability, and tumbling verse — the speaker learning to define and to find themself as they explore the meaning of their relationship, bounty of memory and eagerness of ache. WITH is a pure distillation of queer love. Noah Fields brings a refreshing joyfulness to queer lit. If you enjoy Tommy Pico or Ari Banias, you’ll find something special in WITH.
