This is a short but powerful book. This review comes after my second read-through of the book. I had gotten it several years ago after seeing Kit Yan preform. Despite the fact that it has been so long, I could see pieces of his performance and hear his words as I reread it. This poetry collection is honest and unabashed. 

"But most of the time, my gender is.../ fuck you mind your own business!"

A note about the content: there is frank discussion of sex and the body in these poems. So, just be aware of that going in. Some of these poems are not for younger audiences.

Trans Liberation by Leslie Feinberg highlights trans beauty, trans joy, trans struggle, trans resilience, and solidarity. It was so empowering to read, as a non-binary person. It was comforting and empowering to hear hir talk about solidarity in a way that was so much more comprehensive than I would have expected even from the late 1990’s. Ze discuss the importance of solidarity on issues of gender, sexuality, race, disability, and class. Ze also has several trans people of color featured in some of the portraits throughout the book.

Of course the language around gender is different from what we use today and that was an experience all on its own. The beautiful chaos of melding masculine and feminine and neutral terms, older and newer (for the time) is incredible. There is so much history and character in all of those labels. This was just the beginning of the legacy that is continued by more discussion of experiences that we get online. There is so much joy and power in the diversity of language that is constantly being created.

This short and sweet book not only tackles myths and misconceptions about trans people and the trans experience, but the experience that Alok shares highlights both the brutality that is forced on trans people and the resilience in that experience. While my experience as white and not femme are different than Alok's, I particularly saw myself in the way they speak on shame (the learning and internalizing of it, but also the releasing). This beautiful, colorful, compassionate book is wonderful for beginners and can be a light for those who are not.

Most people learn about the existence of the sit-ins of the civil rights era in schools, but the details about how they started and what it was like to be there are not common knowledge. This was an engaging story about being on the front lines of the civil rights movement and what it was like to actually engage in nonviolence. I appreciated the details of Lewis' life beforehand as well. It was entertaining and provided important context. I can't wait to read the next two parts!