National Poetry Month
April is a time of renewal and rebirth. In addition to sunnier skies and spring blossoms, it brings the annual observance of National Poetry Month. Now in its twenty-fifth year, this celebration founded by the Academy of American Poets works to draw awareness to the ways in which poetry shapes our society.
Despite a rich tradition of queer poets and writers, only a very small percentage of students report being directly taught positive representations of the LGBTQ+ community through their writing.
It is our hope that by sharing some of our favorite LGBTQ+ poets over the course of April, we can provide you with a renewed perspective on how change takes shape, while encouraging you to think critically about the art you consume. With so many deeply talented poets out there it would be a shame to miss their unique perspectives and their hopes for needed change within society. We’ve curated a very brief list of LGBTQ+ poets to share, in addition to the writers featured on our social media throughout April. We hope you’ll read, engage with, and share a few of your own favorites this month as well!
Joshua Jennifer Espinoza is a Transgender woman and multi-published poet from Riverside, CA. Her work often uses inanimate objects likened to the experience of a Transgender woman. In one poem, the “Moon is Trans,” she begins with the bold proclamation;
“.../From this moment forward, the moon is trans/ You don’t get to talk to the moon anymore unless you use her correct pronouns./ ...You don’t get to send men to the moon anymore unless their job is/ to bow down before her and apologize for the sins of the earth.”
Immediately it places the reader within a space of acknowledgement and respect. She has said of her poetry that “I started writing it to make sense of a life I could hardly remember, and I’ve done a lot of necessary work to piece things back together.”
Chen Chen
Image Courtesy of poetryinvoice.com | Photo Credit: Unknown
Chen Chen is a Chinese-American poet and gay man who uses his work to negotiate his intersectional identities. With “When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities,” Chen Chen shows the audience who he is by walking us through a list of who he must be for others, saying;
“… To be a cyclone / of laughter when my parents say / their new coworker is like that, they can tell / because he wears pink socks, see, you don’t, so you can’t, / can’t be one of them. To be the one / my parents raised me to be --”
This section shows a warmth and sense of humor for his family, even though his sexual identity or even his self concept is not in line with his parents' expectations for him.
By the end of the poem he references the “blue blanket, red cup, green shoes with pink laces.../ To be the blue & the red./ The green, the hot pink” demonstrating his ability to transcend imposed identities of family, friends, and ex-partners. He becomes all things at once, using the image of becoming a rainbow's worth of colors
June Jordan
June Jordan is an acclaimed Jamaican American activist, playwright, and poet. Jordan often addressed many heavy topics in her literary work like civil rights, sexual rights, and representation in the world. A career which was documented by 27 different pieces of published work of poems, essays, and libretti’s, she was passionate about using African American English in her work. Jordan’s work was highly political; she provided thoughtful and beautiful commentary on America, covering difficult subjects such as the attack on the World Trade Center, and the decline of the US educational system.
Excerpt from June Jordan’s “Poems About My Rights”
I am the history of the rejection of who I am/ I am the history of the terrorized incarceration of/ myself/ I am the history of battery assault and limitless/ armies against whatever I want to do/ with my mind.”
If you’re interested in hearing more poetry and the voices of LGBTQ+ poets of color, please also be sure to check out the award-winning podcast, “We Want the Airwaves” hosted by writer and poet Nia King. And happy reading!
Written by Natalie Windt and Paul Shafer
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