"I carry your words inside my body
like the night carries the moon -" Gwen Benaway
This is the fourth collection of poetry by Gwen Benaway and the first that I read. Gwen Benaway is a Canadian, Indigenous, transgender woman. Her writing is raw, honest and emotional. Some of the verses can be related to in deep ways by all people. Gwen allows herself to be vulnerable, and is brave for using her words to express the importance of experiences we all need to hear about.
From the foreward to the postscript, the book is pure poetry. There are no titles, just poems.
Often, I will use poetry in between heavier reads. Benaway uses words precisely and her poetry makes one aware of and think about gender, sexuality and treatment of trans (or all LGBTQ2S+) people. This ended up not being a lighter or easier read. It's never comfortable for me to read about people being used, abused, and mistreated. This is another important read because it shares someone's experiences, how they feel, and gives us a glimpse into their lives which we might think are different than ours, but in fact, we might not be so different after all. I think Gwen Benaway is an important voice for the LGBTQ2S+ community.
I read this in April, but now that we are in June, it would be a good read for Pride month.
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