Our work is everywhere An illustrated oral history of queer & trans resistance

Rose makes her trade debut by bringing together a stirring variety of queer voices to challenge normative notions of "work." In the foreword, poet Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha describes the anthology as "a seed library passed around that kin near and far... can plant from," which asks organizers to reimagine community work (including timely missives dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic). For the members of PLUMP! collective, it's how creating Fat: The Play provoked radical vulnerability and a queer body-positive community; for trans activist Ceyenne Doroshow, it's discovering empowerment in sex work and challenging the rigidity of traditional nonprofit structures; for incarcerated trans woman Amber Kim, it's simply tapping the resilience to build trust and hope amid violence. For each piece, Rose reinterprets the speakers' words into expressionistic layouts, with dreamlike illustrations and a juxtaposition of poetry and prose. Though her hand-lettering and tendency to twist sentences into more visually pleasing curved lines sometimes impedes the readability, Rose and her collaborators' emotionality shines through. It's an inspirational volume for current and aspiring queer community workers to "keep showing up" to build a better world together. (Apr.)

Queer and trans activists describe their lives and work in this anthology of oral history and illustrated interviews. Illustrator and comic artist Syan Rose calls her book "part graphic nonfiction, part thank-you note, part gay theory paper, [and] part activist gossip column." Each of the contributors grapples with universal questions of "power, desire, justice and accountability" as well as "structural & mental racism, transphobia, fatphobia, colonialism, ableism, xenophobia, antiblackness, [and] rape culture." Selections include Caleb Luna and Nicole Arteaga's "Reclaiming & Revolting Bodies: Fat: The Play," Mirna Haidar's "Queer Muslim Family," and "Everything You Love About New Orleans Is Because of Black People," a conversation with New Orleans visual artist Phlegm. We meet sex workers and their advocates, healing and health justice activists, trans women survivors, and queer martial artists. Herbal healer Geleni Fontaine describes "what it means to be in a transgressive body at a time when fat people are seen as diseased. There is a poignant section of reflections on the pandemic, including Ra Malika Imhotep's "A Praise Song for Sick Blk Wimmin," who "have been knowing something deep about this kind of embattled survival….When we talk about how Southern black folks face alarming 'health disparities,' we are saying that we are sick. And not because there is something inherently wrong with us, but because the world we've been given unto structurally & systematically disrupts our access to wellness." The drawings throughout are exquisite, and while the swirling, hand-lettering is occasionally difficult to read, the book accomplishes its clear goal: visibility for the marginalized. As Stella, a member of the Trans Assistance Project, puts it, "It's not just for my own happiness, it's also because there are people who, just by seeing me, might be more kind to queer people in the future. Or if they are queer, they might feel less alone or come out sooner." A unique, empowering addition to LGBTQ+ literature. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.