Queer Lit

• “Transitions” with Ava L. J. Kim

  What do transitions have to do with the nation state? More than you think! Ava Kim joins me to speak about how conceptions of gender are deeply (and problematically) entwined with the nation. Ava speaks about powerful examples of transition narratives from Chile, Vietnam and Argentina to illustrate this and gives us a sneak peek into her forthcoming book on trans genre.  References:Ava Kim’s Still / Life: Trans Genre and the Politics of Anti-Development (forthcoming)Ava Kim’s “The Future is Child’s Play” GLQ (2025)Davy KnittleMellon FoundationChristoph HanssmannStem the Tide: Trans Liberation in an Age of FascismTravestiNyke SlawikLucía Puenzo’s XXY (2007)Marlene WayarMauro Cabral GrinspanWinnicott’s space of playPaz ErrázurizGina Apostol’s InsurectoJessica Hagedorn’s Dream Jungle and DogeatersTrans subterfugeBalangigaSebastián Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman/ Una Mujer Fantástica  Questions you should be able to respond to after listening:     Are you familiar with the term travesti? Please look it up and find a helpful definition.     Which forms of transition does Ava talk about? How do they relate to one another?     In how far is transition a narrative form? What does this have to do with the nation as a form?     How does Ava define trans subterfuge?     What are some of the connections between nation and gender Ava and I speak about? Can you think of others? Have you ever been affected by any of them?

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• “Hungry for Androgyny” LIVE with Leilah Jane King

  Coming to you live from the Spoken Word stage at Out and Wild, the UK’s biggest festival for lesbian, bi, trans and queer women and those who are non-binary! This conversation with the delightful Leilah King has everything you could hope for: laughing, rhyming, swooning, and a whole lot of poetry reading. Tune in to hear Leilah speak about gender nonconformity in football, her journey as a neurodivergent performance poet, and how being half-Iranian affects her experience as a queer woman.CW: mental health, manic state, gendered violence  References:Midnight Picnics in Tehran (2019)We Are Hungry for Androgyny (2023)Polari PressMary OliverSam KerrAudre Lorde’s ZamiTravis AlabanzaJohn Steinbeck’s East of EdenThe Grapes of WrathCharles BukowskiIvan Coyote’s The Tomboy Survival GuideJames Baldwin’s Giovanni’s RoomJohn BetjemanPhilip LarkinSoft ButchTime of the MonthGay on Wye  Questions you should be able to respond to after listening:     Leilah reflects on being a writer as well as a performer. How does performance affect her writing?     What was Leilah’s open mic night called and why did she set it up?     Who are some of the writers that have inspired Leilah? Who inspires you?     Leilah speaks about her intersecting experiences of being queer, neurodivergent and half-Iranian. How does your queerness relate to other parts of your identity?  

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• “Spent” with Alison Bechdel

  Come along on this deep dive into Alison Bechdel’s new autofictional comic novel Spent, that will give you everything from Edward Gorey Easter eggs to Harriet the Spy content. Alison teaches me things about myself (I’m a bottom-up thinker. Who knew!) and reflects on what Alison, the character, learns from finally meeting the much beloved Dykes to Watch Out For on the page. Whether you are a fan of goats, wood chopping, reality TV or Virginia Woolf – this episode has something for every kind of anti-capitalist dyke.  References:Alison Bechel’s The Secret to Superhuman StrengthAlison Bechel’s Fun HomeAlison Bechel’s Dykes to Watch Out ForCarmen Maria MachadoKarl Marx’s Das KapitalThe Guilty Feminist podcastQueer EyeTidying Up with Marie KondoVirginia Woolf’s To the LighthouseNicole CoenenGrant Wood’s American GothicEdward Gorey’s The Unstrung HarpThe Gashlycrumb Tinies This Queer Book Saved My LifeJonathan CapeFoyleshttps://www.foyles.co.uk/events/cape-graphic-novels-mini-conAnna Trench’s FlorrieLouise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy  Questions you should be able to respond to:     What are some of Alison Bechdel’s most well-known texts?     How does Alison reflect on intergenerational queer community?     In a lesbian version of Queer Eye, what would the five lesbians’ areas of expertise be?     If you could fictionalise a detail of your life, what would you invent for yourself?

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• “Trans Life and Story-Led Theory” with Perry Zurn

  The beauty of trans life is that it flourishes in unexpected spaces. This fortnight’s guest Perry Zurn has written a beautiful book about how trans life creates spaces for itself in the cracks, at the edges and in other liminal spaces. We speak about trans life at the university, trans poetics, and the problematisation of trans inclusion. Perry tells me about how he was able to rethink methodologies and the role of the researcher by working with story-led theory. Tune in now to attune yourself to trans thinking, histories and ourchives.  References:Perry Zurn’s How We Make Each Other: Trans Life at the Edge of the University (Duke University Press, 2025)Perry Zurn and Dani S. Bassett’s Curious Minds: The Power of Connection (MIT Press, 2022)Ren-yo HwangEnoch PageJack GiesekingAndrea LawlorJen ManionCavar’s “In Praise of -Less”https://azejournal.com/article/2022/8/4/in-praise-of-less-transmad-shouts-from-absent-placesAmherst Collee, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and University of Massachusetts Amherst  Questions you should be able to respond to after listening:     What might trans poetics be? How does Perry define this term?     Why does Perry like thinking through problems? What are two problems we speak about on the podcast?     Perry describes what story-led theory is and how this method is, in a way, the opposite of how philosophy traditionally uses stories. Can you explain what story-led theory is and how it is different from other theory?     How does Perry use the term ‘attunement’?     Perry explains finding thematic clusters such as pebble, dust and glue. What is an object or entity you associate with trans life?

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• ListenQueer Launch Special: "Queer Britain" with Mark King

  Please listen to this super special episode to meet Mark King from Queer Britain and also to hear all about the upcoming sold-out launch of ListenQueer, the accessible LGBTQIA+ history app!listenqueer.co.ukqueerbritain.org.ukhttps://www.outsavvy.com/event/26049/listenqueer-walking-tour-and-app-launch

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