All in caps - "THE MOST HOLY DAY OF THE TRANSSEXUAL CALENDAR" by Nora Hikari
BogiReads brings you the daily speculative reading recommendation of editor Bogi Takács.
Today's recommendation -
Author: Nora Hikari
Title: “THE MOST HOLY DAY OF THE TRANSSEXUAL CALENDAR”
Venue: Beestung, Winter 2024 (ed. Sarah Clark)
Type: Poem – Under 50 lines
Themes: Utopia, hope, mourning, death
Where to read: Text free online
This was my favorite piece in the newest issue of Beestung, though it feels odd to say “favorite” about something involving a mass funeral – so maybe I could say, this is the poem I want you to read the most from it.
It is written in all caps with some sentences bolded, and this feels about 1000% warranted – this is a poem written in screaming.
This poem brings to mind discussions I had with my spouse RB that often in trans SFF the most speculative element involves that we can be accepted and live in peace. Here all that & more is being said, and said with a vast sense of scale: “I HOPE THAT ONE DAY THE STARS BLINK OUT OF EXISTENCE AND DROWN THE WHOLE WORLD IN LUSCIOUS BLACKNESS AND NO SHAPE WILL EVER MATTER AGAIN. I HOPE THE SEAS RISE AND THE SKY SPLINTERS AND THE LAND ITSELF RUMBLES WITH HATRED AND ONE BY ONE EVERY REAL HUMAN WHO MADE THE WORLD THIS WAY IS MADE MORTAL LIKE THE REST OF US.”
Read if you can. (I think the Trans Rights Readathon starts tomorrow if you’re interested in doing that!)
Take care,
Bogi.