Queer Heartache is the first full-length poetry collection by trans, Asian-American spoken word poet, and theater artist, Kit Yan, out now from Trans-Genre Press! The cover is by Justseeds' very own Jess X. Snow.
Queer Heartache is adapted from Kit Yan’s award-winning one-person slam poetry theater show with the same name. Kit’s poetry explores his identity as transgender, queer, Asian American from Hawaii, while asking what queer hearts and families are made of and interrogating the forces that are constantly working to break them apart. Queer Heartache is a testament to the resilience of queer love in all its forms—between cis and trans siblings, lovers, pride parade attendees, and many more—in the face of heartbreaking barriers everywhere from the dating pool to the medical establishment. If you’ve ever had your heart broken, wondered how your pets self-identify, or wanted to tell someone your gender is none of their business, this book is for you. So wrap yourself in a rainbow and enjoy the ride!
"I moved to chinatown to honor my mother,
my family, the infinite line before me,
To hear the music in the crowds,
To root this queer heart in the sweet, the foul, the sour stench
of our streets. Because they killed my father
long before he reached the hospital,
And they will call us CHINK and let us die,
if we do not remind ourselves of the strength
in our own tongues, of the resilience,
the resistance, in our own language."
– Kit Yan, "Speaking English"
Author Biography
Kit Yan is a New York based spoken word artist from Hawaii. Kit performs theatrical slam poetry pieces about his life as a queer, transgender, and Asian American through stories about family, love, and social justice. Kit has been seen on television programs such as HBO’s Asian Aloud and PBS’ Asian America. Kit’s poetry has been reviewed in New York, Bitch, Curve, and Hyphen magazines and he has toured internationally with Sister Spit, The Tranny Roadshow, and Good Asian Drivers. Kit’s work has recently been featured in Flicker and Spark and Troubling the Line- two new queer and transgender poetry anthologies and has a forthcoming book with Transgenre Press. His recent performances include headliner at the True Colors Youth Conference, headliner at the New England Queer People of Color Conference, and the Brooklyn Museum.
