In a heart-to-heart with Edna St. Vincent Millay and her suffrage poem, “I, being born a woman and distressed,” Maine transgender poets and writers offer reciprocity by way of reflection and response. In solidarity with Millay, Trans Poetics Archive will explore queer concerns of being born a woman and distressed from a variety of transgender perspectives
This project serves to mesh modern transfeminism to the cis(white)feminism of the suffrage movement, bringing awareness to those voices left out of this past century’s feminist literary canon. Participating poets: Maya Williams (ey/they/she), Calla Eris Orion (oe/os/oer), Lonny Saleeby, Violet Ferlito (she/they), t love smith (they/them)
Presented by Millay House Rockland, this event is FREE to the public and hosted at the Rockland Public Library.
Meet the Trans Poetics Archive folks:
Maya Williams (ey/they/she) is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who is currently the seventh poet laureate of Portland, ME. Eir debut poetry collection Judas & Suicide (Game Over Books, 2023) was selected as a finalist for the New England Book Award. They also have a second poetry collection, Refused a Second Date (Harbor Editions, 2023). Maya was one of three artists of color selected to represent Maine in The Kennedy Center's Arts Across America series in 2020. Maya was also selected as one of The Advocate's Champions of Pride in 2022. Follow her at mayawilliamspoet.com
Calla Eris Orion (oe/os/oer) is a mirror-in-droste, looking at the world as a reflection of oerselves reflected back on oerselves. Oe work at a liberal arts college, live with oer dog Copper, and enjoy solitude. Oe attend the Stonecoast MFA program in Creative Writing, and were recently published by manywor(l)ds.
Lonny Saleeby has spent their adult life on a trajectory of community care. They started in death work with an expertise in memory care before moving towards the care of children, adolescents, animals and plants. They spend their time stewarding their garden, loving their dog and friends and seeing to the needs of a herd of twenty two goats and a school of 50 preschoolers. They are a visual artist, a poet and healer.
Violet Ferlito (she/they) is a multi-disciplinary artist, currently focusing on writing and performance art that centers her experience as a queer and trans woman. Originally from the Capital Region of New York, she has lived in Maine for around three years. Most recently she has performed with The Waldo Theatre in its production of "The Vagina Monologues" and Two Cent Theatre's production of "Do You Feel Anger?". She is thrilled to be collaborating with the Trans Poetic Archive, especially during a time in which trans folk and other marginalized communities are under attack. Beyond her work as an artist, Violet has practiced a variety of martial arts for over a decade, is an avid gamer, and all around nerd.
t love smith (they/them) is a queer poet stewarding unceded Wabanaki land, studying poetry at Stonecoast MFA, reading for the Stonecoast Review, interning at The Telling Room, and creating content at WMPG, reading as the Assistant Poetry Editor of the Stonecoast Review. As a GRO Scholar, t is curating a series of events for the Trans Poetics Archive which will culminate Spring 2025 with the publication of Monster Beauties: A Maine Transgender Poetry Anthology. Their poetry has been published in new words press vol. 3, Island Ink issue 2, Oddball Magazine, the Free Press, as well as presented on local radio podcasts: Transgender Poetics on WMPG and Poems from Here on Maine Public Radio.