June is Pride Month, when the world's LGBTQ communities come together and celebrate the freedom to be themselves. Pride gatherings are rooted in the history of minority groups who have struggled for decades to overcome prejudice and be accepted for who they are.
The original organizers chose this month to pay homage to the Stonewall uprising in June 1969 in New York City, which helped spark the modern gay rights movement.
And in honor of this fabulous community, below are 4 books written by LGBTQ authors that will have you hanging on to every word. Check them out!
1. Willa & Hesper by Amy Feltman
Amy Feltman's debut novel is centered around a couple of young women in a writing MFA program falling in love, but this novel is far from a straightforward romance.
The short, intense relationship formed at the beginning falls apart due to the physical distance put between them, and it's up to the women to pick up the pieces and salvage it.
From New York City to Tbilisi to Berlin, with an ensemble of complex supporting characters, this book also includes discussions of faith, fear, sexual assault, and modern queer identity.
2. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
If long passages of text aren't your thing, this next recommendation is for you. In this honest and visually stunning graphic novel, writer and illustrator Maia Kobabe has truly given the LGBTQ community a gift.
Kobabe tells the journey of learning about gender and sexuality, giving light to a much-needed canon of stories that have long been actively erased.
3. The Summer of Dead Birds by Ali Liebegott
Ali Liebegott has been a pillar of the lesbian poetry scene for a while now. Her latest collection, "The Summer of Dead Birds," is a potent meditation on grief. Whether losing a person, pet, or relationship, the graceful and the ugly moments we feel ourselves facing can be found in these poems.
The birds that Liebegott chooses to encapsulate her anthology around serve as a symbol and metaphor for loss being both majestic and reckless--easily broken by this world and yet being able to soar high above it.
4. Flannelwood by Raymond Luczak
Raymond Luczak is a deaf and gay writer, editor, and playwright. In short, he's amazing. In his latest novel, he pays homage to Djuna Barnes' 1936 novel "Nightwood," a classic of queer literature. "Flannelwood" is an erotic portrayal of two men who meet at an OctoBear dance.
It is a love story about gay men who burn with desire for each other and then disappear from each other's lives. This novel is short but extremely engrossing, and is well worth the read.
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