Portfolio

I write picture books, stories, scholarly research, opinion pieces, public history articles, poetry and more.

My debut picture book Sylvia and Marsha Start A Revolution, the true story of two transgender women of color whose friendship made history, is forthcoming from Jessica Kingsley Press in November of 2020.

My fiction and creative nonfiction has appeared online in the Baltimore Review, Lunch Ticket, Story Club Magazine, and many other places. My essay “Grandpa’s Tie” appears in Closet Cases: Queers on What We Wear and you can listen to me read it here.

I am the author of a biweekly opinion column focused on LGBT topics called Rainbow Rant for Columbus Alive.  I’ve covered a wide range of local issues and events including the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, gay inc., and the International Masculine Gender Spectacular. You can read my latest every other Tuesday.

I share my ongoing research through my public history blog If We Knew Trans History. My first academic article “The Afterward: Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson in the Medieval Imaginary” was published by Medieval Feminist Forum. I have published book chapters in Headcase: LGBTQ Writers & Artists on Mental Health and Wellness and in Time Lords and Tribbles, Winchesters and Muggles. My forthcoming scholarship on Prince and transgender history will be published in Prince and Popular Music: Critical Perspectives on an Interdisciplinary Life and Prince from Minneapolis (University of Minnesota Press).

Finally, you’ll find me reading poetry almost every week at Writer’s Block and the Uptown Poetry Slam. My first chap book is entitled After You Leave the Bar.

Some of my previous work is below. Enjoy!

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A Donkey Shit Christmas Carol

That donkey is going to poop on the floor,” I say accusingly. My parents don’t answer. They have been ignoring me for days now. Since I arrived home for the holidays, I have been regressing. I am undergoing a metamorphosis. I am changing from an adult human being into a teenage cockroach. I feel strange, … Continue reading A Donkey Shit Christmas Carol

Purple Pen

You started it. Last Thursday. Under the stairway next to the cafeteria door, there was a spot where the cameras don’t reach. The security guard was probably staring at a freshmen girl’s butt. You must have slipped right past him. I noticed it on my way to the bathroom. When I walked by, the security … Continue reading Purple Pen

Please Stand Clear of the Doors

The subway. The el. The train. Chicagoans have so many words for our public transportation system. Most of those words are four letters long and hurled at bus drivers pulling away from the curb a moment too soon. Complaining about the Chicago Transit Authority is the city’s favorite pastime—surpassing our love of back porch cookouts, … Continue reading Please Stand Clear of the Doors

Sitti’s Scars

Sitti’s food is delicious, but her hands pay the price. My father complains that he suffers too. “Mama, stop cooking,” he whines. “I don’t have time to drive you to the hospital.” Sitti laughs. “I have my hospital right here,” she says, shaking the box of band-aids she keeps by the stove. The rest of … Continue reading Sitti’s Scars

On the Body: What Transgender History Can Teach us about Censorship

When we discuss the dangers of censorship, we usually talk about the importance of ideas and their free circulation. We would be wise to consider also the dangers censorship poses to the body. Restricting intellectual freedom is a means for oppressing communities – for justifying incarceration, for preventing education, for destroying networks, and for thwarting … Continue reading On the Body: What Transgender History Can Teach us about Censorship

Remembralls and Recognition: A Resistant Reading of Neville Longbottom as Disabled

When I met Neville Longbottom in the pages of J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter book, I recognized him right away.   Neville couldn’t remember the password to Gryffindor tower or much of anything else.  He tripped over his feet.  His teachers yelled at him to try harder, but all his efforts seemed to be worthless.  His … Continue reading Remembralls and Recognition: A Resistant Reading of Neville Longbottom as Disabled

Tomatoes: Heritage or Hate?

“I have learned to distrust my reflex to be nice, but I am carrying my heritage of tomatoes with me. While the pundits and the pedants debate taking down confederate statues, casting it as a tricky dichotomy between heritage and hate, I’m wrestling with a much harder question.” Read the rest on Ruminate.

Lion-Hearted

I knew what to do if I saw an Israeli soldier or a settler. In fact, I knew what to do if I saw a variety of dangerous animals. My friend Ahmed told me that if I approached a hyena, I should make myself as big as possible. My neighbor Nadir said to throw rocks to … Continue reading Lion-Hearted

Nonviolent resistance in the south Hebron Hills

In the South Hebron Hills, Palestinians face Israeli soldiers and violent Israeli settlers who are illegally expanding their settlements and attacking Palestinians, including children walking to school. In response to this profound injustice, Palestinians are organizing demonstrations, refusing to comply with military orders, filing complaints against settlers, and courageously working their land despite the risk … Continue reading Nonviolent resistance in the south Hebron Hills

Prison Walls

“Nasser says hello,” the woman said as she stood in my doorway and smiled. I was barely able to choke out, “Say hello to him too.” Nasser, the woman’s husband, was in prison. He was arrested on 20 July during a peaceful demonstration in his West Bank village of At-Tuwani. He did nothing wrong, nothing … Continue reading Prison Walls

Writing CV

Published Creative Work and Editing Experience “Angry White Men, Survivor Superheroes, and Alternatives: The Best and Worst Representations of PTSD in Geek Culture,” Geeky Gimp, Publication Pending 2018 “‘I’ll Join You When Hell Freezes Over!’: Neville Longbottom and Anti-Racist Disabled Solidarity,” Geeky Gimp, Publication Pending 2018 “On the Body: What Transgender History Can Teach us … Continue reading Writing CV