The Review’s fancy new website has only been up for 9 months, but we still wanted to round up our most popular articles written in 2023 to highlight the incredible work of our incredible contributors! From memoriams to resource lists to book recommendations, the Review has it all.
When We Say We Love Each Other: Loving the Life and Work of Minnie Bruce Pratt September 12, 1946 – July 2, 2023 by Julie R. Enszer
“I cannot remember any part of my adult life without Minnie Bruce Pratt. My first encounter with her was on the pages of her poetry collection When We Say We Love Each Other. No, that isn’t quite right; I read her essay ‘Identity: Skin Blood Heart’ for an undergraduate women’s studies class in the late 1980s at the University of Michigan.”
Queer as in Free Palestine: Palestinian and Anti-Zionist Jewish Writers, Scholars, and Resources by the Lambda Literary Review Team
“Queer as in a radical life, queer as in free Palestine. As the genocide in Gaza continues, we want to remind our community that we are here as support and a resource. In the spirit of that mission, we present a list of queer Palestinian/Anti-Zionist Jewish writers/activists/scholars. Buy, read, support! Looking for more information on queerness and the current conflict? Check out our resources at the bottom of the page!”
In That ‘Lavender Haze’: WLW Books as Taylor Swift Eras by Iyana Gallen
“Throughout life, we yearn to be valued, seen, connected, and understood—that’s what I’ve found in Taylor Swift. When experiencing my first women-loving-women heartbreak, ‘Back to December’ felt like a friendly hug and assured me I’d be okay. It was 1989 blasting in the background of college memories my friends and I reference to this day.”
What We’re Reading: Pride Edition by Suzi F. Garcia
“Happy June! There are so many exciting events around the corner, including the Lambda Literary Awards. But as you recoup from Pride or if you just want to celebrate from your couch, we have some great recommendations straight from the staff of Lambda Literary!”
The Kin We Break: Rethinking Connection with Queer Kinship: Race, Sex, Belonging, Form by Kara Russell
“As a rural lesbian, I always make it through Pride month with a few difficult questions: Whom can I count on? Where can my wife and I go? Who’s calling themselves an ally, and who’s “reclaiming” the rainbow? At the heart of these and similar questions is how I am intimately — or violently — connected to the people and places around me.”
Foucault in Warsaw: A Fascinating Peek into Gay Life behind the Iron Curtain by Lane Igoudin
“At the time of his death from complications of AIDS in 1984, Michel Foucault was considered one of the 20th century’s most influential intellectuals and philosophers. His work forever changed our understanding of sanity, sexuality, morality, and crime. And yet his life concealed a personal secret that might explain how he first arrived at his profound realizations about society.”
Poetry in Times of Crisis by Ruben Quesada
“Poetry and death have long been intertwined, a tradition that finds its place in times of crisis and offers solace to individuals and communities. The anthology Against Forgetting: Twentieth-Century Poetry of Witness (1993) stands as a testament to the power of poetry in bearing witness to the harrowing events of the 20th century.”
Translating the Body: An Interview with Lars Horn by Cameron Finch
“How does one write of a self that is fundamentally displaced? Are our bodies really our own? Who on Earth understands what we are here for? What does it mean to be a body of movement and slippery definitions in a world that runs on categorization, separation, and the exhausting desire to know? What can we learn from the gestures of fish, from water, if we dare to listen and invite them to baptize us? – Lars Horn”
Puns & Sex Clubs: A Review of The Call-Out by Cat Fitzpatrick by Roz Milner
“Queer life in New York City has always lent itself well to poets. From established voices like Eileen Myles to newer ones like Kay Gabriel or Maggie Milliner, the rhythms and dynamics of life lend themselves well to verse. And now Cat Fitzpatrick, an editor, co-publisher of LittlePuss Press and poet, has gently satirized the Brooklyn queer scene in her new book The Call-Out, available now from Seven Stories Press.”
With a Love Letter to Queer Black Folx, Dior Stephens Draws a Velvet Rope Around the Table They Set for Their Community by Stephen Patrick Bell
“Dior Stephens’ CRUEL/CRUEL is a meticulously arranged series of poems that contrasts playful lightness with the heavy weight of racial conflict and tension in a form that is both startling and familiar in its restrained mix of anger and hope. Each poem’s eye is turned inward with an intensity that burns through the self, revealing a brilliant mirror reflecting the world through the Black body.”
