Books That Celebrate Pride
Check out these works by 2-Spirit authors and members of the LGBTQ+ community and dive deep into their thought-provoking poetry collections, fiction, and non-fiction books.
Whether you’re looking to expand your existing knowledge or add 2SLGBTQ+ reads to your TBR, we’ve got you covered! These books offer diverse perspectives, challenge societal norms and stereotypes, and are offered in a variety of genres (fiction, poetry, memoir). Understand Pride on a deeper level with these reads! 🏳️🌈
A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder
by Ma-Nee Chacaby
“From her early, often harrowing memories of life and abuse in a remote Ojibwa community riven by poverty and alcoholism, Chacaby’s story is one of enduring and ultimately overcoming the social, economic, and health legacies of colonialism.”
Did you know that Ma-Nee visited Sheridan last year to talk about this very book and share her story? If you like to dive into biographies and memories, this is a must-read.
Bodymap: Poems by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
One beautiful element of this book is shows how powerful, and challenging, it can be to have multi-identities and aspects of who are you. In this book, Leah looks at “disability from a queer femme of color lens” and guides us along a journey towards understanding the difficult and beautiful aspects of existence. One reader said “Bodymap maps hard and vulnerable terrains of queer desire, survivorhood, transformative love, sick and disabled queer genius and all the homes we claim and deserve.”
LOVE AFTER THE END: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction
by Joshua Whitehead
This anthology is a collection of nine short fiction stories written by new and emerging 2SQ (Two-Spirit and queer) Indigenous writers from across Turtle Island. Joshua Whitehead presents each author with a prompt: “What does it mean to be Two-Spirit during the apocalypse?” The question—and the variety of perspectives—offers its readers the chance to see “how queer Indigenous communities can bloom and thrive through utopian narratives”. Each story details the strength and resilience of 2Spiritedness despite the colonial histories.
I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl's Notes from the End of the World by Kai Cheng Thom
This book “bridges poetry, list-making, cultural criticism, queer archaeology, and personal essay” and is a call for us to act with both care and urgency when it comes to tackling the topic of justice. This book offers “heartfelt solutions on the topics of violence, complicity, family, vengeance, and forgiveness,” and calls on its readers to decide how they will show up for one another. A quote that perfectly describes this book is when Kai Cheng Thom writes, “The planet is dying. We can choose to consume each other, or we can choose love. Even in the midst of despair, there is always a choice. I hope we choose love.”
Want to read these books?
Great news—you can check them out with the Sheridan Library! If you want to find more Pride-related titles, guides on inclusive language, and/or read a 2SLGBTQ Studies Guide, click the button below!