Trans Love: An Anthology of Transgender and Non-Binary Voices

This varied collection of essays, love letters, questionnaires, and poems speaks to trans and nonbinary people’s experiences of love. Editor Benson, who also contributes to the collection, points out that “we all experience love, however we identify.” Faith DaBrooke’s essay recounts her hopeful expectations on a first date with a man; Jo Green’s essay on paganism and spirituality, in the “Faith and Belief” section that Benson connects to divine love, concludes that everything happens for a reason. A poet identified as Silver testifies to the pain caused by parents misgendering their child: “you even correct people when they call your dog he / so why can’t you do it with me?” Not all contributors are professional writers; this yields mixed results, as some essays come across as facile, and too often the novice writers’ anxiety about what to say or how to get started dominates the writing. Readers looking for well-written, mature, introspective reflections on these topics are not likely to be satisfied with this well-intentioned but underdeveloped collection. (Aug.)