(SIGNED) So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color
(SIGNED) So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color
(SIGNED) So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color
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Description
Description
From the acclaimed novelist, a first-of-its-kind, deeply personal, and moving oral history of a generation of trans and gender nonconforming elders of color--from leading activists to artists to ordinary citizens--who tell their own stories of breathtaking courage, cultural innovations, and acts of resistance. So Many Stars knits together the voices of trans, nonbinary, genderqueer, and two-spirit elders of color as they share authentic, intimate accounts of how they created space for themselves and their communities in the world. This singular project collects the testimonies of twenty elders, each a glimmering thread in a luminous tapestry, preserving their words for future generations--who can more fully exist in the world today because of these very trailblazers. De Robertis creates a collective coming-of-age story based on hundreds of hours of interviews, offering rare snapshots of ordinary life: kids growing up, navigating family issues and finding community, coming out and changing how they identify over the years, building movements and weathering the AIDS crisis, and sharing wisdom for future generations. Often narrating experiences that took place before they had the array of language that exists today to self-identify beyond the gender binary, this generation lived through remarkable changes in American culture, shaped American culture, and yet rarely takes center stage in the history books. Their stories feel particularly urgent in the current political moment, but also remind readers that their experiences are not new, and that young trans and nonbinary people today belong to a long lineage. The anecdotes in these pages are riveting, joyful, heartbreaking, full of personality and wisdom, and artfully woven together into one immersive narrative. In De Robertis's words, So Many Stars shares "behind-the-scenes tales of what it meant--and still means--to create an authentic life, against the odds."
About the Author
About the Author
A writer of Uruguayan origins, Caro De Robertis is the author of six novels, including The Palace of Eros, Cantoras, and more. Their books have been translated into seventeen languages and have received numerous honors, including two Stonewall Book Awards, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature, which they were the first openly nonbinary writer to receive. De Robertis is also an award-winning literary translator and a professor at San Francisco State University. They live in Oakland, California with their two children.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
"So Many Stars is the type of book that scares bigots and fascists - which means the rest of us should read it. With unwavering honesty and tenderness, Caro De Robertis interlaces twenty life stories that dismantle the calculated lies that are used to marginalize and persecute trans, nonbinary, genderqueer, and two-spirit people. Put So Many Stars in as many schools as possible. These stories attest to a proud history, an enduring strength, and the unquestionable humanity of their narrators. They provide us with the tip of an iceberg that has been banished from view for too long. This is a curated collection of experiences that speaks to the breadth of a community. All the right-wing demonization and hysteria are debunked by this book."--Rasheed Newson, author of My Government Means to Kill Me
"Gratitude to Caro De Robertis. They have given us the gift of historicizing these generations for whom discovery came from within and propelled them forward. These are stories of how individuals grew communities despite negation and violence, and how they continue to resist organized and amplified backlash, how they made so many other lives possible and created a new world."--Sarah Schulman, author of The Fantasy and Necessity of Solidarity and Let the Record Show
"An utterly riveting view of LGBTQ+ life in America...In this scintillating oral history, novelist De Robertis weaves together the voices of 20 trans and gender nonconforming people of color in their 50s, 60s, and 70s in order to explore what it was like for their generation to come of age, as well as to record and memorialize the struggle for the right to free gender expression that these individuals pioneered."
--Publishers Weekly "So Many Stars is a beautiful constellation of stories, woven together to show the breadth of experiences that make up the lives of Trans, Genderqueer, Nonbinary, and Two-Spirit people of color. This book is a gift - a powerful and necessary addition to the Queer canon. An intimate and multilayered accounting of personal and collective grief, family, love, art, and the complexities, joys, and heartbreaks of the past and present, these stories also consider the future of Queer liberation."--Jaquira Díaz, author of Ordinary Girls "The anecdotes in these pages are riveting, joyful, heartbreaking, full of personality and wisdom, and artfully woven together into one immersive narrative." --OUT.com "A powerful work that will add to the canon of trans history."--Book Riot "Spirited and expansive, it's just the right book at just the right time."--Ms. Magazine "This oral history affirms that queer people of color have a long and proud history in the United States and beyond." --The Millions, "The Great Spring 2025 Preview" "This book is exactly what we need right now--a radiant collection of testimonies from our elders that is equal parts moving, hilarious, profound, and revolutionary. So Many Stars is a powerful testament to the fact that trans and gender-expansive people have always been here--loving, creating, thriving, and reshaping the world. An intimate yet expansive rendering of trans lives, every word flows in a seamless stream of unapologetic queerness. This book is a cosmology of stories, a constellation of voices that uplifts and amplifies our ancestors, reminding us that they are always with us. It weaves a living history, connecting us across generations, affirming that we are fierce, gorgeous, and endlessly resilient. A groundbreaking collection that refuses erasure and demands to be heard."--Julián Delgado Lopera, author of Fiebre Tropical Named a Most Recommended Book of the Year by Electric Literature, Book Riot, The Mary Sue and Ms. Magazine. "A groundbreaking volume...the right book at just the right time."--Ms. Magazine "These stories span decades of life, movements, survival, and major changes in American culture, showcasing experiences that are rarely (if ever) presented in history books but reveal the roots of a long march toward equal rights for queer and trans people of color without censorship or editing for an agenda."--The Mary Sue "Caro de Robertis has gifted us storytelling at its most beautiful. The voices in So Many Stars aren't only warm, generous, and inviting; they command our attention. A quarter of the way into the book, I called my children into the living room and read passages aloud, hoping they might hear in their youth what I never did. This profoundly moving, expertly compiled collection of queer lives and experiences is the perfect tonic and ammunition for these times. It's a reminder that we walk amongst survivors. In a society that does its best to dissuade us from loving one another or ourselves, So Many Stars is a revolutionary passing of the baton."--Alejandro Varela, author of the National Book Award finalist The Town of Babylon "What the world needs now is this book."--San Francisco Chronicle, "8 Bay Area Books That Celebrate a Sense of Belonging" "Insightful and educative... Each personal history is notable in its own scope and perspective, but collectively these voices representing elder queer generations of color become extraordinary... The lasting impressions each of them has made on society beautifully amplify the heartbeat of queer trans life.--Kirkus Reviews, *STARRED REVEW* "This tenderly crafted collection radiates love and light, helping illuminate the life worlds of some of the most cherished queer and trans elders of our diverse communities. Filled with life lessons, hard truths, and boundless wisdom, these oral histories serve as a sparkling reminder that our stories will survive to inspire another generation."--Juana María Rodríguez, author of Puta Life: Seeing Latinas, Working Sex "So Many Stars is a vessel meant to be of use.... [it] replaces inaccurate simplification with complex, much-needed truths."--San Francisco Chronicle "A masterful collection of carefully curated interviews from gifted writer Caro De Robertis"--The PEN Ten Trans rights and trans stories are under attack in the United States. De Robertis's new book is an antidote to the despair this causes and an act of resistance in itself.--ALTA
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
Publisher:
Algonquin Books
Pub date:
2025-05-13
Length:
320 pages
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