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A review by lattelibrarian
There Are Trans People Here by H. Melt
2.0
An exploration in trans joy and euphoria, There are Trans People Here asserts its distinction from other poets in being loud, proud, and outspoken. Where other poets tend to take a more literary approach, such as Ocean Vuong's careful examination of word choice, Melt's poetry seems to hinge on their audience's approval. At times, Melt's poetry sounds like journal entries (such as in "Trans Care"), and at others, the poetry evokes a world totally unlike our own in that trans people are safe, jubilant, and the norm.
Melt occasionally risks alienating readers who are not aware of trans history and figures, though this does largely appear to be more of a "call-in", inviting the audience to use context clues to correlate figures to what they're known for. In particular, there were three pages of what appears to be originally a single collage. This was quite eye-opening in showing the audience how many different ways exist to be trans--though the inclusion of Mrs. Doubtfire and White Chicks was rather bemusing. I do wish, though, that there was a list of all trans folks included so that readers could do further research on their own, if they so desired.
In Trans Day of Revenge, Melt writes of an alternate world in which cis folks are persecuted, in that they are "the only cis / in the family, fail to pass as cis / never feel cis enough." While it's understandable that this references their feelings as a trans person, it is a bold claim to assume that cis people are comfortable with their gender and the roles and expectations bestowed upon them. While I think this is an important and certainly gratifying piece of work in exploring trans joy, I personally wish that there had been a little more subtlety. Understandably so, there is a reason for being so obvious--to make clear that this is the intent and purpose of this book--yet it feels at times infantilizing, as though we the audience do not understand what Melt means by the concept of trans joy and euphoria.
Melt occasionally risks alienating readers who are not aware of trans history and figures, though this does largely appear to be more of a "call-in", inviting the audience to use context clues to correlate figures to what they're known for. In particular, there were three pages of what appears to be originally a single collage. This was quite eye-opening in showing the audience how many different ways exist to be trans--though the inclusion of Mrs. Doubtfire and White Chicks was rather bemusing. I do wish, though, that there was a list of all trans folks included so that readers could do further research on their own, if they so desired.
In Trans Day of Revenge, Melt writes of an alternate world in which cis folks are persecuted, in that they are "the only cis / in the family, fail to pass as cis / never feel cis enough." While it's understandable that this references their feelings as a trans person, it is a bold claim to assume that cis people are comfortable with their gender and the roles and expectations bestowed upon them. While I think this is an important and certainly gratifying piece of work in exploring trans joy, I personally wish that there had been a little more subtlety. Understandably so, there is a reason for being so obvious--to make clear that this is the intent and purpose of this book--yet it feels at times infantilizing, as though we the audience do not understand what Melt means by the concept of trans joy and euphoria.