Queer and Trans Artists of Color: Stories of Some of Our Lives Paperback – June 5, 2014

This book is a very good read. The interviews were well-conducted and informative; I was exposed to a wide variety of perspectives with the QTPOC community, and I found a lot of new artists to look into. I think, however, this book currently serves people who are already moderately informed on the issues at hand; for example, although I'm decently familiar with queer terminology, the interviews regarding undocumented immigration left me feeling like I didn't really know enough to fully appreciate what the artist was thinking. I wish there was a 'Resources' section of some sort that mentioned some reliable sites for learning more about the major issues discussed in the interviews.

Many of these interviews were conducted six or seven years ago, but they read as relevant and fresh today. The value of the MFA, the vulnerability of QTPOC in academic spaces, and the hustle of making it as an artist are explored by all of these talented people. A must-read!

5 stars will read the second volume as well. Takes a while to read since its all interviews. Still great.

A fan of the King's podcast, this breakthrough text gives insight into the mind of contemporary QT artists/activist of color.

brutally honest.

stupid. I only brought it for an English class

There's so much wisdom here and so much advice for other artists. I appreciate Nia's attention to behind-the-scenes stuff like paying transcribers to create access and running edited transcripts by interviewees for approval.This book took me a long time to read because there was so much wonderful stuff to take it, and I quoted from it extensively in my journal.I particularly love the interviews with Ryka Aoki, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, and Lovemme "Love" Corazón. Ryka Aoki discusses the value of an MFA in terms that helped me think through getting one for myself, as well as channeling fear and the politics of mixed-genre writing. Leah talks beautifully about community and politicized art spaces. I love seeing their connections with other artists through quotes and discussion of her mentor. Love Corazón has great insights about multi-genre writing, communal care, and leaving evidence.I love this collection and I can't wait for the second book of interviews.

In Queer and Trans Artists of Color: Stories of Some of Our Lives and in her podcast, We Want the Airwaves, Nia King has done the life-saving work of documenting the stories of queer and trans people of color, in our own words.In this book, you will find stories of border crossing and burlesque, abuse and healing, humor and resilience. Queer artists of color talk with Nia King about how they express their lives through fashion design, technology, poetry, theatre, and drag performance—and how they make a living from doing it, or from hustling on the side.Queer and Trans Artists of Color is highly recommended to anyone who cares about art, social movements, and liberation. King has shown the power and importance of marginalized communities archiving history on their own terms, and by collecting these interviews, she has written down the stories of the next generation's ancestors.

Really interesting read. I think books like this are really important.