Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology [Paperback]

Amy Sonnie (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000

Invisible. Unheard. Alone. Chilling words but apt to describe the isolation and alienation of queer youth. In silence and fear they move from childhood memories of repression or violence to the unknown, unmentored, landscape of queer adulthood, their voices stilled or ignored. No longer. Revolutionary Voices celebrates the hues and harmonies of the future of gay and lesbian society, presenting not a collection of stories but a collection of experiences, ideas, dreams, and fantasies expressed through prose, poetry, artwork, letters, diaries, and performance pieces.

Amy Sonnie is a 1998 journalism graduate of Syracuse University. Her writing has appeared in Sojourner, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Equal Time, and Frontera, among others. She is the senior editor for Equal Time Magazine and lives in San Francisco.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This groundbreaking, multicultural collection of stories by the queer and young should be required reading for every jaded adult--teachers, parents, politicians--and anyone who fears for the future of our country. In fact, 22-year-old editor Amy Sonnie should run for Congress. Her introduction to this touching, funny, and sometimes sad anthology is smarter and more thoughtful than any political rhetoric this old queer has heard lately. While the work is wildly diverse (one of my favorites involves a mother who bakes a cake to help her queer daughter celebrate Ellen DeGeneres's coming-out), all of it speaks to the isolation and fear of being queer and young. A boy lies awake at night practicing to be more masculine. An intersexed gay boy comes out to his high school. A butch girl tells of years of daily bashing. Fear, though, is not the overriding emotional tone to this collection. The contributors exhibit a belief in themselves, a well-placed youthful confidence that speaks as loudly as the most poignant writing. Their determination to survive and thrive despite a homophobic society comes through loud and clear. It's the perfect antidote to adult cynicism about youth. --Jack Connolly

From Booklist

Gr. 9-12. "This is for the idea that I am only a sexual being. . . . This is for the idea that queerness only has to do with sex." Jason Roe's prose poem opens this anthology with words that get in your face and under your skin. Not all of the young writers featured here may be revolutionaries, but they all embrace a queer youth culture that is about gender, race, and class as much as it is about sexuality. The voices are raw and sometimes unpolished, and the language is passionate, powerful, and only occasionally graphic. What holds these selections together is the writers' urgent need to define themselves in their own terms. In "Impossible Body," Lisa Lusero confesses that she purposely cut her hair so people would know she was a lesbian: "Passing for straight makes me feel invisible. And I hate that. I want to be seen clearly and explicitly for who I am. Don't assume your world is mine. Then again, don't assume it isn't." These are classic YA voices. Randy Meyer
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Alyson Books (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555835589
• ISBN-13: 978-1555835583
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,111,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars :-) September 30, 2001

By Rai Borsetti

Format:Paperback

This was a truly amazing book. I must have read every piece at least three times, and I constantly found myself wanting to stop random people just to read them a line or two. Some of the works were very far from me, but I appreciated their perspectives and experiences anyway. Others, though, felt so much like my story that it was scary that someone else had written them. I think that's the best thing about this book. Everyone can relate to something in it. Before I read it, I knew there were people who felt the same way as me, I just didn't relize how rarely I heard them express it openly. It felt so good to relate to it the way I did, and the way I know almost any queer kid could. You should definitely read this book.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a creative resource by and for queer youth! October 3, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This is a fabulous book! It includes different kinds of writing and artwork from youth all over the country. It was edited by a young queer person, and the writing in it really does reflect what's going on in our communities, unlike many of the books out there that are edited by adults. The radical politics behind the project make it one of the most inspiring books I've read in a while...this book isn't about assimilation, it really is revolutionary. Check it out!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A thought-provoking collection of young voices June 15, 2004

By Michael J. Mazza HALL OF FAME

Format:Paperback

"Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology" is edited by Amy Sonnie and has an introduction by Margot Kelley Rodriguez. This anthology (of 259 + xxvi pages) features the work of over 50 contributors. The editor's note by Sonnie declares that this book is "_by_ and _for_ queer and questioning youth"--it is explained that the word "queer" is employed "as an umbrella term for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people." Also noted is that the contributors range in age from 14 to 26.

The selections in the book are very diverse in genre: visual art, poetry, prose, performance pieces, interviews, diary excerpts. The contributors are also a diverse group, representing many different ethnic/cultural backgrounds. There is a first-person statement from each reviewer that prefaces her/his contribution; also featured are photos of most of the contributors.

The book includes "Queer 101," an intriguing glossary of relevant terminology ("ageism," "FTM," "monosexism," "ze," etc.). Particulary thoughtful is the inclusion of a section on resources for queer youth: crisis hotlines, ethnic organizations, religious support groups, etc.

Yes, some pieces are raw and amateurish, and at times the voices sound pretentious or self-indulgent. But overall the collection is thought-provoking, and at times it is very moving. There were many themes in the book that struck me as particularly significant: being bi- or multiethnic; "coming out": being aware of (and resisting) interlocking systems of oppression; anxiety about invisibility and assimilation; etc.

I found certain pieces particularly memorable. In "Different: My Experiences as an Intersexed Gay Boy," S. Asher Hanley notes how an intersex person can be marginalized in both straight and gay society. "Tasting Home," by Uchechi Kalu, is a compelling poem that deals with immigration and bilingualism. "Straight-Out Pain," a poem by Antigona, is about undergoing an exorcism. But I found the most moving piece to be "The Memory of Bathing," by Qwo-Li Driskell; this short but powerful prose piece recounts a political/emotional epiphany he experienced while attending a national HIV/AIDS forum.

One could consider poet-activists Audre Lorde and June Jordan to be the god(dess)mothers of this collection; each woman receives multiple mentions in the course of the anthology, and the book as a whole really reflects the artistic and political principles that each woman lived out in her life and remarkable work. I recommend "Revolutionary Voices" to readers of all ages.