Murmurations Poster

Artist: Ana Vonhuben http://anavonhuben.com/

In collaboration with Ana Vonhuben, this poster showcases my poem "Murmurations"- a poem about the beauty of non-binary genders. Written in 2017, this poem was originally written to read at an Indigequeer event at Southern Oregon University. The poem reads:

"there are days when a flock of starlings are my gender
and i am the sky

there are days when my gender speaks in history
and i plead it to send me an ancestor who might have lived with a body like mine
in a time when there was no fear for being as i
two spirit
sky
murmurations

on the days when my identity and how people see me collide
i am a storm of starlings, i am tumbling tree tops, colluding with rain drops to bring down the weight of my history on the world
i am the sky
i am two spirit murmurations
i am the sky"

Ana's style captures the intention behind the poem, creating an art piece that greatly resembles the freedom that a non-binary person can experience when they are supported and loved in being authentically themselves in a world that punishes those who don't fit settler colonialist ideals of gender and sexuality.

Proceeds from the sales of this poster and "Murmurations" will go towards publishing my first collection of poetry by attending writing retreats. I am proud to say that I was accepted for this year's Tinhouse Writing Retreat cohort. I am trying to raise $2,000 to cover tuition.