Sometimes, I really struggle with whether I should run away from or embrace being identified as a LGBTQ+ or queer poet and writer. I am well aware of Ernest Hemingway's admonishment to "Write what you know, leave out unnecessary words, and don't do it to be famous."
One of the most personal poems that I have ever written is "Transgender Christian," which I have read in public only once at an open mic. The poem was very well received. It was also rejected once when I submitted it for consideration for inclusion in a more mainstream anthology.
I am very proud to have this poem as well as my poem "Crash Landing" included in "In Our Shoes: An LGBTQ+ Poets Anthology" published during Pride Month by The New Wasteland. The Anthology is available through Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096LYKMJW
Barbara Marie Minney is a transgender woman, poet, writer, speaker, and quiet activist. She is a retired attorney and originally from West Virginia. Now based in Tallmadge, Ohio, her first collection of poetry entitled “If There’s No Heaven” was the winner of the 2020 Poetry Is Life Book Award and the Akron Beacon Journal Best Northeast Ohio Books 2020. It is available at www.poetryislifepublishig.com. Follow her at www.barbaramarieminneypoetry.com.