I don't remember how I came across ALOK's poetry, but I know I became better for it when I did. Their work has been enormously impactful in my journey to discover how trauma, race, gender, and sexuality live in myself and others.
Alok Vaid-Menon (they/them) is a poet, comedian, speaker, and author. In these media, ALOK explores the nuances of gender, sexuality, trauma, and the sense of belonging with so much beauty, care, and love.
I discovered and continue to follow ALOK's work on Instagram. You can follow them too @alokvmenon. There they post clips of their comedy, poetry, and public speaking. My favorite of ALOK's posts are the book reports they post.
Scroll through their feed and look for mostly white images with a graphic and black text. The most recent ones I've read and recommend are titled "How 'Normal' Became a Code Word for 'White:' A Eugenic History," "A Racist History of Gender Norms in the U.S.," and "Did You Know Suffragists were Called Third Sex: A History of Feminism and the Sex Binary."
Each of these reports is well-cited by experts and insightful. It is amazing how much I learn from reading these short posts. I highly recommend taking the time to read these. It is also amazing how ALOK is using their platform to educate Instagram users about the tragic and true history of the United States.
To read their poetry, visit https://www.alokvmenon.com/writing.
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