My intention was never to write a "trans novel" - which is perhaps an effective strategy for writing a trans novel.

In poetry, I didn't have to provide resolution. I could ask hard questions without feeling responsible for the answers.

I used singing as a safety measure. I would pay attention to what songs the popular girls liked, learn those songs from the radio or library cassettes, and then "accidentally" sing or hum these songs in class. This would impress the girls, who would then defend me from the boys.

I would love to see more dialogue around the "responsibilities" of art consumers - how can audiences better financially support artists we love, artists who are doing the work, so that artists have a more solid foundation upon which to make art?

I especially worry about the ways Canadians can be glib about our supposed difference from the US in our "acceptance" of "diversity."

If anything, I have witnessed the ways my art travels, or is rendered more accessible, when sanctioned by or connected to white artists.

My art career often feels less like an art career and more like a career in educating, usually by using my body.