Pájaros, lesbianas y queers…¡a volar! An LGBTQ+ Anthology of Dominican Transnational Writers, is a bilingual compilation of poetry, essays, short stories, short plays and memoirs by out Dominican writers on the island and the diaspora. It is a powerful representation of some of the literary, social, political and cultural movements currently taking place in the Dominican community. The worlds, ideas, feelings and stories depicted in this book show how LGBTQ+ Dominicans both fit in and are alienated from the national dictum “Dios, Patria y Libertad”, all while navigating typical human traits such as love, family, identity, home, safety, courage, sexuality, faith, language.
Pájaros, lesbianas y queers…¡a volar! An LGBTQ+ Anthology of Dominican Transnational Writers, es una compilación bilingüe de poesía, ensayos, cuentos, microteatro y memorias por escritores dominicanes en la isla y en la diáspora, auto-identificades como parte de la comunidad LGBTQ+. Este libro es una representación significativa de algunos de los movimientos literarios, sociales, políticos y culturales que actualmente transcurren en la comunidad dominicana. Los mundos, las ideas, los sentimientos y las historias encarnadas en esta antología muestran cómo les dominicanes LGBTQ+ se integran y a la vez se disgregan del lema nacional “Dios, Patria y Libertad”, al lidiar con rasgos tan típicos y humanos como el amor, la familia, la identidad, el hogar, la seguridad, el valor, la fe y el lenguaje.
Praise for Pájaros, lesbianas y queers…¡a volar!
“In the Diaspora, Dominican LGBTQ+ folks are making incredible art, story, plays, music and poetry. We build community wherever we go. We push the boundaries of mediums. We insist on our presence on our own terms. We bring el coro and the tichér. We bring the party and the protest. On its own, this collection of Dominican LGBTQ+ voices is powerful. In the context of our specific and shared luchas within and across international borders, it is both un ünguento that heals the soul and una herramienta that provides us with language, imagination, mirrors, and roadmaps to our collective liberation and joy.” – Dr. Ana-Maurine Lara, Dominican American lesbian poet, novelist and black feminist scholar.
"Spanning genre, language, borders, and a multitude of interior worlds, this is an incomparable collection of Dominican letters. Powerful and bold, Pájaros, lesbianas y Queers… ¡a volar! is an expansive take that illuminates Dominican queerness from the mundane to the mythical." – Elizabeth Acevedo, author of Family Lore.
“Pájaros, lesbianas y Queers…¡a volar! Is a vibrant and urgent anthology of queer Dominican poetry, prose and plays. The works traverse landscapes of culture, language and queerness to deliver a long overdue collection of stories that bring the reader into a powerful queer Dominican consciousness and experience. From love to heartbreak, to shedding shame, to learning to live, leave and find home, to exploring Blackness, these works will resonate with readers from all walks of life, from Santo Domingo to the Bronx and around the world. I highly recommend this anthology to anyone who is looking to be immersed in beauty, joy, and the power of moving stories.” – Charles Rice-Gonzalez, author of Chulito and co-editor of From Macho to Mariposa: New Gay Latino Fiction.
“This book is a journey into a realm that has often been denied and overlooked throughout Dominican-Diasporic history: Queerness. Beyond a book, this is an experience into themes of home, immigration, homophobia, and redemption. Each author generously poured their vulnerabilities into a book that reads more like someone’s personal journal. Pájaros, lesbianas y queers…¡a volar!... is part of growing movements of humanization and love.” – Griselda Rodriguez-Solomon (Dr.G.), PhD, Scholar, Mother, Bruja of Brooklyn, Doctora
“If Pájaros, lesbianas y queers…¡a volar! were its own category at a Kiki ball the category would be written realness. Pájaros, lesbianas y queers…¡a volar! is a mosaic of poetry and prose. With stories that will surely remind you of people you know, ornate with realness, humor and rich with language, as fluid as sexuality.” – María Teresa "Mariposa" Fernández is an award-winning Afro Puerto Rican poet, spoken word performance artist, visual artist, educator, activist, scholar and Bronx native.
“Pájaros, lesbianas y queers…¡a volar! An LGBTQ Anthology of Dominican Transnational Writers es una deslumbrante antología en la que se alzan voces necesarias, que nos recuerdan que nuestre Caribe está en las mejores manos; manos que escriben y que permiten la crónica de la existencia inclusiva y diversa. Aquí hay pura resistencia maricona, hay llanto y hay victoria, testimonial de la representación vibrante y caleidoscópica del TODES. Las experiencias únicas hacia el autodescubrimiento y la aceptación, la concepción de un cuerpe, la denuncia de los odios y el reclamo del amor permean las líneas a través de conmovedores relatos y poemas, rupturas de barreras binarias y desafíos a los estereotipos de género. La antología es una valiente invitación a la exploración de la identidad y la búsqueda de pertenencia. Aquí se exigen nuevos dioses, patrias y libertades como declaración poderosa de que nosotres, las voces de la otredad, importamos y merecemos ser escuchados. Pájaros, lesbianas y queers…¡a volar! es un efectivo recordatorio de que la literatura siempre será herramienta para la visibilización y el cambio social. – Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro, novelista, cuentista y ensayista afroqueer puertorriqueña. Afroqueeridades (egales editorial, 2023) es su más reciente publicación.