Queer Square Mile is a collection of 40 short stories about the experiences of queer Welsh people; a window to their, historically, often secretive lives; and a record of how, in time, the community empowered themselves, claiming back their sexuality and therefore their very being.
Queer Square Mile’s first 38 pages serve as an introduction before the rich, illustrious narratives, which span the mid-19th century to the present day and include some first-time translations from Welsh by esteemed writers such as Kate Roberts. Incorporating academic readings and historical studies of how coded language functions in a bilingual society, the stories that follow each have extraordinary merit. Themes raised include the decriminalisation of homosexuality and the stigma around openly expressing sexuality; more broadly, identity, conflict, control, gender, Otherness-as-strangeness, belonging and exploration.
In the wider context of religious influence, it’s underlined how the law became a means of making language fit for a particular area of society, and I appreciated the book’s running commentary, which more profoundly explains how Queer Square Mile’s themes are intertwined in a multifaceted and complex way.
Queer Square Mile, Kirsti Bohata, Mihangel Morgan & Huw Osborne [eds.] (Parthian)
Price: £20. Info: here
words BILLIE INGRAM SOFOKLEOUS
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