The Kelly Writers House will host the second meeting of the recently formed Trans & Gender-Nonconforming Youth Creative Writing Group Oct. 8. The monthly writing group is open and free of charge for youth ages 14–22 who identify as transgender or gender-nonconforming, and meets on the second Saturday of each month during the University of Pennsylvania academic year.
Andrew Spiers, a trans/queer writer, musician and social worker, and Hazel Edwards, an artist, trans activist and member of the Justice League at The Attic’s Bryson Institute, are two of the group’s facilitators. They met Sept. 10 to establish ground rules for the group and brainstorm topics for participants to write about.
Spiers said one of the organizers’ goals from the beginning was to make sure the group appeals to and includes trans writers and participants of color.
“We’re providing a space where trans and gender-nonconforming folks can share and create community while also practicing the craft of writing, expressing themselves and sharing their work with other trans folks,” Spiers said.
Trans writers and artists will participate as guests in the group’s monthly meetings, which are scheduled into April.
“We’re looking for dynamics; folks that are quick-witted speak beautifully on paper,” Edwards said about the caliber of trans writers and artists the group wants to have as guests. “A lot of the things that we’re trying to figure out now is how to differentiate the differences in the trans community because everybody shares a similar experience but not necessarily. This is why we stress the importance of intersectionality, because we all have multiple intersecting identities so we all have new and unique experiences moving throughout the world. I would say one of the things that the co-facilitators and I have thought about was the class differences between the folks that come in as well as the racial differences.”
Both Spiers and Edwards said the group’s participants have a wide range of expressive interests and are seeking safe places to hone their skills.
“There is a range in the arts and the ways these people translate their art,” Edwards said. “A lot of the things people wanted out of the group is to speak more eloquently and beautifully on paper and to be able to translate their thoughts on paper. A lot people are seeking structure and vocabulary.”
“I don’t think as a group we are concerned about who the writer is writing for,” Spiers added. “It’s just a bunch of different writers. Some folks are poets, some folks write short stories, some are songwriters and some are essayists. The writers involved are from all over the map so there isn’t a specific intended audience. It is just a writing group that is exclusively for trans-identified writers writing whatever they want to write about. The topics they are writing about aren’t necessarily about identity.”
Both Spiers and Edwards said organizations like this are necessary for young trans writers and artists because the kind of support they could benefit from isn’t always readily available outside their communities.
“The needs of transgender individuals are not being met in the schools by and large,” Spiers said. “I’m involved in a training through The Attic to help train people in the school system on how to even treat or understand what a trans kid is. Most folks wouldn’t be able to define transgender if you asked them so these kids are definitely not having all their needs met in school. Never mind the fact that trans people aren’t protected under the law in the state of Pennsylvania.”
“A lot of places are cisgender-dominated spaces and a lot of trans people don’t feel comfortable expressing themselves or talking about about anything with the language that they use and their writing,” Edwards added. “A safe space is about feeling supported, being around community and meeting new folks in the community.”
The Trans & Gender-Nonconforming Youth Creative Writing Group holds its second meeting with guest writer Kavi Ade noon-2 p.m. Oct. 8 at Penn LGBT Center, 3907 Spruce St. For more information, visit http://writing.upenn.edu/wh/involved/outreach/transgnc/.