Trans and Genderqueer Poetry Symposium

Ian Ellasante

Biography

Ian Ellasante is a transgender poet and artist of African, Choctaw, and European descent. Originally from Memphis, Ian studied Creative Writing and Sociology at the University of Memphis before moving to Tucson in 2007. He is currently completing his MA at the University of Arizona and finalizing a creative thesis consisting of his poetry and an expository section titled “Bridges Between Me: Liminality, Authenticity, and Re/integration in American Indian Literature.” Ian received the Native Writer Award in Poetry at the 2011 Taos Summer Writers’ Conference and has recently been published in Currency and Evening Will Come.

Workshop Description

Friday, May 10 1-2:30: Queering Liminality: The Uncommon Beauty and Creative Potential of Middle Spaces
Trans and genderqueer folks occupy middle spaces that can sometimes be isolating and disorienting. However, access to these in-between spaces also grants a vast field of vision and freedom from prescribed norms: a fruitful combination which makes the creative potential in middle spaces especially abundant. We’ll discuss the ways in which we stand our ground in middle spaces, how we seek and find the intrinsic value therein, and how we wield this unique freedom to write and create.