Leslie Feinberg, a communist who revolutionized transgender struggles,
is a figure of American activism who would benefit from being known in
France. We owe her Stone Butch Blues, a novel that bridges the gap
between queer life stories and proletarian literature. ---- Feinberg
plays Jess, a teenager growing up in the 1950s in the city of Buffalo,
in the United States, in a Jewish working-class family. We follow Jess
in the gay and transgender communities that intersect with anti-racist
and feminist struggles, fights in which the author actively participated
before suffering from Lyme disease and dying in 2014. Stone Butch Blues
can be described as a tome: for its length and for its impact on
readers. It is a harsh story, which speaks crudely of physical and
psychological violence but also of solidarity and collective
construction for the emancipation of all. It is also a historical text
which traces the emergence of the civil rights movement. The book is
accompanied by documents and testimonies which participate in the
history of LGBTI struggles as evidenced, in the twentieth anniversary
edition, by the tribute paid to Cece McDonald, a trans and black
activist who was sent to prison for defending herself against a neo-Nazi.
The book is a work of resistance in its conception: the French version,
by Hystériques & Associées, is the work of a translation and publishing
collective convinced of its beauty as much as its militant usefulness.
In addition to a gender issue, there is a class issue behind the use of
the language. Consequently, the translators have chosen to simplify the
grammatical and spelling rules as much as possible. The gender of the
trans characters fluctuates depending on the person they are addressing
(known or not before their transition). The quality of the translation
proves that it is possible to have a language as close as possible to
the lived experience. According to the author's wishes, the book escapes
the traditional publishing circuit: available at cost price in printed
version, its online reading is free. The English text can be found on
her website: Lesliefeinberg.net. For the French version, you have to go
and find it on the website Hysteriquesetassociées.org.
Sarah (UCL Montpellier)
Leslie Feinberg, Stone Butch Blues, Hystériques & Associées editions,
October 2024, 640 pages, 19 euros.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Lire-Leslie-Feinberg-Stone-Butch-Blues
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
is a figure of American activism who would benefit from being known in
France. We owe her Stone Butch Blues, a novel that bridges the gap
between queer life stories and proletarian literature. ---- Feinberg
plays Jess, a teenager growing up in the 1950s in the city of Buffalo,
in the United States, in a Jewish working-class family. We follow Jess
in the gay and transgender communities that intersect with anti-racist
and feminist struggles, fights in which the author actively participated
before suffering from Lyme disease and dying in 2014. Stone Butch Blues
can be described as a tome: for its length and for its impact on
readers. It is a harsh story, which speaks crudely of physical and
psychological violence but also of solidarity and collective
construction for the emancipation of all. It is also a historical text
which traces the emergence of the civil rights movement. The book is
accompanied by documents and testimonies which participate in the
history of LGBTI struggles as evidenced, in the twentieth anniversary
edition, by the tribute paid to Cece McDonald, a trans and black
activist who was sent to prison for defending herself against a neo-Nazi.
The book is a work of resistance in its conception: the French version,
by Hystériques & Associées, is the work of a translation and publishing
collective convinced of its beauty as much as its militant usefulness.
In addition to a gender issue, there is a class issue behind the use of
the language. Consequently, the translators have chosen to simplify the
grammatical and spelling rules as much as possible. The gender of the
trans characters fluctuates depending on the person they are addressing
(known or not before their transition). The quality of the translation
proves that it is possible to have a language as close as possible to
the lived experience. According to the author's wishes, the book escapes
the traditional publishing circuit: available at cost price in printed
version, its online reading is free. The English text can be found on
her website: Lesliefeinberg.net. For the French version, you have to go
and find it on the website Hysteriquesetassociées.org.
Sarah (UCL Montpellier)
Leslie Feinberg, Stone Butch Blues, Hystériques & Associées editions,
October 2024, 640 pages, 19 euros.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Lire-Leslie-Feinberg-Stone-Butch-Blues
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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