What to read during Pride Month 2021: revisiting the work of Ryka Aoki (and looking forward to a forthcoming sf novel!)

My last quarter of teaching at UC Riverside, almost 10 years ago now, I elected to focus my Women’s Lit class on issues related to trans-gender identities and to writing by trans and non-binary authors. It was during that time, that I discovered a hybrid collection of poetry and essays by the writer Ryka Aoki. I fell in love with the collection, Seasonal Velocities, and then I read Ryka’s novel He Mele A Hilo, which I discuss here in an earlier post for this blog. It is an incredibly beautiful novel, which I recommend with complete joy and enthusiasm!

I cannot say enough good things about this brilliant writer who is equally at home in the realms of poetry, essay, and fiction. She writes novels and short stories, and you can read a charming example of her short fiction here.

Here is Ryka talking about herself and her writing with SueAnn Ramella in Traverse Talks::

Ryka has a new book coming out in September — Light From Uncommon Stars — and I CANNOT WAIT, but in the meantime, I invite you to explore her published writing. Her work is in all ways a joy.

Thank you, Ryka for the beautiful words you give to the world.