Carroll & Graff/Avalon Publishing
Edited by Michelle Tea
Read by Lateef Martin
Baby Remember My Name explores queer writing and experiences from the pens of 24 women. The variety of experiences and the distinct voice of each short story keeps things fresh. Stand outs include:
Claudia Rodriguez’s Juan the Brave is a tale of a little Latina named Erica who so desperately wants to be a little Latino named Juan. Already put in a box of what she can and cannot do, Erica seeks the freedom to be rough and tumble, fearless and independent the way she only sees fit.
Robin Akimbo’s Laundry Day is a sobering account of the fear a queer girl of colour can experience on a simple romp to the Laundromat. Painted in lush tones, San Francisco and its economic landscape provide the backdrop for a story that is both fragile and indestructible.
Titties At Stake by Dexter Flowers is a humorous story of a girl who joins a group of embattled queer vegans in their quest to emancipate their mammaries from social slavery. Hoping to cause a ruckus with a march of signs, music, public presentation and boobies bouncing in the sun, the reactions the group gets is a mix of surprises and unexpected results.
Mecca Jamilah Sullivan’s Snow Fight harkens back to the daze of high school through the eyes and voice of Black girl from an under-privileged hood. Reminding the reader that despite metal detectors, security guards and fights, magic is still tucked into the rambunctiousness of youth.
Peppering the text are few excerpts of graphic novels. In childlike strokes, Katie Fricas’s Nobody Will Find Me Here chronicles the de-evolution of the mind through the inundation of free cable amongst herself and her two female roommates. Nicole J. Georges, through patches of notes and art narrates a story of a girl who worked with ailing animals in Invincible Bummer #2.
Baby Remember My Name is a peek into diverse worlds that share a common thread. However, a more discerning eye would pick out some of the more lagging tales, fraught with run-on sentences and clogged with “telling” instead of “showing” narrative. Although a wide variety of styles is presented, the same effect could have been served with fewer writers to maintain a higher caliber. Despite these drawbacks, Baby Remember My Name gives you a taste of a world seldom explored by mainstream media.
