“I’ve learned to reframe telling people [I’m gay] as inviting in, instead of coming out – inviting into a place of trust, a place for building…”
Lamya H, Hijab Butch Blues
As part of 2SLGBTQ+ Pride month the Time to Read Podcast book club is reading Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H (she/they). Ever since its publication in February 2023, the memoir has received numerous accolades like the Stonewall Book Award, the Brooklyn Public Library Book prize, and the Israel Fishman Nonfiction Award. It also was a finalist for the Lambda Literary prize.
Lamya H shares vignettes from her life growing up queer in a Muslim family and culture. She finds inspiration and comfort in various Surah in the Quran. She uses specific stories from the Quran to frame and focus each chapter of her memoir. Her reinterpretations of these ancient sacred stories help contextualize her struggle in reconciling her sexuality with her faith. We get to follow her faith journey as it changes and adapts as she herself changes and adapts to who she is and how she sees the world around her.
Lamya H currently lives in New York City with her partner. She writes under a pseudonym to protect her privacy and to allow her the freedom to be honest and forthright in her writing. Although Hijab Butch Blues is her first book, her essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Salon, Vice, Autostraddle, and Vox, to name a few.
As Linda Villarosa, author of Under the skin: the hidden toll of racism on American lives and on our nation, wrote: “Hijab Butch Blues is a revelation, an emotional journey of faith, family, community and sexuality. With precision, compassion, and deeply observed storytelling, Lamya H—a new, distinctive voice—navigates the fault lines of life and love in a queer Muslim body.”
How will our panel respond? You’ll have to tune in on Friday, July 5th to find out. Until then, why not listen to one of our other episodes? You can find all our episodes including our newest one where we discuss The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin at https://wpl-podcast.winnipeg.ca/
And until next month, make sure you find some TIME TO READ.
-Trevor
Readers' Salon 