What is Transgender in Dholuo? By Billy Hani // A stranger on the internet told me, that my identity cannot be real because, there is no word for it in my mother tongue. Bewildered, angry, I frantically called my mother to ask: Mama, what is ‘transgender’ in Dholuo?“Nyathina,” she said, “If you cannot find a word in our tongue, for your identity, then describe yourself-In photos. In writing. In being. Let them know that the absence of language…

…. I think ancient poetry can illuminate the lives of people in a way that’s really touching. One of my favorite poems, for example, is a Latin poem that was graffitied on a wall in Pompeii, and is only preserved because of the volcanic eruption there. It’s a love poem, written from one anonymous woman to another. It’s a beautiful poem, and when you read it in the original language, her feelings come through so clearly. It’s written two thousand years ago but you can read it exactly how it was written, on the very surface it was written on. I think it’s absolutely remarkable

Sun Jam, curated by Marisa Vito, Emiliegh Tena, and Gabriela Rodriguez Conliffe, is a poetry-focused astrology series reflecting on how to exist within the astrological seasons. Influenced by the solar sign and ruling planet of the time, we’ll share poems, cosmic interpretations, visual art, sounds, and more as the wheel of the year turns. This Sun Jam celebrates Aquarius season and Black History Month. Happy solar return, Aquarius!

Brittany: ….I also think something really unique about poetry in translation is that there’s never an authentic translation. The translator’s job is to transfer over the emotions and intentions of a culture into a different language; it’s that type of conversation across cultures that creates new translations.

When living in BIPOC bodies, we are constantly reminded that we are sites of the political. We navigate our lives in very specific ways due to the confines of the margins we are pushed into. In these instances, for those of us who live poetry, it becomes our tool of resistance. We translate our bodily experiences into words and our poetry becomes the political. It is a call to arms which tells us that even when we are drowning in a world that refuses to create space for us, there are those who are ever-willing to constantly do that for us. What is revealed…

…I see poetry as activism. And seeing it in this manner reminds me of Chinua Achebe’s generation and how they wielded the power of poetry against the corrupt government. Another instance I will give is one that occurred during the ENDSARS protests in Nigeria. It was so beautiful to watch as Nigerian poets wrote about police brutality creatively. They wrote about death, sorrow, grief, all relating to police brutality in Nigeria and all over the world.

Sun Jam, curated by our editor Marisa Vito is a poetry-focused astrology series reflecting on how to exist within the astrological seasons. Influenced by the solar sign and ruling planet of the time, we’ll share poems, cosmic interpretations, visual art, sounds and more as the wheel of the year turns. Happy solar return, Capricorns!

…has shown me that Non.Plus Lit is about more than poetry. At the heart of NPL is an eros that seeks to build community, to reject all forms of oppression, and create a home for art, and thinking, that is uncontainably alive. To expand on that eros, we’ve decided to begin developing Non.Plus Lit beyond just our magazine.