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Queer Heartache
Queer Heartache is a full length poetry collection adapted from Kit Yan’s award-winning one-person slam poetry theater show with the same name. Kit’s poetry explores his identity as transgender, queer, Asian American from Hawaii, while asking what queer hearts and families are made of and interrogating the forces that are constantly working to break them apart. Queer Heartache is a testament to the resilience of queer love in all its forms—between cis and trans siblings, lovers, pride parade attendees, and many more—in the face of heartbreaking barriers everywhere from the dating pool to the medical establishment. If you’ve ever had your heart broken, wondered how your pets self-identify, or wanted to tell someone your gender is none of their business, this book is for you. So wrap yourself in a rainbow and enjoy the ride.
70 pages, Paperback
Published March 31, 2016
About the author
Kit Yan
2 books7 followersKit Yan is a Yellow American New York based artist, born in Enping, China, and raised in the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Kit is a 2019 Vivace Award winner, Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellow, 2019 Lincoln Center Writer in residence, a 2019 MacDowell Fellow, 2019-2020 Musical Theater Factory Makers Fellow, a 2019-2020 Playwright’s Center Many Voices Fellow, and a 2019 NAMT selection for Interstate.
Kit’s forthcoming works along with collaborator Melissa Li include a production of INTERSTATE at Mixed Blood Theater in March 2020, a first draft commission of MISS STEP from 5th Avenue Theater, and a commission from Keen Company for a Keen Teens one act musical.
INTERSTATE, won 5 awards at the 2018 New York Musical Festival including Best Lyrics. Kit’s show QUEER HEARTACHE has won 5 awards at the Chicago and SF Fringe Festivals.
Their work has been produced by the American Repertory Theater, the Smithsonian, Musical Theater Factory, the New York Musical Festival, Diversionary Theater, and Dixon Place. They have been a resident with the Civilians, Mitten Lab, 5th Avenue Theater, and the Village Theater.
In 2018 Kit founded Translab an incubator for Transgender and Non-binary voices in the American Theater along with MJ Kaufman and supported by WP Theater and the Public Theater.
Kit is a 2019 Vivace Award winner, Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellow, 2019 Lincoln Center Writer in residence, a 2019 MacDowell Fellow, 2019-2020 Musical Theater Factory Makers Fellow, a 2019-2020 Playwright’s Center Many Voices Fellow, and a 2019 NAMT selection for Interstate.
Kit’s forthcoming works along with collaborator Melissa Li include a production of INTERSTATE at Mixed Blood Theater in March 2020, a first draft commission of MISS STEP from 5th Avenue Theater, and a commission from Keen Company for a Keen Teens one act musical.
INTERSTATE, won 5 awards at the 2018 New York Musical Festival including Best Lyrics. Kit’s show QUEER HEARTACHE has won 5 awards at the Chicago and SF Fringe Festivals.
Their work has been produced by the American Repertory Theater, the Smithsonian, Musical Theater Factory, the New York Musical Festival, Diversionary Theater, and Dixon Place. They have been a resident with the Civilians, Mitten Lab, 5th Avenue Theater, and the Village Theater.
In 2018 Kit founded Translab an incubator for Transgender and Non-binary voices in the American Theater along with MJ Kaufman and supported by WP Theater and the Public Theater.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 4, 2020
4.5 stars.
This is a short but powerful book. This review comes after my second read-through of the book. I had gotten it several years ago after seeing Kit Yan preform. Despite the fact that it has been so long, I could see pieces of his performance and hear his words as I reread it. This poetry collection is honest and unabashed.
"But most of the time, my gender is.../ fuck you mind your own business!"
A note about the content: there is frank discussion of sex and the body in these poems. So, just be aware of that going in. Some of these poems are not for younger audiences.
This is a short but powerful book. This review comes after my second read-through of the book. I had gotten it several years ago after seeing Kit Yan preform. Despite the fact that it has been so long, I could see pieces of his performance and hear his words as I reread it. This poetry collection is honest and unabashed.
"But most of the time, my gender is.../ fuck you mind your own business!"
A note about the content: there is frank discussion of sex and the body in these poems. So, just be aware of that going in. Some of these poems are not for younger audiences.
Read
January 29, 2023Proof that queer poets simply do it better.
Picked this collection up from my school randomly last week & it ended up potentially being one of my favorite poetry books.
Yan’s poems share experiences that you will never find in a collection written by a non queer author.
“and Edwin,
if you want to try dancing with a boy
but right now it’s not safe
or it’s just a scene in your imagination,
then close your eyes,
give him a spin. Press your chest against him
and breathe.
Because that’s ok too.”
Picked this collection up from my school randomly last week & it ended up potentially being one of my favorite poetry books.
Yan’s poems share experiences that you will never find in a collection written by a non queer author.
“and Edwin,
if you want to try dancing with a boy
but right now it’s not safe
or it’s just a scene in your imagination,
then close your eyes,
give him a spin. Press your chest against him
and breathe.
Because that’s ok too.”
November 15, 2016
This is definitely a book I will be revisiting in the years to come, the time ahead that we're facing as a result of the presidential election.
In the meantime, this is definitely a must read. such a short, sweet, tender book. filled to the brim with stories, playing on the varying dimensions of queer heartache
In the meantime, this is definitely a must read. such a short, sweet, tender book. filled to the brim with stories, playing on the varying dimensions of queer heartache
August 1, 2021
Queer Heartache is a poetry collection that I, overall, enjoyed. It explores the speaker's identity as a Chinese-American, queer and transgender man. These intersections of identity are covered with depth and nuance, and I loved what each poem had to say. Poems I particularly resonated with were "Sunrise" and "Not Girls Like You."
What stops this from being a four-star collection or higher for me ultimately boils down to poetic technique and flow. This book was adapted from Yan's slam poetry show, which I have seen bits and pieces of on Youtube, and I can't help but think many of these pieces work better as slam poems than they do as written ones. A big part of slam poetry is delivery. We get lost in slam poems and connect with them, long and meandering as they often are, because the speaker controls the way we hear them. On the page, though, many of Yan's stream-of-consciousness poems tend to feel wandering. As far as tone, Yan does what he can with exclamation points and bold letters, but this still isn't the same as hearing/seeing a poem performed. If anything, it feels like too much at times. If I were to read more of Yan's work, I'd want it to be something not intended to be a slam poem, but something tighter and better suited to the page.
I also have some quibbles with the title. Many of these poems are about queerness, true, but not all of them are. There are many poems in here that focus solely on race and class, and I wish that was reflected more in the title.
What stops this from being a four-star collection or higher for me ultimately boils down to poetic technique and flow. This book was adapted from Yan's slam poetry show, which I have seen bits and pieces of on Youtube, and I can't help but think many of these pieces work better as slam poems than they do as written ones. A big part of slam poetry is delivery. We get lost in slam poems and connect with them, long and meandering as they often are, because the speaker controls the way we hear them. On the page, though, many of Yan's stream-of-consciousness poems tend to feel wandering. As far as tone, Yan does what he can with exclamation points and bold letters, but this still isn't the same as hearing/seeing a poem performed. If anything, it feels like too much at times. If I were to read more of Yan's work, I'd want it to be something not intended to be a slam poem, but something tighter and better suited to the page.
I also have some quibbles with the title. Many of these poems are about queerness, true, but not all of them are. There are many poems in here that focus solely on race and class, and I wish that was reflected more in the title.
March 24, 2017
Kit Yan's collection of poems in Queer Heartache are honest, confrontational, and delightful. He weaves stories of growing up, having sex, and understanding familial love into one group of poems. It is exciting and brilliant to see a collection that represents all parts of a person's life and how they all interact with one another to create that person--INTERSECTIONALITY. I found Yan's poems about lecturing their younger brother to be the most powerful, maybe those are the ones that hit most to home but they are about knowledge sharing and effecting change. Some powerful words on class and navigating America without English as a first language included in the collection as well. This is a dope quick collection that is heartwarming and heartbreaking--a very sincere reflection of life.
January 1, 2023
Extremely quick read, but the lovely collection of poems begs to be read over and over. The way Yan takes from not only their experiences but the collaborative experience of many queer folks is quite impactful. Definitely something I’d recommend to all of my queer friends!
January 8, 2021
This little book of poetry truly packs a punch, writing from the intersection of a trans, queer, Asian American.
December 23, 2022
gaysians ftw
June 2, 2021
One of my favorite books of poetry. I’ve read it over and over again, and each time it makes me feel whole and loved.
January 30, 2018
Yan’s poetry flows smoothly and narratively, but without sacrificing depth. I love how he writes about gender, and family.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews