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Queer Square Mile: Queer Short Stories from Wales
This ground-breaking volume makes visible a long and diverse tradition of queer writing from Wales. Spanning genres from ghost stories and science fiction to industrial literature and surrealist modernism, these are stories of love, loss, and transformation.
500 pages, Hardcover
Published June 30, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 3, 2024
Well, I think they wanted this to be more 'academic' rather than general readership.
I too found it difficult to know why a piece was included. Maybe just the fact that the author was 'queer'?
I enjoyed the much older and the very contemporary stories more than the 50s/60s/70s
I read it quite quickly - I liked the idea of thematic collections.
Worth the effort.
I too found it difficult to know why a piece was included. Maybe just the fact that the author was 'queer'?
I enjoyed the much older and the very contemporary stories more than the 50s/60s/70s
I read it quite quickly - I liked the idea of thematic collections.
Worth the effort.
January 8, 2022
Queer Square Mile: Queer Short Stories from Wales is an extraordinarily diverse collection of short stories, spanning 1837 to 2021 and including a wide array of genres, themes, and styles. The book is organized into several sections – ‘Love, Loss, and the Art of Failure,’ ‘Disorderly Women,’ ‘Transformations,’ ‘Hauntings and other Queer Fancies,’ ‘Queer Children,’ and ‘Internationalisms’ – each of which is detailed in the editors’ excellent introduction. The introduction effectively conveys the editors’ approach to this collection, which I believe is highly effective: they note that the stories are arranged thematically rather than chronologically or by identity groupings in order to avoid implying historical trajectories or essentialized experiences; a list of the stories in chronological order is provided at the back of the book. They also note, importantly, that the stories were selected “on the basis of the content rather than the sexual identities of the authors” given both the complications of ascribing contemporary identity terms to historical figures (which is frequently speculative at best) and the desire to avoid “misleadingly [creating] an artificial pantheon of historically representative figures” of LGBTQ+ communities. The editors also discuss the use of the word ‘queer’ specifically in Welsh context, which for me as a non-Welsh reader was informative. Inevitably, with a collection as wide-ranging as this, any reader is bound to find stories they love as well as stories they don’t care for, and my individual star ratings for stories ranged from 2 to 5 – overall, though, I enjoyed the collection and am thrilled to have found several new authors I look forward to reading more from.
Content warnings: grief, injury, war, internalized homophobia, homophobia, terminal illness, child abuse, sexual abuse, racial slurs, racism, physical assault, sexual assault, spousal abuse, hate crime, misgendering, human trafficking, animal cruelty, suicidal ideation, death, murder, fatphobia
Thank you to Parthian Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
Content warnings: grief, injury, war, internalized homophobia, homophobia, terminal illness, child abuse, sexual abuse, racial slurs, racism, physical assault, sexual assault, spousal abuse, hate crime, misgendering, human trafficking, animal cruelty, suicidal ideation, death, murder, fatphobia
Thank you to Parthian Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
June 22, 2023
Kind of a slog | Six months this took me, because the introduction was much too long and totally up its own ass, and a lot of the stories just aren't actually good. My bigger issue, though, is that for something in the neighborhood of 40% of the stories, I could not figure out why the editors thought they were in any way queer. And I say that as a queer person. This really seemed like the old "when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail" situation, and it became actively irritating. As a queer person, I wanted to read queer stories. To have to drag myself through so many poor pieces of prose that weren't in any way queer was really disappointing.
November 11, 2022
I voluntarily received an eARC copy in exchange for a honest review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
This is a great collection of queer stories from wales. These short stories span from the 1830s to present and are multiple different genres themes.
This is definitely a dense book with lots of short stories. Some I like better than others but I did find this an enjoyable read. Love being able to see how queer stories have evolved over time and what parts stay the same.
This is a great collection of queer stories from wales. These short stories span from the 1830s to present and are multiple different genres themes.
This is definitely a dense book with lots of short stories. Some I like better than others but I did find this an enjoyable read. Love being able to see how queer stories have evolved over time and what parts stay the same.
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October 16, 2022A 4.5-star collection!
Firstly, I have to apologize for taking so long to finish reading this collection and posting my review. My father passed away at the beginning of the year, and it took some time for me to get back to reading. When I finally started to read again—instead of rushing through this short story collection—I savoured it.
The stories were sectioned thematically, and I admit that I enjoyed most of them. Some stories, like “A Modest Adornment” by Magrid Evans, created cosy ambience and even had a bit of humour. Whereas others were dark and sombre, like “Red Earth, Cyrenaica” by Stevie Davies and “Knowledge” by Glyn Jones. It’s difficult to say that I enjoyed reading stories about AIDS, which is the subject matter in “Eucharist” by John Sam Jones; sexual assault, which is the subject matter in “Muscles Came Easy”; and violence against gay individuals, which is the subject matter in “Love Alone Remains” by Mihangel Morgan.
However, in spite of the darker short stories in Queer Square Mile: Queer Short Stories from Wales, there are stories where the characters’ discovery of their queerness or sexuality is exploratory, playful, and also passionate, like those in “Strawberry Cream” by Siân James and “Kissing Nina” by Deborah Kay Davies.
What I think was done quite well by the editors was the various experiences of the queer characters. For example, readers can see different experiences of coming out and transitioning, such as the support that Keiron—a Welsh rugby star—receives when he transitions to become a female versus that of Gethin, a young gay boy whose family members are devout Calvinists and their negative reactions to him coming out.
In addition, while some short stories follow the traditional structure of a short story, others subvert the traditional form. Some are shorter short stories where others are quite long. Whatever these stories may or may not be, they are collated well. Hats off to editors Kirsti Bohata, Mihangel Morgan, and Huw Osborne! I don’t think that I’ve enjoyed a collection from multiple contributors this much since I read The Long Gaze Back: An Anthology of Irish Women Writers, edited by Sinéad Gleeson.
My favourites were “Nightgown” by Rhys Davies, “A Modest Adornment” by Magrid Evans, “All the Boys” by Thomas Morris, “The Doctor’s Wife” by Rhys Davies, and “A Cut Below” by Jon Gower.
I highly recommend this short story collection. It was a joy to read, and I think it’s fantastic example of intersectionality. If you enjoy short stories or short story collections, reading about queer characters, and/or reading about people who are Welsh and/or live in Wales, then this is a collection for you!
Many thanks to Parthian Books and NetGalley for allowing me to review an ARC of this fantastic short story collection in return for an honest review. It has been a pleasure!
Firstly, I have to apologize for taking so long to finish reading this collection and posting my review. My father passed away at the beginning of the year, and it took some time for me to get back to reading. When I finally started to read again—instead of rushing through this short story collection—I savoured it.
The stories were sectioned thematically, and I admit that I enjoyed most of them. Some stories, like “A Modest Adornment” by Magrid Evans, created cosy ambience and even had a bit of humour. Whereas others were dark and sombre, like “Red Earth, Cyrenaica” by Stevie Davies and “Knowledge” by Glyn Jones. It’s difficult to say that I enjoyed reading stories about AIDS, which is the subject matter in “Eucharist” by John Sam Jones; sexual assault, which is the subject matter in “Muscles Came Easy”; and violence against gay individuals, which is the subject matter in “Love Alone Remains” by Mihangel Morgan.
However, in spite of the darker short stories in Queer Square Mile: Queer Short Stories from Wales, there are stories where the characters’ discovery of their queerness or sexuality is exploratory, playful, and also passionate, like those in “Strawberry Cream” by Siân James and “Kissing Nina” by Deborah Kay Davies.
What I think was done quite well by the editors was the various experiences of the queer characters. For example, readers can see different experiences of coming out and transitioning, such as the support that Keiron—a Welsh rugby star—receives when he transitions to become a female versus that of Gethin, a young gay boy whose family members are devout Calvinists and their negative reactions to him coming out.
In addition, while some short stories follow the traditional structure of a short story, others subvert the traditional form. Some are shorter short stories where others are quite long. Whatever these stories may or may not be, they are collated well. Hats off to editors Kirsti Bohata, Mihangel Morgan, and Huw Osborne! I don’t think that I’ve enjoyed a collection from multiple contributors this much since I read The Long Gaze Back: An Anthology of Irish Women Writers, edited by Sinéad Gleeson.
My favourites were “Nightgown” by Rhys Davies, “A Modest Adornment” by Magrid Evans, “All the Boys” by Thomas Morris, “The Doctor’s Wife” by Rhys Davies, and “A Cut Below” by Jon Gower.
I highly recommend this short story collection. It was a joy to read, and I think it’s fantastic example of intersectionality. If you enjoy short stories or short story collections, reading about queer characters, and/or reading about people who are Welsh and/or live in Wales, then this is a collection for you!
Many thanks to Parthian Books and NetGalley for allowing me to review an ARC of this fantastic short story collection in return for an honest review. It has been a pleasure!
February 28, 2022
Reading this as an Irish person, I admit to knowing very little about Wales and even less about Welsh literature, so this was a revelation right from the Introduction by the editors. I really appreciated what the editors had to say about how to even arrange this book, deciding to arrange the stories into themes and not either chronologically or by identity. I think it make the overall book much more useful and purposeful, acheiveing their intention of "hightlighting dialogue across times and places and in the hopes that new and spontaneous connections can be made".
I can't claim to be a compete fan of the short-story format - well you may wonder why I put my name forward to reveiw a book of Welsh short-stories! But so many of these stories just spoke to me on universal themes - I liked the point made in the introduction about "ex-centric" and "decentralised" and if this is a Welsh experience (vs England being considered as "centre" I find it interesting to compare it to the evolution of ireland as a nation over the past 100 years and in the previous 2 especially - as we see our (i.e. the Irish) perception of centre move from UK to EU.
I will continue to dip in to these short-stories and I appreciate how much they teach me about Welsh life and literature (queer or otherwise)
I can't claim to be a compete fan of the short-story format - well you may wonder why I put my name forward to reveiw a book of Welsh short-stories! But so many of these stories just spoke to me on universal themes - I liked the point made in the introduction about "ex-centric" and "decentralised" and if this is a Welsh experience (vs England being considered as "centre" I find it interesting to compare it to the evolution of ireland as a nation over the past 100 years and in the previous 2 especially - as we see our (i.e. the Irish) perception of centre move from UK to EU.
I will continue to dip in to these short-stories and I appreciate how much they teach me about Welsh life and literature (queer or otherwise)
February 23, 2022
This is a delightful anthology of queer short stories from Wales. Some of the almost 50 short stories were first published in Welsh and later translated into English. One of the delights is discovering so many lesbian writers (though, as the editors point out in the excellent introduction, many of the writers never publicly identified their sexual or gender identities; the word queer itself is an imported word constructed in the US). One of the earliest stories , "One June Night: the story of an Unladylike Girl" from 1883, is by Amy Dillwyn (1845-1935). Her first novel "The Rebecca Rioter"(1880), explored cross-dressing. Two stories by Kate Roberts (1891-1985), "The Treasure"(1972) and "Christmas"(1929), deal with a deep friendship between two older women, and a another relationship between a younger and an older woman, respectively. Crystal Jeans funny short stories "Go Play with Cucumbers" and "The Dead Bear" date to 2019.
The genres range from domestic dramas to modernist to science fiction. This is an anthology you can dip into anywhere and find something moving, entertaining or thought provoking. It's for anyone who enjoys short stories, Welsh literature and or queer fiction. I loved it.
The genres range from domestic dramas to modernist to science fiction. This is an anthology you can dip into anywhere and find something moving, entertaining or thought provoking. It's for anyone who enjoys short stories, Welsh literature and or queer fiction. I loved it.
July 2, 2022
This book has been provided for free on NetGalley by the editor. The review below has also been published on Rainbow Book Reviews.
I think I already mentioned in a previous review that is quite hard to adequately review a short story collection—not only is it impossible to summarize a plot as there are several involved, but the same is true as to the different and diverse authors, writing styles, points of view, characters, etcetera. So, all I can provide is an overall feeling, an ad-hoc impression.
This collection of “queer short stories from Wales” was a real treat—I didn’t expect less, in fact, especially after having read the excellent, long, and erudite introduction by the editors, who start by pointing out that short stories are, apparently, a traditional Welsh literary form insofar as they spring from the “communal story-telling tied to a local sense of ‘this place’ – one’s milltigr sqwâr [square mile] as it is called in Wales” (I understood at last the collection’s title, too). I admit that I skipped the second half of this introduction, not because it was less interesting or helpful, but because it presented the stories, one by one, and I hate the beans being spilled before I taste them, if I may use this expression. So, I dove in without further ado, turning the pages until reaching the first story.
From then on, I was captivated. I didn’t expect such a wide variety of stories, in fact. Bundled roughly in broad thematical sweeps that range from ghost stories to disorderly women, to quote but two, they span more than 150 years of writing, the earliest story dating back to 1837, the most recent one to 2018. Admittedly, some were very queer in the original sense of the word without striking me as outright queer in the sense our LGBTQ+ community understands it today. Indeed, from time to time I wondered why such and such story was even included in this collection. What I never found wanting, however, was the literary quality, even in those cases where the stories were translated from Welsh (luckily for me, because otherwise, with my nonexistent knowledge of that language, this would have been a short pleasure for me, indeed)—I mention this because translations are always tricky and can take off or file away some intrinsic essence of a writer’s style.
Another admission: although I thoroughly enjoyed the whole range of stories, the more recent ones drew me in more intensely. Two stories stood out especially, for me. In the first, ‘Red Earth, Cyrenaica’, by Stevie Davies, I guess it was the dreamlike, atmospheric writing and the tangible, smell- and tasteable descriptions (pardon the invention of these two words) as well as the depth of the narrator’s feelings, almost hidden behind very few words (this was a very short short story, after all), and the sadness, the bittersweet nostalgia of love long lost that made something vibrate in me. The second was a longer piece, ‘Muscles Came Easy’ by Aled Islwyn, and there too, the style and the painful yet only hinted-at plot and subplot made for a fascinating, enthralling read, enhanced by the direct, punch-like, almost oratory style.
All in all, I can only recommend this collection very highly. It’s probably not a book you should read the way I did, that is, from the first to the last story, with only few and short pauses between each. No, I guess it would be better to pick it up, taste one piece, close it, pick it up again sometime later, at your own rythm. Many stories would deserve to be digested, I reckon, and I know I’ll reread the collection at a slower pace in the near future.
I think I already mentioned in a previous review that is quite hard to adequately review a short story collection—not only is it impossible to summarize a plot as there are several involved, but the same is true as to the different and diverse authors, writing styles, points of view, characters, etcetera. So, all I can provide is an overall feeling, an ad-hoc impression.
This collection of “queer short stories from Wales” was a real treat—I didn’t expect less, in fact, especially after having read the excellent, long, and erudite introduction by the editors, who start by pointing out that short stories are, apparently, a traditional Welsh literary form insofar as they spring from the “communal story-telling tied to a local sense of ‘this place’ – one’s milltigr sqwâr [square mile] as it is called in Wales” (I understood at last the collection’s title, too). I admit that I skipped the second half of this introduction, not because it was less interesting or helpful, but because it presented the stories, one by one, and I hate the beans being spilled before I taste them, if I may use this expression. So, I dove in without further ado, turning the pages until reaching the first story.
From then on, I was captivated. I didn’t expect such a wide variety of stories, in fact. Bundled roughly in broad thematical sweeps that range from ghost stories to disorderly women, to quote but two, they span more than 150 years of writing, the earliest story dating back to 1837, the most recent one to 2018. Admittedly, some were very queer in the original sense of the word without striking me as outright queer in the sense our LGBTQ+ community understands it today. Indeed, from time to time I wondered why such and such story was even included in this collection. What I never found wanting, however, was the literary quality, even in those cases where the stories were translated from Welsh (luckily for me, because otherwise, with my nonexistent knowledge of that language, this would have been a short pleasure for me, indeed)—I mention this because translations are always tricky and can take off or file away some intrinsic essence of a writer’s style.
Another admission: although I thoroughly enjoyed the whole range of stories, the more recent ones drew me in more intensely. Two stories stood out especially, for me. In the first, ‘Red Earth, Cyrenaica’, by Stevie Davies, I guess it was the dreamlike, atmospheric writing and the tangible, smell- and tasteable descriptions (pardon the invention of these two words) as well as the depth of the narrator’s feelings, almost hidden behind very few words (this was a very short short story, after all), and the sadness, the bittersweet nostalgia of love long lost that made something vibrate in me. The second was a longer piece, ‘Muscles Came Easy’ by Aled Islwyn, and there too, the style and the painful yet only hinted-at plot and subplot made for a fascinating, enthralling read, enhanced by the direct, punch-like, almost oratory style.
All in all, I can only recommend this collection very highly. It’s probably not a book you should read the way I did, that is, from the first to the last story, with only few and short pauses between each. No, I guess it would be better to pick it up, taste one piece, close it, pick it up again sometime later, at your own rythm. Many stories would deserve to be digested, I reckon, and I know I’ll reread the collection at a slower pace in the near future.
January 16, 2022
Well, this is simply glorious. Dozens of diversely queer short stories from Wales, written between 1837 and 2021, organised into sections with titles such as disorderly women and hauntings and other queer fancies.
The stories vary wildly in genre, style, subject matter, length, etc, and there really is something here for everyone. Personally I picked out a handful of new (to me) authors to investigate further, and I'll want to go back and read some of the selections again and again.
Here, have my favourite passage, from A modest adornment by Margiad Evans:
My thanks to Parthian Books and NetGalley for the ARC.
The stories vary wildly in genre, style, subject matter, length, etc, and there really is something here for everyone. Personally I picked out a handful of new (to me) authors to investigate further, and I'll want to go back and read some of the selections again and again.
Here, have my favourite passage, from A modest adornment by Margiad Evans:
Miss Alllensore was an atrocious but, alas, perpetual cook. Coming down the garden path to the door which was generally open, their few visitors always heard furious frying or the grumpy sound of some pudding in the pot, bouncing and grunting like a goblin locked in a cupboard.
My thanks to Parthian Books and NetGalley for the ARC.
March 21, 2022
Dare I admit to not finishing it? I really hope to someday. It's so dense so it's not a quick and easy read. What I have read, I have enjoyed.
The volume is very well-organized and features a lengthy introduction.
This book is an excellent scholarly resource for queer Welsh history but is accessible to anyone who is curious.
I do look forward to finishing it!
#NetGalley
The volume is very well-organized and features a lengthy introduction.
This book is an excellent scholarly resource for queer Welsh history but is accessible to anyone who is curious.
I do look forward to finishing it!
#NetGalley
October 12, 2022
Absolutely wonderful short story collection!
651 pages of beautiful, queer, welsh-written words. So many of the stories were unforgettable.
Below are the stories I liked, (those marked with * were my favourites):
- The Treasure, Kate Roberts (trans. Joseph P. Clancy) [1972]
- Christmas, Kate Roberts (trans. Katie Gramich) [1929]*
-A Modest Adornment, Margiad Evans [1948]
- Red Earth, Cyrenaica, Stevie Davies [2018]
- Eucharist, John Sam Jones [2003]*
- Without Steve, David Llewellyn [2021]*
-The Conquered, Dorothy Edwards [1927]
-The Doctor's Wife, Rhys Davies [1930]
- A Cut Below, Jon Gower [2012]*
- The Collaborators, Anonymous [1901]
- Strawberry Cream, Sian James [1997]
- The Wonder at Seal Cave, John Sam Jones [2000]*
-Kissing Nina, Deborah Kay Davies [2008]
- The Stars Above the City, Lewis Davies [2008]
- Love Alone Remains, Mihangel Morgan [1996]
651 pages of beautiful, queer, welsh-written words. So many of the stories were unforgettable.
Below are the stories I liked, (those marked with * were my favourites):
- The Treasure, Kate Roberts (trans. Joseph P. Clancy) [1972]
- Christmas, Kate Roberts (trans. Katie Gramich) [1929]*
-A Modest Adornment, Margiad Evans [1948]
- Red Earth, Cyrenaica, Stevie Davies [2018]
- Eucharist, John Sam Jones [2003]*
- Without Steve, David Llewellyn [2021]*
-The Conquered, Dorothy Edwards [1927]
-The Doctor's Wife, Rhys Davies [1930]
- A Cut Below, Jon Gower [2012]*
- The Collaborators, Anonymous [1901]
- Strawberry Cream, Sian James [1997]
- The Wonder at Seal Cave, John Sam Jones [2000]*
-Kissing Nina, Deborah Kay Davies [2008]
- The Stars Above the City, Lewis Davies [2008]
- Love Alone Remains, Mihangel Morgan [1996]
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews