Him or Her or Whatever is ultimately a collection of love poems — it’s just that the poems sometimes don’t want to be seen as love poems because, after all, that might be embarrassing. The pieces are interested in the whatever-ness of gender and genre, body and self, in whatever this categorizes and how it relates to and explores the whatever-ness of others. The poems are fierce and vulnerable and extremely shy, with many competing the book is, after all, written by a Gemini.
Tyler Friend's book is lush and tender, a true celebration of the joy of queer/trans experience and love. The poems are lyrical and imaginative, playful. This book feels a little like spring, or a saucy glance, or a sexy bath.