Talamantez Brolaski's first book of poetry, Advice for Lovers, was devoted almost entirely to love poems. Written while he was in graduate school at Berkeley, he was under the influence of classical Latin and Renaissance poetry. Five years later, his new book, Of Mongrelitude (Wave Books), begins with an invocation to war. Talamantez Brolaski is trans-gender, and he made the transition during those five years. He describes himself as a multi-gendered, racial and linguistic mongrel. The poems chart his journey out of pain, confusion and darkness into a visionary state.
Read an excerpt from Of Mongrelitude.