by Rachel Pollack
PM Press
2/1/2019, paperback
SKU: 9781629635781
A queer cult favorite, The Beatrix Gates is a colorful mix of science fiction, magic realism, memoir, and myth exploring themes of spirituality and transformation. Courage and cowardice contend in a literary odyssey unlike any other. Written especially for this volume, "Trans Central Station" is Pollack's personal and political take on the transgender experience then and now--and tomorrow? "Burning Beard" is a fiercely revisionist Bible tale of plague and prophecy told through a postmodern prose of many colors. "The Woman Who Didn't Come Back" is about just what it says. And there is of course PM Press' usual and unusual Outspoken Interview.
Part of PM Press' Outspoken Authors Series.
Reviews:
"The collection closes with a powerful personal anecdote about the importance of trans representation to readers. In the essay 'Trans Central Station, ' Pollack says: 'I was not trapped in the wrong body, I was trapped in the wrong universe. In order to become who I was, I had to break the world open. I had to embrace a kind of science fiction life.' Equal parts strange and captivating, this collection beautifully speaks Pollack's truth." -- Publishers Weekly
"Rachel Pollack's The Beatrix Gates is a stunning study in identity and mutability. It can be read most easily as a story about transexualism or simply a powerful examination of difference and its more positive consequences, as well as a subtle investigation of exactly what makes our identities." -- Green Man Review
About the Author:
An award-winning science fiction and fantasy author, Rachel Pollack (Unquenchable Fire and Godmother Night) is also an esteemed Tarot Grand Master with followers and students around the world. A progressive voice in the transgender community and a trusted guide to the ancient traditions of spiritualism, she has been for decades a teacher of writing at Goddard College.