The shortest book tour there ever was
After Sex and other news...
I am excited to share some news with you. As many of you know, I have been working on an anthology with Alice Spawls, After Sex, published in November by Silver Press, a feminist publisher based in London. When the US Supreme Court ruled on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which ultimately overturned federal protection for abortion in June 2022. At the time, I was livid, devastated, and dismayed by the political direction in the US and the implications it would have for future generations. The idea that a nine-person committee could determine the fate of millions of women revealed how undemocratic the US government is, as well as the international reach it would have to limit people’s right to determine what happened to their bodies. Not only had this been one iteration of far-right organizing in the country, something that I witnessed while living abroad, but the decision revealed conservatives' anxieties about sex. As such, Alice and I spent a year exchanging text messages and emails about the history, law, and literature that has shaped abortion rights across both sides of the Atlantic. We read about ancient condoms, medieval abortifacients, and forced sterilization. As we reckoned with what was happening in the US, we also sought literary refuge from our favorite thinkers, with the idea of inspiring hope in ourselves and others.
At the heart of After Sex is a selection of reflections, stories, and poetry about reproductive justice. Alice and I were heartened by theorists such as bell hooks, science fiction writers such as Ursula LeGuin, and feminist collectives such as Sistersong. The contributors are part of a long legacy of people striving to prevent or terminate pregnancy. Still, their work is grounded on the idea that people should create families of their choosing when they are ready, with all the necessary resources. Many of them demand free abortion, upon demand, and free childcare for everyone. This is the bare minimum, of course. And this is why reading can allow us to enter a new world of possibility.
We argue that the right to privacy, access, and decriminalization of abortion are essential. Still, beyond that, we also wanted to expand on what an abortion and reproductive rights narrative is: Maggie Doherty's "The Abortion Stories We Tell" looks at the history of speak-outs by radical feminist groups such as the Red Stockings Collective. We learn that the women's liberation movement was fighting for equality in a true sense: division of labor, equal pay, and bodily autonomy. We wanted to echo Sophie Lewis’s sentiments and affirm the right not to be pregnant should be the center of debate and the literary subtleties of how to have an abortion in Jamaica Kincaid’s poem Girl. This book is an intergenerational narrative, but of course, it is not perfect. Missing from our anthology are non-English sources and explicit transgender experiences around abortions, but I highly recommend reading Michelle W. Tam's Queering Reproductive Access in Reproductive Health Journal, in which Tam argues that reproductive health is an intersectional issue.
Since the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, there have been six ballot measures addressing abortion — the most on record for a single year. Pro-choice measures were approved in California, Michigan, and Vermont. Anti-choice measures were defeated in Kansas, Kentucky, and Montana. The 2023 Ohio reproductive rights initiative, officially titled "The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety" and listed on the ballot as Issue 1, was a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment that was adopted on November 7, 2023, by a majority of 56.6% of voters. I am hopeful about the momentum of pro-choice activists and invite people to share about the activism that they have done around abortion access here in Europe and beyond.
Alice and I had a chance to go "on a book tour" for After Sex in the United Kingdom and Germany. We discussed sex education, the morning-after pill, and pre-cum at the London Review Bookshop, ICA London, and diffrakt space in Berlin. Here are some pictures from our Berlin launch, where we were joined by Tracy Fuad, a poet and contributor to After Sex.
I hope people interested in reproductive justice, poetry, and feminism will read and engage with this book, which I poured my heart and soul into researching and writing. If you have time and interest, here are a few ways to help support us and the book.
For people living in Europe, the UK, and the Commonwealth, visit your local library and request After Sex if it is unavailable.
Purchase the book from a local bookstore.
Gift the book to someone you know who is likely to be interested, ideally from an independent bookstore.
Recommend After Sex to colleagues for course adoption.
Host a reading group or gathering with people to discuss After Sex.
Take a photo of yourself with the book and post it on social media—Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram—and mention your plans to read it and why.
If you want to review After Sex for a magazine or newspaper, please let me know, and I can send you an electronic galley of the text.
Also, writing is not a solitary effort. We thank the contributors to this book and their collaborators, publishers, and executors. This collection has been made possible by the efforts of many, and we acknowledge in particular Marleen Boschen, Sarah Shin, Jay Drinkall, Leila Edelsztein, Ailsa McNicol, Jayne Kavanagh, Lisa Hallgarten, Denise Riley, Luiza Prado, Christine Kakaire, Charmaine Li, Fran Spawls and Michael Crabtree. We are grateful for the financial support of Arts Council England.
Because I will step back from Twitter and Instagram in December, I will update my website with information about my endeavors. At the side of my homepage, you see information about news and updates on After Sex and my other writing. Earlier this year, I turned on paid subscriptions for this newsletter. I plan to keep posts free for the foreseeable future, but I appreciate readers’ support! (If you’re a paid subscriber or are considering becoming one, I’d be curious to hear your thoughts about what “subscriber-only” features sound fun to you.) If you have further questions, please let me know, I would love to hear from you, and thank you.
With Radical Love,