Connecting to our queer selves through words

Finnley “Finn” Wilde (they/them/theirs) is working on becoming the “most relatable new voice in poetry.” Their first publication includes Oral Hygiene Sweetheart in the Preposition Anthology, available for pre-order now.

I've always found a bit of myself in the poems I love. Poetry was a friend and connected me to myself at a time when I didn't have one. In a poetic way, I like to put this “poetry held me when no one else could.” Poetry, especially from queer and gender-queer authors, allowed me to connect to myself when no other resources did. That is what I hope to do with my poetry. Give people a friend or a piece of themselves they can recognize in my work when they need it, to make people feel less alone in their experiences of queerness, gender identity, and living through trauma and mental illness. These are all the things I write about and that I read about in works I connected to that uplifted me in my struggle and showed me different ways of living.

I want a younger, closeted, traumatized version of me living in an unaccepting place to read my journey and know that their happiest, most authentic life is possible outside and that their authentic self is welcome in my world and many others. I want them to know that they are not alone in their struggles, although it so often feels like we/they are. I hope to grant my readers the gift of self-acceptance from being authentically myself in my words. I want my poetry to connect to other readers who may have trouble connecting to the world or themselves or live in a world that isn't accepting of them. I hope also to teach those who are not accepting of the topics I write about more compassion and humanity with sharing my work surrounding these things. 

-Finn