Lights, Camera, Trans-Action!

Hayden Dansky (pronouns: they/them/theirs) is a transgender nonbinary rural queer kid trying their best to not to be smothered by capitalism. They have been writing and performing poetry for several years, and are currently collaborating with local experimental musicians, dancers and videographers to create performances that encompass multiple disciplines.

They just published their first full-length poetry book called “I Would Tell You a Secret“. Their most recent poetry can also be found in anthologies such as Bible Belt Queers, Thought for Food, South Broadway Ghost Society Online Journal, and Spit Poet Volume 8. They are also the Executive Director of Boulder Food Rescue, a nonprofit working to create a more just and less wasteful food system, through the sustainable redistribution of healthy food and participatory and community-led food access systems.

About Their New Book:
“I Would Tell You a Secret” is a collection of existential poems that explore the questions between
discovery and self-doubt, and what it means to be in a body that is always in transition. It navigates the very personal narrative of the author’s life, from physical transition to growing up in dysfunction, the loss of family early in life, and the process of recovery from alcoholism and addiction.

They tell their story of unlearning old narratives, and the navigation of deep grief and shame while sitting in both despair and awe at the same time. This collection of poems mischievously dance between healing and activism, tangling personal growth and collective freedom from systemic oppression intentionally and with dependence. I Would Tell You a Secret takes the reader through this narrative in a non-linear way, seeking to not shine light on the dark spots, but to instead allow the reader to sit accompanied in the dark.