So Many Stars

So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color is an interwoven, polyphonic oral history of trans, BIPOC elders that has the kind of pacing and narrative arc we typically only see in novels.

“Those of us who are trans, nonbinary, genderqueer, two-spirit, or otherwise gender variant have a lineage; we have an inheritance; we are part of radiant cultures and histories,” writes De Robertis in the book's introduction. Their first-of-its-kind, deeply personal, and moving oral history of a generation of trans and gender nonconforming elders of color features stories from leading activists, artists, and ordinary citizens who tell their stories of breathtaking courage, cultural innovations, and acts of resistance, all in their own words. With a novelist's eye, De Robertis has woven together
their stories into a narrative that highlights the resonances between stories just as much as the nuances that separate them, from adolescence to activism to aging.

The project began during De Robertis' time as a Baldwin-Emerson Fellow with the I See My Light Shining oral history project helmed by Jacqueline Woodson, gathering oral histories of queer and trans BIPOC elders in collaboration with the Center for Oral History at Columbia University. Jaquira Díaz, author of Ordinary Girls, describes the resulting book as “a beautiful constellation of stories ... This book is a gift — a powerful and necessary addition to the Queer canon.”