Queer Square Mile

A nation’s literature is a fluid thing. What exactly is it that makes a short story Welsh? Is it the setting of the story; the birthplace or home of the author; the language in which it was written? To take a national literature and examine it at its intersection with queerness – something else that by its very nature is evasive of labels and definitions – is an ambitious thing to do. However, in the hands of editors, Kirsti Bohata, Mihangel Morgan and Huw Osborne, Queer Square Mile: Queer Short Stories from Wales is destined to become the definitive tome of queer Welsh literature. The three have pulled together a collection that feels comprehensive, while highlighting the challenges in compiling such a book. Queerness is at once both timeless and utterly modern. Sexualities and gender identities have always been beautifully diverse, yet our modern understanding of what it means to live an LGBTQ life centres around a language and societal acceptance that is completely contemporary. Do we, therefore, try and judge historical queer literature through a modern lens, or attempt a reading through the eyes of the past? A little bit of both, seems to be the answer. The multiple styles, forms and genres included here are a testament to the breadth of the queer experience. This is not a series of closeted love stories in bucolic Welsh settings – this is sci-fi, letters, surrealism, and historical fiction alongside stories published as recently as 2021. The editors have collated these stories not chronologically (the introduction explains excellently why a chronological representation of the queer experience as a neat progressive narrative would be too simplistic) but by theme: queer children, transformations, internationalism and more. This means you get the post-apocalyptic sci-fi of Ken Etheridge’s 1950s ‘Nobody dies... Nobody lives’ leading into John Sam Jones’s surrealist ‘The Fish Boys of Vernazza’ from 2003, before heading back in time to 1944’s ‘The Water Music’ by Glyn Jones. The reader is never left to settle. The stories that make up this anthology are incredibly varied and cover a period of almost 200 years. Interestingly, the age of the stories doesn’t directly correlate to how dated they can feel. The oldest piece in the book, 1837’s anonymous ‘The Conquest, or a Mail Companion’, is a gentle tale of mistaken identity with nothing stronger in conclusion than some inferred rumours. By contrast, 2012’s ‘A Cut Below’ by Jon Gower already feels incredibly dated, with its humour at times feeling a little off. Telling the story of a fictional Welsh rugby legend who undergoes a sex change, it’s an interesting, albeit naïve, read when viewed in the context of contemporary debates around trans sportspeople. Gower misgenders his protagonist and gives the trans Keiron a cartoonishly short and simple transition. While some of the authors featured identify as queer or gender diverse, how the majority of the authors self-identified is lost to the past. Many of these stories were written during times when trans experiences were not recognised and homosexuality was either hidden or illegal. Even looking at the more modern stories, only around a fifth of the stories included in the anthology were published post-Clause 28. This in itself is a reminder of how important representation is, and of the need for these stories to reach a wider audience. Queer Square Mile is an important selection of stories that are entertaining in their own right, while collectively opening debate, shining new light, and highlighting voices and stories that give context to modern queer life in Wales. This is a groundbreaking exploration of identities over time and shows the importance of literature – particularly the short story – as a space for exploration, innovation and representation. -- Liam Nolan @ www.gwales.com