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Simple Poems About Complex Topics

Turning Point Books

In poet Sue Ellen Thompson's most recent collection of poems, They, she reflects on her relationship with her transgender child, and the ways in which that child’s identity animates and informs complex questions, and steadfast love.  Last December, way before Caitlin Jenner was in the news, Sue Ellen Thompson crossed the bridge from her home in Oxford to talk with Tom Hall about this powerful and provocative collection of poems.

Thompson's book was mentioned in an opinion piece from Kathleen Parker in The Washington Post earlier this month. She wrote:

"But I’ve learned more about transgender individuals and their families from the tender poetry of Sue Ellen Thompson than from magazine displays and televised hype. In her latest collection, “They,” Thompson writes lovingly of her own transgender daughter’s journey and the challenges her evolution poses for three generations of family. I commend her book to those interested in insight over titillation."

This segment originally aired on December 17, 2014.

THEYwebContent.mp3
Sue Ellen Thompson reads two more poems for Tom.

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