Queer Vernacular

Speaking in Queer Tongues is a poetry workshop that takes seriously the idea that queer vernacular is not just slang or subculture. It is political in its own grammar and expressions—an open-ended space for reclaiming, resisting, and celebrating what has been imposed on us, often without our consent.

From seizing back derogatory terms, slurs, and gay hook-up slang to embracing popular local queer language and Beyonce’s lyrics, this workshop by Hendri Yulius Wijaya insists on the endless possibilities that emerge when meanings are subverted, linguistic conformity is flirted with, and the pressure to translate everything into English is met with a suggestive wink.