Gwen Benaway is Canadian poet and activist. As of October 2019, She was a PhD candidate in the Women & Gender Studies Institute at the Faculty of Arts & Science at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

. Benaway has also written non-fiction for ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' and ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian persp ...

''.

Activism

Benaway, who claims

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawat ...

and Métis descent, is a well known advocate for the rights of transgender Indigenous people. However, her claims to Indigenous identity have been called into question. She has spoken publicly about the healthcare system and transphobia. Benaway has said, ″I guess I can't tell the difference between living and writing, the social and the political, the body and the voice, the binary and the limitlessness of my heart. I'm trans, and by that I mean I'm beyond what the world can contain." Benaway was one of the most prominent activists against the

Toronto Public Library Toronto Public Library (TPL) (french: Bibliothèque publique de Toronto) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2008 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other pub ...

's decision to allow the feminist writer Meghan Murphy and the Radical Feminists Unite group to hold a speaking event at the library in 2019. She protested against the event to express her objection to comments Murphy had made about transgender people and Murphy's opposition to the establishment of transgender rights legislation. In an interview, Benaway said she had been "kettled in the library" by the Toronto police during the protest.

Publications

Benaway's poetry reflects her experience as a trans woman, and often speaks about the ongoing realities of colonial violence. Scholar of LGBT and

Two-Spirit Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ...

Indigenous literatures Lisa Tatonetti described Benaway's work as "aesthetically beautiful" and wrote of Benaway's ''Passage'' that "while an incredibly personal book from a self-described feminist confessional poet, ''Passage'', in its lyric beauty, its bravery, and its testament to survival and rebirth, is a gift to readers as well." The peer assessment committee for the Governor General's Literary Awards described ''Holy Wild'' as "lyrical rhythmic and fierce. It was an extraordinary experience reading this burning, honest manifesto." Benaway has published three poetry collections to date, with one further announced: * * * *Benaway, Gwen (2020). ''day/break. Book*hug.'' Benaway curated the following collection of short fiction: *Benaway, Gwen (2019) ''Maiden, Mother, and Crone: Fantastical Trans Femmes'' Benaway's writing has been featured in the following collections: *''Love beyond body, space, and time: an Indigenous LGBT sci-fi anthology'' (2016) Winnipeg: Bedside Press *''NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American women'' (2017) Toronto: Annick Press. *''Refuse: CanLit in ruins'' (2018) Toronto: Bookhug.

Essays and articles

*
Finding refuge in trans sisterhood
''Xtra'', November 20, 2019. *"A Body like a Home", '' HazLitt'', May 30, 2019 (a long-form essay about her gender-confirmation surgery) *"Repair", '' Guts Magazine'', May 3, 2019
The real price of transphobia
, (Opinion) ''Xtra'', February 12, 2019. *"Pussy", ''carte blanche'', December 12, 2018 (essay on trans women's bodies and transmisogyny)
Being loved back with Boy Meets Girl
, ''Xtra'', November 16, 2018. *"Decolonial Love Letters to Our Bodies", ''Tea & Bannock'', April 28, 2018 (a collaboration with Anishinaabe artist Quill Christie-Peters

*
trans girl in love
", '' Room (magazine), Room Magazine'' (a long form essay about sexual violence, abusive relationships, and being a trans girl in love) * "Dreaming of home" (a short essay on losing her "virginity"). *"Ahkii: a Woman is a Sovereign Land", ''Transmotion'' 3, no. 1 (2017)
The power-and the violence-of being an Indigenous trans woman
, ''Maclean's''. June 21, 2017. * "No Contact Rule", ''carte blanche'', June 12, 2017, (an essay on Canadian literature). * "What Junot Diaz Doesn't Say", '' Flare Magazine'', April 23, 2013 (an essay on the price that women pay to further men's self development).

Awards

In 2015, Benaway received the inaugural Speaker's Award for a Young Author. In 2016 she received the Honour of Distinction from the

Dayne Ogilvie Prize The Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to an emerging Canadian writer who is part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer community. Origina ...

for

LGBTQ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...

writers. She won ''

Prism International ''Prism International'' (styled ''PRISM international'') is a magazine published quarterly in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1959, it is Western Canada's senior literary magazine. The magazine was started with name ''Prism'' ...

's'' Creative Non-Fiction contest in 2017 for her piece "Between a Rock and a Hard Place". In 2019 Benaway won the

Governor General's Literary Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

for English poetry for ''Holy Wild''. The collection of poems look at the intersection of Indigenous and transgender identities. The book was also shortlisted for the

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

for Transgender Poetry at the 31st Lambda Literary Award, the Trillium Book Award for Poetry, and the Publishing Triangle Award for Trans and Gender-Variant Literature. In 2019, Benaway's essay "A Body Like a Home" won a Gold medal in the 42nd National Magazine Awards in the Personal Journalism category.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benaway, Gwen 21st-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian women poets Canadian women non-fiction writers Canadian LGBT poets Canadian transgender writers Transgender women Living people Canadian people who self-identify as being of Indigenous descent 21st-century Canadian women writers 1987 births Governor General's Award-winning poets Transgender poets 21st-century Canadian LGBT people