Reimagining love: Breaking away from the normative with authors Sharif Rangnekar, Bishakh Som and Maia Kobabe. In this episode, we will hear our guests explore their relationship with community and found families, experience writing memoirs and the role of love in political, cultural and social discussions.
About the Guests:
Sharif Ragnekar is a well known journalist and advocates for LGBTQ+ rights at every possible platform. He is the Festival Director of the Rainbow Lit Fest and his memoir Straight to Normal: My Life As A Gay Man is one of the few pieces of writings that explores queer lives in India.
Artist and writer Bishakh Som’s comics work has previously appeared in several international journals and she is the author of two beautiful graphic narratives, Apsara Engine, a collection of eight short stories and Spellbound, a graphic memoir.
Maia Kobabe is an American illustrator and comic. Eir first full length book, Gender Queer: A Memoir, was a winner of an Alex Award and Stonewall Book Award . The memoir presents a rare glimpse into the reality of life as a non-binary individual and has been translated into several languages.
This series is hosted by Yoshita Srivastava, literature collective associate at Belongg. She believes inclusive representation is essential for a better future — empathy being key in dismantling prejudice. She is interested in exploring intersections of gender, sexuality, identity and culture studies, and has previously worked at media and social sector organizations.
You can also listen to this and more by downloading Belongg’s app UnOther, spelt U_N_O_T_H_E_R which is available on both the Apple and Google app stores. To invite such experts to your organization for guest lectures or expert consultations, please also look at Belongg Circle, a platform that curates intersectional experts and makes it easy for a range of organizations to integrate such thinking in their work.
