A graphic drawn in a colorful, sketchy style of the words "Poetry is not a luxury" shooting rainbow beams past three greyscale people.
Featured
“Poetry Is Not a Luxury”: Building New Queer Worlds One Word at a Time

Audre Lorde asks us to view life as something to be experienced, not a problem to solve — to view our feelings as cherished sources of power and knowledge instead of treasures to bury deep inside. Our poetry and dreams unlock those wells of power that can lead to true lasting action.

an illustration of a moth and butterfly dodging a net
Poetry
Butterflies

A poem recounting a personal experience with queerness and trauma and coming to terms with it.

photo of a brown haired girl holding a flower in front of her face, partially hiding a smile
Poetry
Sometimes

A poem about unrequited feelings and the occasional resurfacing of memories that come with it.

photo of writer Alex Penland by the coast
Community
Queer Next Up: Alex Penland

Alex Penland (they/them) is an author, creative writing student, Smithsonian alumnus, and linguist . They primarily write SFF (Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Speculative Fiction), but also dabble in poetry.

photo of a small brown and white speckled bird sitting in a tree
Creative Writing
parajitos

A poem about the way our institutions and some people fail to protect young trans people and profit off their deaths in different ways, while the people who loved them are left to deal with the actual grief. 

illustrated patchwork quilt with a different scene on each panel, including a sun tattoo, a map of california and texas, a pinky promise, a pitcher pouring out water, a paintbrush with red paint, and a skeleton with an exposed heart.
Poetry
patchwork

This poem was originally published in our Spring 2022 print issue “Reflections of Radiance.”

we are
building a new life
painting a new life
writing a new life

grow out the roots of your heart so that is becomes sturdy and resilient. keep yourself and those who you love inside, for it is your true home after all. deep orange background cover in illustrated luscious green leaves and roots being watered by a pink watering can
Art & Illustration
Roots

Illustrated by Chrys Marr (She/They) This piece was originally published in our Spring 2022 print issue “Reflections of Radiance.“

illustrated movie poster reading "jackson harris presents: I hate it that you know me. featuring the heart psychic. magician you don't listen." it depicts a black woman with a magenta afro wearing an off the shoulder deep pink flowy top and gold bangles as she. holds a beating anatomical heart.
Creative Writing
i hate it that you know me

magician you don’t listen
all your tricks have worked on me
I’m in a hundred million pieces and we last spoke in my dreams
please lead me back inside the gardens where our lives and love have peaked

painterly digital artwork depicting a pair of amber eyes with subtle pink eye makeup. their skin is light and their eyebrows are dark brown.
Creative Writing
Aliveness

Artwork by Cole Lopez (They/Them) The morning my grandfather died             I slept. An ocean away I dreamt             that an angel leaned to kiss his cheek And I tried to push it away but instead              I screamed  My hands passing through…

illustration of a person with long hair and a black dress looking into a tri-fold mirror. one side of their reflection shows a woman with styled long hair, jewelry, and a strapless black dress. the other side shows a masculine figure with a baseball cap, sweatshirt, and jeans
Creative Writing
Dressing Room

Graphic by Kelly (She/Her) I’m in a department store trying on clothes and they all fit in the technical sense, not too tight and in colors that make my eyes pop and my mother tells me I look beautiful, so…

Featured Posts
A black-and-white Victorian-era photograph of two white AMAB people dressed as women.
Featured
Misgendering the Misgendered
Director Vanessa Gonzalez-Siegel stands in front of UCLA's LGBTQ Campus Resource Center
Community
Meet the New LGBTQ+ Center Director!
A rainbow-colored fist made of many smaller fists punches upwards over a dark grey background.
Featured
Stronger Together: The Importance of Community Post-2024 Election
A student member of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) speaks at the press conference announcing the lawsuit.
Community
Students and Faculty Sue UC Regents Over Free Speech Infringement During Pro-Palestine Encampment
A group of diverse people standing on a lawn holding Dom Jones for Assembly signs. Among them is Dom Jones, a Black woman with colorfully dyed locs.
Featured
A New Face for OC: Meet Dom Jones
Two women almost kissing on a TV screen with a large superimposed question mark.
Arts & Entertainment
Can Queerbaiting Exist In A World Where Sexuality Is Fluid?
A cartoon of a scared Frankenstein's monster looming over the author, a white man, huddled under the blankets of his bed.
Arts & Entertainment
My Own Modern Prometheus
A group of protestors on Kuruvungna Steps, many of them wearing medical masks.
Featured
Michael Drake’s Mask Ban Endangers More Than Just Protesters
A photo of several participants in the Queer Writing Space
Community
Writing Helped Me Find My Queerness — Here’s How It Can Help You Find Yours: UCLA’s Queer Creative Writing Space
A person with both blue and pale skin is carried away through a star-specked void on a stream of purple, pale green and teal.
Community
Voidpunk and a Meditation on Human Bodies
A person wearing a Pride flag as a cape is highlighted by an orange spotlight as a crowd of blue, shadowed people circle them at a distance.
Community
Cringe Compilation #42: The Psychology of Cringe Culture
Two furries help an excited third friend into a fursuit.
Community
For the Love of Furries
Student protestors hold up large signs which together read "Cancel RIMPAC".
Community
Cancel RIMPAC! Student Perspectives on Resisting the U.S. War Machine
A crowd of anti-RIMPAC protestors with banners and flags gather in front of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier.
Featured
 The Human Cost of RIMPAC and Calls to Resistance
A syringe injecting into a thigh. The top of the thigh is bloody and scarred.
Creative Writing
transmutation of man
A graphic drawn in a colorful, sketchy style of the words "Poetry is not a luxury" shooting rainbow beams past three greyscale people.
Featured
“Poetry Is Not a Luxury”: Building New Queer Worlds One Word at a Time
A scattered group of pro-Palestine protestors linger in front of Powell Library on a foggy day. One waves a large Palestinian flag.
Community
The Right to be Disruptive
Caryn and Aly, Sarah's aunts, dance barefoot in a garden. They are older white women wearing summery clothing. Both are smiling widely.
Creative Writing
The Hard Choice
A photo of Chino Hills Community Center.
Community
Hometown Troubles
A crowd of UCLA students and community members gather in a circle around the base of Kuruvungna Steps. Many wear keffiyehs and some raise cardboard signs with pro-Palestine slogans. Community members' faces have been blurred for privacy.
Community
Why Palestine?: Interviews with Pro-Palestine Students at UCLA
Follow Us