Portal Work: Embodied Answers for the Burning Questions That Keep Me Up at Night
Q. Alexander
WSQ: Women's Studies Quarterly September 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1353/wsq.2026.a1005931 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Education Linguistics |
| Key points | Argues that writing letters to queer Black ancestors Audre Lorde and Pauli Murray opens embodied ways of knowing that challenge traditional knowledge production, and contends that this Black queer/trans ancestral knowledge cannot be accessed through scholarly inquiry alone. |
Abstract
Abstract:This article is a series of conversations using letters as an epistolary technology to open up alternate ways of knowing. Rooted in a queer/trans Black feminist lens, this writing unpacks a set of experiences that have expanded my critical consciousness as a queer Black trans educator. This particular practice of writing to queer Black ancestors Audre Lorde and Pauli Murray works to uncover embodied ways of knowing that challenge traditional forms of knowledge production. Ultimately, this article is a meditation on the kind of Black queer/trans ancestral knowledge shared through letter writing that cannot be accessed through scholarly inquiry alone.