#knot body

[lifeinpoetry]

The shame takes a backseat. When was the last time you had the luxury of forgetting about your body?

— Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch, from "Portrait Of A Body In Pause," Knot Body

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

Knot Body by Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch

goodreads

Have you read this trans book?

Yes and I liked it

Yes and I didn't like it

No

No but I'd like to

I've never heard of it

Voting ended onFeb 20, 2025

Poetry. Literary Nonfiction. Middle Eastern Studies. LGBTQIA Studies. Disability Studies. Bringing together poetry, essay, and letters to "lovers, friends and in-betweens," Eli Tareq Bechelany-Lynch confronts the ways capitalism, fatphobia, ableism, transness, and racializations affect people with chronic pain, illness, and disability. Knot Body explores what it means to discover the limits of your body, and contends with what those limitations bring up in the world we live in.

Mod opinion: I haven't read this book yet, but I am Always intruiged by books that explore the intersection of transness and disability and so I really want to check this one out!

[tunisian]

The number of times a loved one has made breakfast for me is innumerable. How do I redistribute the weight of those acts? I start making mental charts of what is given to me and what I owe, the list growing into an intricate spreadsheet, so long and complicated that I can no longer hold it in my brain. I stop myself from writing it all down in Excel because that’s just too much.

— Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch, in Knot Body

[lifeinpoetry]

Sometimes my hands turn into claws and the ache stops me from texting. Know then that I still love you. Maybe call me? Maybe wait a little longer? Sometimes I will text you through the pain and I promise that is sacrificial love. I’m not saying it’s right. But is love right or wrong?

— Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch, from "Dear friends, lovers, and in-betweens," Knot Body

[lifeinpoetry]

The bed is my favourite site for pain. For pleasure. For both. When I’m always in pain, it might be a surprise that I want someone to fuck me so hard it aches? The ways I control my pain are the most delicious.

— Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch, from "[Dear friends, lovers, and in-betweens]," Knot Body

[lifeinpoetry]

I am getting out of bed.

I am getting out of bed.

I am getting out of bed.

I pick my head up.

I am getting out of bed.

I am getting out of bed.

I am getting out of bed.

I elevate my torso.

I am getting out of bed.

I am getting out of bed.

I am getting out of bed.

I swivel my legs off the bed.

I am getting out of bed.

I am getting out of bed.

I am getting out of bed.

I am sitting up straight.

I am getting out of bed.

I am getting out of bed.

I am getting out of bed.

I get up.

— Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch, from "[Dear friends, lovers, and in-betweens]," Knot Body

[lifeinpoetry]

Mix around some random details and turn myself into a character, so far away from me that I can convince both you and I that nothing bad has ever happened to me.

— Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch, from Knot Body

[lifeinpoetry]

I tell you, I need space, but boundaries are hard to press down onto, put into place, spread apart. If I tell you I don’t want to have sex, will you tell me it’s okay? The vampire in me draws you in, but as soon as I have you, I don’t know what to do with you. The only way I know desire is to watch you salivate over me, as I smell the blood moving forcefully through your veins.

— Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch, from "[Dear friends, lovers, and in-betweens]," Knot Body