
We Are Hungry for Androgyny
We Are Hungry for Androgyny is filled with wit, chaos, beauty and rage. In her second collection Leilah King shares her experiences navigating the world as a butch, half-Iranian gay woman. Her poems touch on her dual heritage and her experience of queerness. She explores how these identities intersect, balancing the expectations of her Persian heritage with her sexuality and gender nonconformity.
We Are Hungry for Androgyny retains Leilah’s brand of illustrative poems about Iran, capturing nostalgic imagery of her time there. She conjures scenes of the Caspian Sea, Tehran and Shiraz her mother’s home city. Her collection examines the current political and social landscape in the United Kingdom and explores how patriarchy and discrimination have affected her family and shaped her life today. As a performer, Leilah brings a playfulness to her storytelling, turning confronting experiences into comical songs.
Leilah’s poetry exists to inspire openness, demand solidarity and to celebrate marginalised groups.
Leilah is a half-Iranian queer footballer and coach, mental health advocate, and stand-up poet. Her debut poetry collection Midnight Picnics in Tehran was published by Burning Eye Books. She is the co-founder and host of an open mic night in Bristol called Time of the Month Open Mic, a performance space for female/trans/nonbinary/GNC performers. She works at Off the Record, a mental health charity for children and young people, as a fundraising manager, and lives in East Bristol with her partner Alina.
Politically in-your-face, but always authentic, always original, Leilah writes with intelligence, wit and nuance in precise and vivid language. She poses questions instead of giving simplistic answers in powerful poems of exquisite lyrical beauty
Melanie Branton
Leilah is a true original. Never the same poet twice, she forges together the gentle comedy of life, the solemnity of solitude and the everyday melodies of personal relationships into her poetry and prose. You never know what’s coming next, but you really, really want to take the leap and find out. A brilliant performer and sparky poet to fall in love with Malaika Kegode
Funny, unpredictable, self-deprecating and sometimes confrontational. In print her poems reveal something else. They are reflective and full of original images. She describes familiar things in new ways and makes what is unfamiliar come to life Tom Sastry
Leilah King is an absolute queen of spoken word. In both her writing and performance, no holds are barred … One minute, she’ll have you in the camel clutch of hilarity, ribs bursting from laughter as she belts out another raucous song, and in the next she’s got you in the gentlest of headlocks, holding you with a powerful simplicity and a beautiful, open honesty. With a unique brand of quick wit and barely controlled chaos, her performances are always joyous and almost otherworldly. Easily one of the most authentic and astonishing poets you’ll ever see Chris White
Leilah weaves all those things that make life – love, beauty, rage resonances – into moving, deep and sometimes hilarious poetry that gives a voice to those that go unnoticed and unpraised. Her performances are warm and embracing. She’s a founder member and hero of the Bristol Butch BarRosie Poebright, co-founder of Bristol Butch Bar
The most amazing stage presence and storytelling, slathered in gorgeous butchness. Leilah casually blends poetic snapshots of love and belonging, queer reflections and insurrections, and hilarious sarcasm, throws it all your way and waits for you to catch it. What a rideAlexa Ledecky, creator of Soft Butch Bristol
Leilah facilitated a workshop on creative writing for me as part of a session for students, academics and professional staff on research mentoring and antiracist practice. Along with her expertise in writing poetry, she brings an openness and warmth that allowed participants to feel comfortable sharing their ideas and to try out new skillsDr Deborah Brewis, Lecturer in Organisation Studies, University of Bath
We were delighted to have Leilah come and deliver a poetry workshop for our LGBTQ+ youth group! She was excellent at engaging with the group and getting them writing togetherHarriet Rose, LGBTQ+ Service Lead, Off the Record, Bath and North East Somerset (OTR)
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