All She Wrote x Caro DeRobertis
When:
Thursday, Jun 05, 2025 7:00p -
8:30p
Thursday, Jun 05, 2025 7:00p -
8:30p
Where:
All She Wrote Books
75 Washington Street
Somerville, Massachusetts 02143
Admission:
$7
Hosted by:
Categories:
History, LGBTQ+, Meetup, Rainy Day Ideas
Event website:
https://www.allshewrotebooks.com/events-1/all-she-wrote-x-caro-derobertis
Join All She Wrote Books at on Thursday, June 5th at 7:00pm, as we host writer Caro de Robertis and archivist, queer historian Mik Hamilton from The History Project! They will discuss de Robertis new book, So Many Stars, a first-of-its-kind, deeply personal, and moving oral history of a generation of trans and gender nonconforming elders of color—from leading activists to artists to ordinary citizens—who tell their own stories of breathtaking courage, cultural innovations, and acts of resistance.
"Inclusivity" isn't just a buzzword to us. We make every effort to ensure our space and events are accessible to and for everyone. If you or someone in your party needs accommodations, please email us at [email protected].
About So Many Stars
So Many Stars knits together the voices of trans, nonbinary, genderqueer, and two-spirit elders of color as they share authentic, intimate accounts of how they created space for themselves and their communities in the world. This singular project collects the testimonies of twenty elders, each a glimmering thread in a luminous tapestry, preserving their words for future generations—who can more fully exist in the world today because of these very trailblazers.
De Robertis creates a collective coming-of-age story based on hundreds of hours of interviews, offering rare snapshots of ordinary life: kids growing up, navigating family issues and finding community, coming out and changing how they identify over the years, building movements and weathering the AIDS crisis, and sharing wisdom for future generations. Often narrating experiences that took place before they had the array of language that exists today to self-identify beyond the gender binary, this generation lived through remarkable changes in American culture, shaped American culture, and yet rarely takes center stage in the history books. Their stories feel particularly urgent in the current political moment, but also remind readers that their experiences are not new, and that young trans and nonbinary people today belong to a long lineage.
The anecdotes in these pages are riveting, joyful, heartbreaking, full of personality and wisdom, and artfully woven together into one immersive narrative. In De Robertis’s words, So Many Stars shares “behind-the-scenes tales of what it meant—and still means—to create an authentic life, against the odds.”
About the Author
Caro de Robertis (they/them) is the author of six novels, including The Palace of Eros, Cantoras, and more. Their books have been translated into seventeen languages and have received numerous honors, including two Stonewall Book Awards, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature, which they were the first openly nonbinary writer to receive. De Robertis is also an award-winning literary translator and a professor at San Francisco State University. They live in Oakland, California with their two children.
About the Speaker
Mik Hamilton (they/any pronouns) is an archivist and queer historian. Mik is the archivist at The History Project, Boston's queer community archive, where they preserve and share local LGBTQ+ history through community programming. Mik's research interests include queer organizational histories, local LGBTQ+ grassroots efforts, and reparative archival practices, which has included working with the UMD-based Indigenous Description Group to improve accessibility to archival collections for Indigenous Tribal communities. Since 2016, Mik has worked and interned with various archives, including positions at the Smithsonian National Museum for the American Indian, Cornell University, and Harvard University. Mik earned their MA in History and Master of Library and Information Science in Archives Management from Simmons University.
About our Co-Sponsor
The History Project is Boston’s LGBTQ+ community archive, dedicated to preserving historical records, ephemera, and stories. Since 1980, this independent nonprofit has supported research, hosted public exhibits and events, and shared LGBTQ+ history with individuals, organizations, and the public.
