Las Vegas-based author’s memoir explores Black trans identity

KB Brookins earned their MFA in creative writing at the University of Texas at Austin, where they founded the Black Queer & Trans Collective.

Following the chapbook “How To Identify Yourself With a Wound” and the poetry collection “Freedom House,” “Pretty” is the 30-year-old Brookins’ first memoir, based on their experiences growing up in Texas.

Here, in their own words, are five questions with Brookins.

Neon: What inspired you to write this?

KB Brookins: Years of speaking to other people about some of my life experiences and realizing that 1) not enough people know about the Black transmasculine experience; 2) those of us who have experienced the things I have — queerphobia and sexual violence, among other things — deserve to see themselves reflected in literature. Also, a lot of encouragement from great teachers that I’ve had throughout my life!

What is your connection to Nevada?

I moved to Las Vegas in August because of a really amazing fellowship through the Black Mountain Institute at UNLV. Getting to know the city as well as Nevada as a whole through this fellowship has been a blast! It’s given me such vital time to do creative work and make community connections.

What do you hope readers take away from “Pretty”?

I hope that they are more aware and empathetic about those with similar life experiences as me. I hope that they read more works by other Black trans writers. I also hope that they do at least one thing to support the ongoing fight against transphobia happening in their city/state/country.

What did you learn about yourself while writing this?

I learned that being a writer and being able to tell my own story on my own terms is powerful. It’s a power I take very seriously, and writing “Pretty” really helped me face some things about my past that I really needed to. Writing this book also reinforced for me how fickle memory can be; I needed to really be patient with myself and my community in order to remember the details of some past events. Memoir writing is tough and beautiful at the same time.

What’s next for you?

I hope to continue writing books that challenge me (and my readers) to reflect. I’m in the middle of a few projects across genres (creative nonfiction, poetry and fiction) and am looking forward to seeing what shakes out.