'A breath of fresh air . . . There's no memoir like it' Independent
'Travis Alabanza writes with such generosity and ease even the most provocative suggestions start to seem obvious . . . Profound and funny' SHON FAYE
'Will challenge, empower and move your soul' Glamour
'Lucid and glorious' YRSA DALEY-WARD
'A gloriously specific, funny and smart body of work' CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS
__________
'When you are someone that falls outside of categories in so many ways, a lot of things are said to you. And I have had a lot of things said to me.'
In None of the Above, Travis Alabanza examines seven phrases people have directed at them about their gender identity. These phrases have stayed with them over the years. Some are deceptively innocuous, some deliberately loaded or offensive, some celebratory; sentences that have impacted them for better and for worse; sentences that speak to the broader issues raised by a world that insists that gender must be a binary.
Through these seven phrases, which include some of their most transformative experiences as a Black, mixed race, non binary person, Travis Alabanza turns a mirror back on society, giving us reason to question the very framework in which we live and the ways we treat each other.
Travis Alabanza is an award-winning writer, performer and theatre maker. After being the youngest recipient of the Artist-in-Residency programme at Tate Galleries, Alabanza's debut show Burgerz toured internationally to sold-out performances in the Southbank Centre, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and HAU, Berlin, and won the Edinburgh Fringe Total Theatre Award. In 2020 their theatre show Overflow debuted at the Bush Theatre to widespread acclaim and later streamed online in over 20 countries. Their writing has appeared in the Guardian, Vice, gal-dem and BBC Online, and they previously had a fortnightly column in the Metro. They have been published in numerous anthologies, including Black and Gay In the UK. Their work surrounding gender, trans identity and race has garnered international recognition, and they have given talks at universities including Oxford, Harvard, Bristol and more.
@travisalabanza | travisalabanza.co.uk
Title: None of the Above: Reflections on Life Beyond the Binary
Author: Alabanza, Travis
ISBN: 9781838854317
Binding:
Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
Publication Date: 2022-08-04
Number of Pages: 224
Weight: 0.3301 kg
A breath of fresh air . . . Anyone expecting a hand-holding guidebook will be disappointed by the candour, complexity and subjectivity of None of the Above. There's no memoir like it published in the UK . . . Alabanza's memoir offers welcome nuance to those willing to listen * * Independent * *
Travis Alabanza writes about gender and its possibilities with such generosity and ease even the most provocative suggestions start to seem obvious, despite their challenges to society at large. This anti-memoir, which is at times both profound and funny, will make anyone question the stories we tell about ourselves, how we tell them and even who the telling is for -- SHON FAYE, author of THE TRANSGENDER ISSUE
Travis is an incredible thinker, philosopher and human being -- VICKY FEATHERSTONE * * Guardian * *
Flips the well thumbed script that casts oppressed people as lead in the tale of their mistreatment, boldly interrogating the faults of a society that allows such mistreatment to occur . . . Alabanza's lyrical style and theatrical grounding is the book's lifeblood * * Gay Times * *
Lucid and glorious. Truth that goes on and on making room for itself -- YRSA DALEY-WARD
One of those times you are so profoundly grateful that someone has cracked open their head and allowed you to look around at the beautiful, sad and remarkable parts that make them who they are. A gloriously specific, funny and smart body of work -- CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS
Travis' words have power. An essential read for everyone -- SAM SMITH
None of The Above is a stunning and powerful memoir, it is so beautifully written and so moving. Travis Alabanza generously shares moments of bravery, honesty, humanity, empathy, courage, wit, wisdom and joy in these pages, I absolutely loved it and will ask everyone to read it -- Salena Godden, author of MRS DEATH MISSES DEATH
Truly transformative, exquisite, thoughtful writing -- MICHAEL CHAKRAVERTY
Absolutely stunning . . . Travis is one of the sharpest writers out there and everyone should read this book -- IONE GAMBLE
Potent, profound, sassy and deeply satisfying. A triumph! * * Attitude * *
Will challenge, empower and move your soul * * Glamour * *
