itch.io

hey fossil,

• that's a good question, as sometimes when you compare some prose and some poetry they come across as the same kind of writing. in my opinion, i think some poetry tends to feel like "stripped back prose" where a writer who either wants to challenge their approach to prose and bring it down to the fundamental points and concepts of the message by utilizing language in it's strongest ways or who finds the detail of prose overwhelming expresses their story without the constraints and expectation of complete essays, perfect grammar, or coherent sentence structure. that's just one way poetry can be though. stream of consciousness, poetic prose, long form poetry ... those are all equally "poetry" as the point of poetry is that there's no limit. i think what makes prose prose is that the author says "this is prose" and what makes poetry poetry is the author says "this is poetry". does that mean it's good or can only be interpreted that way? no. but ultimately i think the distinction can be found both in the approach and presentation, and what the author says about their own work.
• i think hearing about healthcare from trans healthcare providers instead of just cis ones is great and really important. unless you're going to be writing "i think teaching there are only two immutable sexes is fine and good" (something a trans doctor said to me once?) or generally saying that you think the ways medicine and healthcare both mistreat trans/non-cis/intersex people and miseducate about their needs are good, it shouldn't be an issue. if you tag it [medical] [discussion of medical practice] [trans healthcare] [gender and medicine] and so on, so that a reader can decide for themself if it'll be okay for them or not, that should be all you have to do! i don't think you're gunna be writing the above negative examples though haha, so i don't think there's anything to worry about! i want this 'jam' to make people feel like they can and should participate, not that they shouldn't. i don't think any of our readers will cause any issue, and if they do go after authors for no reason other than engaging with difficult topics or personal experiences (not bigotry), i'll talk it out with said readers and discourage them from doing so if that does end up happening.

let me know if that answers your questions!