Aldrin Valdez is a Pinoy writer and visual artist. They are the author of ESL or You Weren't Here (Nightboat Books, 2018). Aldrin grew up in Manila and Long Island and currently lives in Brooklyn. They've been awarded fellowships from Queer/Art/Mentorship and Poets House. Their poetry & visual art appear in The Felt, Femmescapes, Nat Brut, Poor Claudia, and The Recluse. Aldrin has also presented work at Dixon Place, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Poetry Project. Collaborating with writer & organizer Ted Kerr, Aldrin co-organized Foundational Sharing (2011-2015), a salon series of readings, performances, & visual art. Currently, Aldrin & fellow poet Joël Díaz are co-curators of the December 2018 / January 2019 season for the Segue Reading Series.

POETRY

"Faggot Phonetics" and "Sagad"

By ALDRIN VALDEZ

Mourning comes/
in little waves as desire comes/
in little waves