Or, an Autobiography

Or, an Autobiography explores in poetry the fluidities of self, body, and imagination.

Or, an Autobiography delves into these themes with its central book-length poem, 'The Or Tree', an alternative version of the fictional poem 'The Oak Tree', originally written by Virginia Woolf's character Orlando (a fictional rendering of Vita Sackville-West). In Woolf's narrative, 'The Oak Tree' takes Orlando over 300 years to compose as they navigate multiple eras, burn their poetic oeuvre, engage in various affairs with poets, critics, and a queen, while transitioning gender from male to female.

'The Or Tree' is an assemblage and erasure poem resurrected chronologically from the six chapters of a burnt copy of Orlando: A Biography. It pays homage to androgyny and the non-binary, reflecting the fluidity inherent within us all. 'Or' serves as an alter ego and character within the poem, adopting they/them pronouns, as well as representing a conjunction and a ghost.

Complementing 'The Or Tree' is an "understorey", a poetic essay that underscores and intertwines with the poem across each chapter. This essay provides a radical play on the confessional and citational, enhancing the text's exploration of identity and fluidity.