These Indiana Winters

Queerness, family, magic and Indiana weather combine in These Indiana Winters, Beks Roen's debut chapbook. Their imagination skips across Seussian animals, fantastical characters, and the struggles of being a queer pastor's kid in the Midwest. Roen's wit and wonder reveals a spark of magic hidden in the everyday.

Roen chronicles their growing-up years and coming out journey in this little poetic adventure. The speaker has a jumping contest with Jack Frost (they lose), find their gender paralleled in the natural world, and finally turn from the turbulence of self-discovery to comfort their younger self.

Beks Roen (they/he) helps trans/aspec folks and allies who feel isolated and powerless to find chosen family through queer fantasy and Shakespeare.

They run Roguish Goblin Stories, an online queer art library where enbies and aspecs are the main characters.

Roen's work can be seen on their Substack, in The NonBinary Review, Querencia Press, Beyond the Veil Press, Anodyne Magazine & more.