Last year, during a call for submissions, I came across the poem “September in Singapore” by John Whalen-Bridge. The theme for the call was very specific. John’s poem didn’t fit, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. In the poem, there is a lone shoe filled with water. The image of that shoe haunted me. I had no place for this poem, so I made one. The concept of Tender Masculinities was born inspired by this poem.
We were thrilled when the wonderful Jude Marr agreed to edit this folio.
We know the stereotypes of maleness well, always tough, always in control. Tender Masculinities celebrates another side. A softer, introspective, creative, unexpected side, which we celebrate in this folio. Weekly, we will release new pieces exploring the other side of masculinity selected by Jude.
Editor in Chief
-Yael Valencia Aldana
About Tender Masculinities’ editor:
Jude Marr (he, him) is a Pushcart-nominated trans poet, editor and teacher. Jude’s full-length collection, We Know Each Other By Our Wounds, came out from Animal Heart Press in 2020, and he liked the press so much that he now works with them as an editor. Jude’s work has also appeared in many journals and anthologies, most recently Ghost City, Cutleaf, Reed Magazine, and Masculinity: An Anthology of Modern Voices (Broken Sleep Books, 2023.) Born in the UK, Jude lived in the US for ten years and is now planning a move to Portugal in 2025. Contact Jude via his website, judemarr.com
Tytti Heikkinen is a Finnish visual artist and illustrator. She graduated from the Turku Art Academy. Heikkinen has showcased her work in exhibitions in Finland and Denmark. In the USA, her illustrations have appeared or will appear in Arkana, Lumina Literary Journal, Miracle Monocle, Mayday Magazine, and elsewhere.
