Ithaca College alum Su Van Gelder ’20, a writer and poet with a passion for public health, has released a new chapbook delving into themes of identity and transformation.
The chapbook, titled born again: now as myself, was published in July 2024 by New Words Press, a publisher of literary journals and chapbooks by queer and trans* authors.
About born again: now as myself
Gelder’s poems are both poignant and positive. They began writing in high school, but didn’t have the time nor an outlet to dedicate themselves to the craft until they came to the college. While here they found Spit That!, the spoken-word poetry club. After participating in the club, they then submitted their work to the college’s literary magazine Stillwater, and was published for their first time. They then decided to complete the writing minor. From there, writing became a constant. Gelder wrote the poems in this collection over years, mainly 2020 to 2022.
As its title suggests, the collection is about “the process of becoming and remaking oneself,” they said. The title was inspired directly by one of the included poems titled “Idolatry,” a poem about their reclamation of being in a trans body after a period of struggling to understand themselves physically and emotionally. They added, “I think my transness is apparent in my poetry, if not always direct in theme, then often in the ethos of the poetry itself.”
Writing over a period of time, meant for Gelder revisiting and editing poems to adapt them to the growth and insights they’d experienced since.
“I love editing my poetry … I think many people hate editing their poetry, especially if it's emotionally very raw … I think I get as much out of editing it as I do writing it,” they said.
The book is divided into two parts. The first is titled “Metamorphoses,” which many of the poems and their themes fell into naturally. The second part is titled “Reflexions,” with an intentional misspelling. Reflex and reflection together describes the tension between the analytical process of reflection and editing, or as Gelder described it, “the intellectual and non-somatic,” and the physical reflex of the body, the raw aspect of their poetry.
A Collaborative Artistic Vision
The book’s artfully designed cover was created by fellow alum, Jackson Smith ’20. Gelder and Smith shared a connection through their involvement in the Spit That! club. Adding a layer of community to the creation of this chapbook, the collaboration underscores the importance of the connections one makes as an undergrad.
A Journey Through Writing and Advocacy
During their time at Ithaca College, Gelder enjoyed having Professor Katharyn Machan for fantasy and science fiction writing, saying, “I love the whimsy, the magic that Katharyn brought to poetry and poetry writing.”
They also enjoyed the instruction of Professor Anthony Di Renzo in satire writing, which has influenced their voice in poetry, as humor is important to them and “there's like a lot of cynicism that runs through the book.”
Though they are now pursuing a different discipline, they have not lost sight of their craft.
Gelder is both driven to address health disparities within the queer community, focusing on practical efforts to advance health equity, and, still, they are driven to create art. This chapbook serves as an outlet for them to express and explore in a personal way.
In regard to students who, like them, have multiple interests, they said: “Use all the opportunities at your disposal. Try as many things as you can when you have the opportunity. Not to say, you won't have the opportunity again. But, I am so grateful for all of the things that I was able to do while I was an IC student.”
Gelder hopes readers can pull one or two complex emotions from their work for them to experience and play with in their bodies. Aside from an emotional response, they hope readers understand the following sentiment from these poems: “You can find beauty and humor in almost anything; you can make and remake yourselves as many times as you want; and the capacity for joy is limitless.”
More about Su Van Gelder
Gelder graduated in 2020 with a B.A. in communications and culture with minors in linguistics, writing and Spanish. During their time at the college, they also acted as Co-President and communications coordinator of “Spit That!” poetry club and were published in the college’s literary magazine Stillwater.
Gelder at present is pursuing a master’s in public health in LGBTQ health from Rutgers University in New Jersey. Graduating during the start of the pandemic and entering postgrad life at height of it, guided their path towards public health. They said, “I just want to start working in the queer community and advance healthy equity. I’m ready to get my boots on the ground.”
You can find them on Instagram @rebelliousjunk. And, you can purchase their chapbook from newwordspress.com
Read more of their work here:
Stillwater Magazine, 2019 & 2020
Reservoir Road Literary Review Issue 08, 2022