Archival Seances: Ghostly Poetics and Queer Acts of Conjure
(Performed at OSCLG 2026)
Abstract:
We are witnessing systemic erasure happening in real-time. Over the last several years, we have observed the United States government implementing deliberate legislative measures aimed at scrubbing Queer and Trans individuals from public visibility and collective memory. Out of sight, out of mind. The state’s actions manifest in various forms, including the restriction of discussions surrounding LGBTQ+ identities in educational settings, the villainization and forced elimination of DEI initiatives in public organizations, and the removal and outlawing of resources that support Queer and Trans youth. As these legislative measures further marginalize Queer and Trans communities, they are accompanied by a disturbing trend of erasure from official documentation.
Since Donald Trump’s second inauguration, several mentions of Queer and Trans folks have been wiped from the public facing published materials of multiple federal agencies, including the Center for Disease Control, the National Park Services, the State Department, and the Social Security Administration, among others (GLAAD, 2025; Jingnan & Lawrence, 2025; Yurcaba, 2025). The implications of this erasure are profound and far-reaching. By stripping these documents of either inclusive language and/or total recognition, the government not only undermines the validity of Queer and Trans identities but also sends a clear message that our communities are unworthy of acknowledgment or support. This is particularly relevant in political arenas such as the state of Utah where the state legislature continues to compound violence against the Queer and Trans communites through the passing of bills such as SB-16 (2023), HB-257(2024), HB-261(2024), HB-77 (2025), and HB-269(2025). These calculated acts of erasure are not merely a bureaucratic oversight; they are a strategic maneuver that seeks to delegitimize the struggles and contributions of Queer and Trans communities in Utah as well as the United States American society as a whole. As we confront this reality, it becomes imperative for advocates, researchers, and community members to resist these efforts through active engagement with the remaining archival repositories of Queer and Trans narratives. Now, more than ever, we need to urgently safeguard and document Queer and Trans stories to resist structural violence while maintaining the visibility of our community in the historical record.
In response to escalating legislative attacks and bureaucratic censorship that diminish the visibility of Queer and Trans lives, particularly in Utah, this performance critically and affectively engages with the Utah Pride Center Records housed at the J.W. Marriott Library – specifically Box 20, Folder 6 (Poetry). Utilizing the traditional method of Oral interpretation of literature in conjunction with ritual, prayer, and seance, this performance speak through, to, and with, a buried collection of poetry from 1993 titled “Love Doesn’t Always Rhyme” by Queer poets in the state of Utah. In giving breath to these words, we animate the lives and memories of their authors, forging a temporary but powerful communion across time. The performance reimagines the archive not as a static container of history, but as a dynamic site of resistance, grief, and survival. By invoking the poetics of the past, we collectively refuse the state’s attempts at erasure and insist on the enduring presence of Queer and Trans existence; lived, felt, and remembered.
