leandra gamboa
(she/her/hers) is a butch lesbian poet, writer, and harm reduction worker living in Toronto.- writing: projects, conversations, influences, publications
- currently reading + 2026 highlights
current projects
- working on a new hybrid novel draft of mfa thesis 99 Second Lives
- a series of poems after trans women and trans lesbian poets
- reflection essay on five years of filipino youth organizing and one year of harm reduction work
- writing lyrics for all-trans post-punk new wave band It's For You
- yuriful short story about two chess competitorsdiscussing/writing/reading/in conversation
- when i write and reflect i think foremost of the following: trans lesbian lives and intimacies, the women who have shaped my life, competitive subcultures, diaspora divides within youth communities, transfeminisms, building a better world, communism, the protracted people's war and the national democratic movement in the philippines, being in the final years of my youth and reflecting on what i've learned- currently reading contemporary 'canadian' and/or trans fiction and poetry (esp. trans lesbian fiction and poetry, yuri (manga+anime+visual novels) transfeminist/communist/political/economic theory and whatever seems interesting that i come across that relates to any of the abovean incomplete list of influences
- dionne brand, carrianne leung, torrey peters, layli long soldier, billy-ray belcourt, aisha sasha john, joshua jennifer espinoza, my friends and loved ones
publications
*these all have my deadnames on them just pretend to not see them lmao
- I'm a spoiled child. - Arc 90, Labour and Livelihood
- no pressure - PRUDEmag, Issue 1
- keep it to yourself - Half a Grapefruit Magazine
- The Moon Crashes Into The Earth - Living Hyphen, Issue 1
- Crisis, Seconds (two poems) - Sewer Lid, Issue 1
- In content and jovial circles - Hart House Review
currently reading
- persona - aoife josie clements
- wonderland road - carrianne leung
- any other city - hazel jane plante
- butter - asako yuzuki
- emptiness effigied - madiha s.
- hand jumper - sleepacross
- the moon on a rainy night - kuzushiro
- revolutionary girl utena - be-papas
- alcohol and ogre-girls - hashiba misato & zinbei
- love thy neighbour - willowincomplete list of 2026 highlights
- the traitor baru cormorant - seth dickinson
- total - aisha sasha john
- revolutions - hajer mirwali
- code noir - canisia lubrin
- the dad rock that made me a woman - niko stratis
- 'femboys in the factory' - alexis davin (TSQ 11:2)
- 'tainted ladies' - lorna finlayson (boston review, fall 2025)
- run away with me, girl - battan
- black and white - sal jiang