by Emily Pichardo Wojtyna

Queer Mycology ✨ is a series of poems and definitions that draws parallels between Western culture’s relationship and treatment of the natural world, and, more specifically, fungi, with that of its queer communities. Through a sequence of alternating stories, Queer Mycology explores the beauty and danger of being perceived as “different” or “other” in a capitalist, colonialist, and heteronormative society.  Emily Pichardo Wojtyna, a master’s student in ecology and environmental studies at LMU, draws from personal experiences and historical events like the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the first introduction of psilocybin mushrooms to the United States to bring together this multifaceted work.