Monday, February 16, 2026 by Montez Press Radio #readings
Never Think Straight
In response to Monique Wittig’s The Lesbian Body—the 1973 genre- and gender-breaking work of theory-fiction that challenged the heterosexual order of literature—this event gathers artists and writers to engage with its legacy fifty years after its English debut. In The Lesbian Body, Wittig celebrates sites of pleasure and lesbian eros through joy, violence, and tenderness, radically transfiguring gender by lesbianizing grammar, myth, and vocabulary.
Writers Alice Centamore and Matvei Yankelevich, responding to Wittig’s dissatisfaction with the original 1975 English translation, revised the text following her marginal notes. Their new edition, published by Winter Editions, foregrounds Wittig’s typographic innovations and renders her revisionist approach to language more fully.
For this event, Alice and Matvei invite a range of artists to perform from and respond to their favorite passages from the book. Sharon Hayes, Carolyn Lazard, and A. L. Steiner, alongside playwright Jerry Lieblich and art historian Ksenia M. Soboleva, collectively reflect on The Lesbian Body’s utopian project from today’s vantage point.
As Jack Halberstam promises, “you will never think straight again.”
Listen to the full segment ➚here
Bonus Links:
>>> Check out the new edition ➚here.
>>> Read the original 1975 translation ➚here.
