Family publishes poetry of murdered trans woman Andrea Waddell
A collection of poetry by Andrea Waddell, a trans woman who was murdered in Brighton in October 2009, has been published with the support of her family.
Sounds of the Soul: Adventures in Time by Andrea Waddell deals with the enthusiasms and complications of Andrea’s life: activism, philosophy, nature, illness, transgender issues and more.
Her family said: “We knew Andrea wrote poetry, but it was not until after her death that her brother found an opus of poems on her laptop, composed between 2003 and 2009, complete with a preamble and arranged into groups. We, her family, are very happy now to complete Andrea’s task and, finally, publish her poems.
“The work shows who she was: a poet, philosopher, free spirit, daughter, sister, and friend. This book, like her, will inspire, puzzle, and amuse.”
Publisher Ed Charlton said: “I’ve published several collections of poetry but none has such a tragic-yet-miraculous origin. In these poems we hear a voice not silenced.
“In addition, her family has decided to publish the collection under a generous Creative Commons license encouraging others to develop new works based on Andrea’s poems.”
Visiting the 29-year-old at her flat for paid sex in October 2009 he strangled her to death before setting alight to her home.
A laptop containing Andrea’s poetry was discovered by her brother after the fire.
