Please join us to celebrate the launch party of Roses for Hedone: Queer Hedonism and World-Making Through Pleasure, a book by queer writer, campaigner and community organiser Prishita Maheshwari-Aplin.
This free event is open to all, with some special DJ guests including KARLIE MARX, in the main bar of the iconic queer venue The Divine, 8pm to 1am. You'll also be able to buy a copy of the book at the party!
Please RSVP so we know how many people to expect.
A love letter to the queer will, Roses for Hedone interrogates what more pleasure can offer us, and how we can transform this pleasure into intentional practice in pursuit of a collective liberatory future.
When a society marginalises a people, their humanity is revolutionary in all its hunger and joy. As the queer community worldwide faces rampant transphobia, rising hate crime, and unequal access to support services – all in the context of humanitarian crises, a climate crisis, and a destabilised political landscape – hedonism can play a central role in how we seek to organise as a symbiotic system. When viewed through a queer lens, hedonism undergoes a process of transformation, embodying the power for change and much more.
Borrowing from the Ancient Greeks’ understanding of love’s multiplicity, Roses for Hedone explores queer hedonism not as a momentary phenomenon or indulgence, but rather a transformational route – whether via dimly lit clubs, inspired art, side by side in protest, or sharing simple delights – through which we can learn from our past, connect in the present, and look towards a more fair, hopeful future together.
Prishita (they/them) is interested in the historical, personal, and political stories of the queer community, and has written extensively on these matters while drawing on their experiences as an LGBTQ+ rights campaigner and community organiser. Previously Politics Editor at BRICKS Magazine, they have by-lines in Gay Times, gal-dem, Dazed, Metal, and Cosmopolitan, among others. Prishita has also written for a range of scientific publications, including Triple Helix Cambridge, and is a co- author on a paper on the second plague pandemic published in Nature Communications. Their relationship with themselves and with others is rooted in, and informed by, their trans, multicultural, and migrant identity.
Roses for Hedone is published as a part of the Inklings series from award-winning alt-indie publisher 404 Ink, founded by Heather McDaid & Laura Jones-Rivera in 2016. Inklings have presented big ideas in pocket-sized books since 2021, covering a wide range of subjects that you might have an inkling about and want to know more!