J Brooke — I Can Tell You the Version That Will Make You Take My Side - with Aaron Hamburger — at Conn Ave

J Brooke reads from their debut poetry collection *I Can Tell You the Version That Will Make You Take My Side*, a candid exploration of a queer and nonbinary life shaped by binaries, family, and the question of top-surgery. They will be joined in conversation by author Aaron Hamburger. The book, praised by Rosie O’Donnell, Hannah Gadsby, and others, traces a gender journey from an affluent, dysfunctional New York childhood through attempts at male, cis straight female, and cis gay female expression before arriving at a nonbinary identity—all without surgical or hormonal interventions. Brooke’s work examines gender, family, and the incendiary combination of the two, drawing on their own experience of being born intrinsically male but assigned female at birth. They serve as Prose Reviews Editor at *The Rumpus* and live in New England with their spouse. Hamburger is the author of several novels and story collections, including *The View from Stalin’s Head* and *Hotel Cuba*, with writing in *The New York Times*, *The Washington Post*, and elsewhere. This event is free and open to the public.

When: Sunday, July 19, 2026, at 6:00 pm.

Location: Politics and Prose at 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008.

Admission: Free, with first-come, first-served seating.

Accessibility: To request accommodations or inquire about accessibility, email events@politics-prose.com ideally one week in advance of the event date. Every effort will be made to accommodate requests up until the time of the event.

Featured book: *I Can Tell You the Version That Will Make You Take My Side* by J Brooke, priced at $15.99. The book will be published on June 2, 2026.

Participants: J Brooke (author) and Aaron Hamburger (conversation partner).