My dissertation examines the role of literature in the formation of queer communities by tracing the reworking of taxonomizing language throughout the long twentieth century till now. I argue that the literary deployment of taxonomies fundamentally shifts their meaning and the social uptake of these labels in ways that bring attention to the failure of taxonomies and the communities that spring forth from this failure. This dissertation examines the poetry found in German lesbian magazines, early 20^th century queer/trans novels from Western Europe, contemporary speculative fiction, and U.S. poetry slam. Engaging with and contributing to gender studies, literary studies, trans studies, fat studies, and queer studies, this project focuses on moments when lived experience and relationality escape naming and expand the possibilities of community and kinship. Through an interdisciplinary approach combining interviews, archival research, and textual and visual analysis, I contend that the unmaking and remaking of taxonomies through literature is fundamental to the work of speculative community formation—of finding, providing for, and knowing queerness, and of expanding networks of queer solidarity.