Christopher Matthew Hennessy's Blog, page 18
January 20, 2011
Brush with fame: I knew that guy
In my previous life as a writer-publicist-editor, etc. I interviewed this guy (at least twice) in this video below. He's a slam poet and apparently an amazingly fast rappper. This is stupendous. And he's charming and funny. The clip has had 1.5 million views!!! Congrats, GW! (Thanks Rhea for the tip!)
January 19, 2011
Liberation and literature
I saw this and wanted to post because it's asking some of the same questions about fiction that I might want to ask about poetry:
From a call for papers:
Deadline: 15 June 2011
Paperback Originals and the Origins of Contemporary Gay Literature
We welcome investigations into other questions as well: What publishers and writers preceded Sixties paperback originals? What connections are there between gay pulp and lesbian pulp? What connections were there between "hardback" writers and paperback writers? What long-term effects—literary, political, and cultural—did these books have on gay liberation literature and the canonization of gay literature?
In a cage match between a gay poet and poet who is gay, who would win?
Okay, now that I've got your attention with some silliness, on to something meaty and meaningful. One of my favorite readers and commenters here, Art (by chance also a gay poet with Midwestern roots — what's up with all of us!), posted a really thoughtful, generous, spirited and provocative blog on the question: "Are you a Gay Poet or a Poet who happens to by Gay? And why does it matter?" His post was prompted by another good post on a topic very similar to this one over at a blog I've mentioned before, Joe's Jacket. That post is called Narrowly Broad: A Reflection and is about how others describe our work and how we respond to it. (In other words, writing about sexuality and identity can be a too-narrow focus for some — but why?) Both good posts. Read both. And then comment! What do you think? What's been your experience?
It's a longish post worth your reading, but here's something to interest you:
The three or four longest poems I've ever written are of this gay/erotic type: very sexual, very sensual, full of celebratory, life-affirming eros and ekstasis, written on a sustained level of white heat, and explicit about the acts involved in making love. Maybe it's the Midwestern reserve in me still, and it still seems daring to be explicit about who I love in a poem. These poems were explicitly, ecstatically sexual—that is, homosexual, pansexual, polysexual, panentheistic: erotic in the sense of life-force not just sexuality. Emphasis on the ecstasy. I have since published two or three of these poems as limited-edition chapbooks, for private distribution to friends and a few interested others. That's mostly because I just didn't think anyone else would be interested in such poems.
And later:
I tend to agree with those artists who admit that no matter what there art is about, it is infused with their life's experience of being different, of being Other, of being gay. When you're a cultural outsider, you learn at a younger age than most how to step back and observe your own culture objectively. When you're bullied for being different, you learn to "read" people and situations very quickly, and you develop a survival instinct. Those instincts go deep, even if they don't rule you in later life.
January 18, 2011
Wish I could be there! GLBT AWP off-site reading
Queer Writers to Converge at "3 Dollar Bill" AWP Reading in Washington, DC
Public reading on February 3 will feature 30 LGBT writers of poetry and prose
WASHINGTON, DC— Some of the LGBT community's most talented and dynamic writers converge in the Nation's Capitol for a night of rapid-fire readings. "3 Dollar Bill," the Queer Reading at the 2011 Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference, gathers thirty LGBT writers of poetry and prose who will each read two minutes of their work. The event will take place Thursday, February 3, from 7:30-10:30 pm at the Human Rights Campaign Equality Forum (1640 Rhode Island Avenue NW, in Washington, DC).
"3 Dollar Bill" is sponsored by Arktoi Books, BLOOM Literary Journal, Human Rights Campaign, Knockout Literary Magazine, The Lambda Literary Foundation, A Midsummer Night's Press, The Publishing Triangle, Sibling Rivalry Press/Assarcus Journal, Sinister Wisdom Literary Journal, White Crane Institute, and The Writer's Center.
"The lineup of readers is simply remarkable," says Tony Valenzuela, Executive Director of Lambda Literary. "From literary rock stars to the budding genius of our community's emerging voices, queer night at AWP is going to astonish people. You better not miss it."
The full list of readers includes: Francisco Aragón, Ilse Bendorf, Tamiko Beyer, Regie Cabico, Monica Carter, Cynn Chadwick, Sela Chavez, Julie Enszer, Danielle Evennou, Gina Evers, Reginald Harris, Charles Jensen, Saeed Jones, Eloise Klein Healy, Rickey Laurentiis, Paul Lisicky, Michael Montlack, Eileen Myles, Kristin Naca, Achy Obejas, Christa Orth, Minnie Bruce Pratt, Radclyffe, Jason Schneiderman, Joseph Shapiro, Ely Shipley, Griselda Suarez, Justin Torres, Dan Vera, and V Wetlaufer.
Admission to the reading is free and open to the public. Book sales will take place during intermission and after the event. This is an off-site event being held in conjunction with the Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference, held annually in a different U.S. city.
About Arktoi Books:
Arktoi Books, an imprint of Red Hen Press, was established in 2006 by Eloise Klein Healy to publish literary works of high quality by lesbian writers. The mission of Arktoi Books is to give lesbian writers more access to "the conversation" that having a book in print affords.
About BLOOM Literary Journal:
BLOOM was founded to support the work of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered writers and artists and to foster the appreciation of queer literature and creation.
About Human Rights Campaign:
The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.
About Knockout Literary Magazine:
Knockout was founded in 2007 by Jeremy Halinen and Brett Ortler. It is a biannual literary magazine that publishes a nearly 50/50 mix of LGBT and straight writers.
About Lambda Literary Foundation:
The Lambda Literary Foundation (LLF) nurtures, celebrates, and preserves LGBT literature through programs that honor excellence, promote visibility and encourage development of emerging writers. Find LLF at www.lambdaliterary.org.
A Midsummer Night's Press:
Founded by Lawrence Schimel, the press began publishing books in 1997, with its Body Language imprint devoted to LGBT writers. They have published single-author collections from a diverse mix of queer writers such as Achy Obejas, Raymond Luczak, and Julie R. Enszer, as well as anthologies of queer writing such as the forthcoming Flamboyant: A Celebration of Jewish Gay Poetry and Milk and Honey: A Celebration of Jewish Lesbian Poetry.
About The Publishing Triangle:
The purpose of The Publishing Triangle is to further the publication of books and other materials written by lesbian and gay authors or with lesbian and gay themes. Founded in 1988, The Publishing Triangle works to create support and a sense of community for lesbian and gay people in the publishing industry. We offer forums, as well as networking and social opportunities, for our members. In addition we sponsor programs to increase awareness of and appreciation for lesbian and gay literature.
About Sibling Rivalry Press/Assarcus Journal
The mission of Sibling Rivalry Press is to develop, promote, and market underground artistic talent – those who don't quite fit into the mainstream. In addition to books and chapbooks, they publish the quarterly magazine Assaracus, which features a substantial collection of work by ten gay poets in each issue. They are hosting an LGBT Poetry Showcase at the Rainbow Book Fair in New York City in March 2011.
About Sinister Wisdom Literary Journal
Sinister Wisdom is a multicultural lesbian literary & art journal by and for lesbians. Founded in 1976, the magazine is the oldest surviving lesbian literary journal, now more than 30 years in print. Sinister Wisdom is published quarterly in Berkeley, California and provides free subscriptions to incarcerated and institutionalized women as well as reduced-price subscriptions for lesbians with limited/fixed incomes.
About White Crane Institute:
White Crane Institute promotes the development of healthy Gay men and healthy Gay community. White Crane Institute's goal is to foster the gathering and dissemination of information about the critical role sexuality and gender variation has played and continues to play in the development of cultural, spiritual and religious traditions and to provide a nurturing environment for the continuation and expansion of those explorations for the greater good of all society.
About The Writer's Center
For over 30 years, The Writer's Center has been a home for writers from all over the Washington metropolitan area. Our tradition of success is rooted in our vision, values, and mission. The Writer's Center cultivates the creation, publication, presentation, and dissemination of literary work. We are an independent literary organization with a global reach, rooted in a dynamic community of writers. As one of the premier centers of our kind in the country, we believe the craft of writing is open to people of all backgrounds and ages. Writing is interdisciplinary and unique among the arts for its ability to touch on all aspects of the human experience. It enriches our lives and opens doors to knowledge and understanding.
###
Born that Way
Were you born that way? Check out this lovely site:
You might think it's poking fun but since they're voluntarily submitted, I think it's more about accepting who we are — and embracing the little boys and girls we were.
And yes I realize there's a essentialist/constructionist debate to be had here….but let's just enjoy the pictures. Like our childhood, after all, the pictures were always the best part of "reading."
January 17, 2011
For Your Viewing Pleasure…Hidden Histories
Okay, so this is not the same "Hidden Histories" as the wonderful online columns I posted about earlier, but rather a documentary from the In the Life program. And you can watch it online!
If you're in D.C., you might also think about seeing this documentary: A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde.
But wait, there's more … in D.C. (1/28)
The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery presents a symposium in conjunction with the exhibition "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture." "Addressing (and Redressing) the Silence: New Scholarship in Sexuality and American Art" gathers American art historians who will propose and promote new paradigms for understanding the fraught relationship between sexuality and portraiture. In 11 papers spanning 100 years of American history, themes of racial, sexual and gendered difference will be reassessed to yield new interpretations of the history of modern American art.
Participants must register to attend the symposium, which will take place at the National Portrait Gallery Jan. 29 in the Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium.
Humiliation
It's funny, I don't think I've ever been really 'humiliated.' And I know lots of gay people who have horror stories. In fact, the times I've been most embarrassed (and the difference between embarrassed and humiliated is quite distinct in my mind) has has nothing to do with being gay.
Why I am talking about this?
Something I gleaned from the interwebs today:
"Sam Douglas at Picador bought poet and professor Wayne Koestenbaum's HUMILIATION, exploring the connection between our private experiences of humiliation and our current fascination with the public humiliation of others. Picador has a Big Ideas series. " [Book supposedly comes out in Aug.]
For those that don't know, I'm a big fan of Koestenbaum. Looking forward to reading this book. And still wondering if I'm just blocking out my most primal scene of humiliation or if I've really been that lucky.
January 15, 2011
"My little horse must think it [strange] / To stop without a farmhouse [within range]"
For those not in Boston, there's a Globe columnist that is sort of indomitable. The other day he weighed in the controversy surrounding an editor's decision to not use "the n-word" in a new edition of Huckleberry Finn. Beam takes the situation to other such words, including "Queer" — read on to see what he does.BEAM:
"Queer,'' "on Queer Street'' and to be "queer for'' have interesting etymologies. The latter phrase, now used only ironically, once meant "attracted to.'' One of the characters in "Giovanni's Room,'' James Baldwin's 1956 novel about gay life in Paris, says: "Actually, I'm sort of queer for girls myself.'' But who needs ambiguity? Let's pack the offending adjective off to the discard pile, with all those other terrible words.
Herewith a couplet from Robert Frost's lovely poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,'' appropriately bowdlerized for modern ears:
My little horse must think it [strange] To stop without a farmhouse [within range]
Not pretty, but it will have to do
January 13, 2011
Particular Voices: Portraits of Gay and Lesbian Writers — and a Jewish connection
Particular Voices: Portraits of Gay and Lesbian Writers…if you don't have this book, you should. It's quite amazing. With all the news about Hide /Seek, I've been thinking about it a lot. Then I saw this in the news — see below (and also thought of Lawrence and Julie's Jewish poetry projects):
Would you want to know?
One of the searches that brought someone to my site was "Is So-and-So a gay poet?" I don't think the poet in question is, in fact, gay. Buuuttt….I don't know for sure. He could be. But my question is for the non queer folks out there: would you want to know if it was you? If someone was searching the internet for "Is [your name here] a gay poet?" I'd find it flattering that someone was searching for me in the first place!
