tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13800159745889223042024-03-05T01:51:47.918-08:00TO BE LEFT WITH THE BODYTo Be Left with the Body, the latest in a series of publications created by and for black gay and bisexual men to explore the impact of HIV/AIDS on their lives.
Published by AIDS Project Los Angeles, and co-edited by Cheryl Clarke and Steven G. Fullwood, the collection features contributions from 16 writers and poets, and a series of photographs by New York artist Artis Q.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-61824845508747168332008-11-28T06:58:00.000-08:002008-11-28T07:00:56.125-08:00TBLWTB Reading @ Rutgers University<p>A reading in honor of World AIDS Day. </p><p>December 2, 2008, 7-9pm<br />Rutgers University<br />Center for Latino Culture and Arts near Au Bon Pan<br />122 College Avenue<br />New Brunswick, New Jersey </p><p>Join "To Be Left With The Body" contributors Cheryl Boyce-Taylor, Pamela Sneed and Terence Taylor, and co-editors Cheryl Clarke and Steven G. Fullwood, for a special reading and open mike presentation.<br /><br />TBLWTB is the third in a series of publications created by and for black gay and bisexual men to explore the impact of HIV/AIDS on their lives. Published by AIDS Project Los Angeles, the collection features contributions from 16 writers and poets, and a series of photographs by New York artist Artis Q.<br /><br />Cheryl Boyce-Taylor is the author of three books of poetry, including her latest, "Convincing the Body." Advanced copies of "KONG & Other Works," by Pamela Sneed, will be available in December 2008. Terence Taylor's first novel, "Bite Marks," will be published by St. Martin's Press in the Fall 2009.<br /><br />Clarke is the author of four books including "The Days of Good Looks." Fullwood is the founder and publisher of Vintage Entity Press.<br /><br />Books are free. A book signing will follow the reading and open mike presentation. Light refreshments will be served.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-4955393742024236882008-11-14T06:27:00.000-08:002008-11-14T13:50:22.840-08:00a few moments with “Shug” avery r. young<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsM0nSYIT6HXxqAfsarD32UkopFV0uEW7bjctZgSbbn0m0uZmBctChSRwOylBIkNArudwS0yiIGHa-vIoMdDgZAAnuCjydEjCTs-M4XUmjxdOdJsesi7cZQu05_ul5sj_1JUBVuqiG57ZL/s1600-h/avery+young.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsM0nSYIT6HXxqAfsarD32UkopFV0uEW7bjctZgSbbn0m0uZmBctChSRwOylBIkNArudwS0yiIGHa-vIoMdDgZAAnuCjydEjCTs-M4XUmjxdOdJsesi7cZQu05_ul5sj_1JUBVuqiG57ZL/s200/avery+young.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268522230224747650" border="0" /></a>Steven: first q: your poetry is reminiscent of ntozake shange's chorepoem style, but has its own flavor and texture. why do you write like this? what the pulse behind your modus operandi as a wordsmith and spoken word artist? <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: wow ... them smart questions yo. lol</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: silly boy</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: i struggled a long time to like what i saw from me on page .... for me it was my words but they just wasnt doin anything i felt was interestin .... readin mama sonia (sanchez) n sis. shange's work i was like .. ok thats how i want language to move n then readin patricia smith's work i was like that's how that joint should feel. so i guess the answer to your question would be i write the way i write to keep a language or a "tongue" n/or aesthetic bouncin on page .... as a performer & author i look at the page as a stage & therefore the language has to challenge & excite .. so i clip some g(s) .. lower case the join & italicized a quotes to move n groove it yo</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: as fara as my mode of operatin .... i do what moves me ... i perform & right the way in which i respond ... i like sweat n hawk heavy preachin; sis. maywaeather buckin when the tony start that holyghost music on the organ; all that cussin millie jackson, lawanda page n rudy mae moore do to punctuate shit; james brown splittin; nna simone see-line woman blastin 3:38am; tay-tay actin a fool at the blk family reunion; all these things make me laugh or clap pr cry or boogie or turn to my neighbor n say "ooooo weeeeeee! they showin out" ...n thats all i'm doin .. showin out .... thats the method the process or art or craft comes in its all from a real place so what i do is more ritual than "shuckin"</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: very nice. what are you working on now?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: what i aint workin on yo ...lol. ahhhh .. lets see i'm workin on curriculum now .. i'm writing a prose-etic hip hop theatrics curriculum</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: for what school? independently? </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: & then i'm workin on some music with my boy dj itch 13. both bofe them joints just on some workin stuff. the curriculum is for the Chicago Public Schools board</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: what grade?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: grades 6th - 9th</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: dope.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: thank you.</p>***<br />and now, a poem from <span style="font-style: italic;">TBLWTB</span> by avery...<br /><br />***<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">mandingo gun</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">or notes on the sexploitation of coco-dorms</span><br /><br />avery r. young<br /><br />massa coppin mansions off dem liquor store niggaz<br />fuckin raw-thug-dizzle on cue spittin black holes ready<br />dem niggaz nigga each other mo dan de ku klux or dis poem<br />ever will & dey keep cummin dem niggaz<br />keep cummin thugroomin bluntbrunchin ploppin<br />dey brown faces drippy with dana samples<br />& dey keep cummin ouchin creamin soulin sheets<br />(you’d think niggaz had cycles some of dem<br />even utter get me pregnant nigga) all while massa countin<br />washingtons lincolns franklins countin uncle sam countin<br />(one lil / two lil / three lil nigga-rins) massa countin<br />dey swollen dicks openin dey swollen man-ginas<br />turnin ery brown red (yo chekkit) cant no closet/ship fit<br />all dem niggaz & dey keep cummin & white boys black<br />boys hot rican boys download upload all side neck-n-backload<br />spill babies all over our nasty azz selves cause dese niggaz red<br />boned-ed packin big bangee bananas & dey keep cummin<br />so much its like dats all god made em to do dey never run outta dick<br />or hammers to knock each other out with & dey keep cummin<br />pied piper L7’s to gyms so dey too can achieve a fresh outta county<br />look & dey keep cummin bare chest two pairs of boxers<br />(cause shirts causes niggaz to itch & niggaz refuse to pull dey pants<br />up) & dey keep cummin & will fuck a sista so granny wont<br />speculate 52 minutes of junebugs azz on sale fo 59.95<br />& dey keep cummin peddlin AIDS & all her opportunist kin<br />keep holy rollers screamin i told yall & dey keep cummin<br />cause niggaz gotta eat (& how else niggaz gonna eat<br />unless we show our azzes) & dey keep cummin wont stop cummin<br />cause we niggaz aint right by each other but love entertainment<br />we niggaz wont stop playin games to seal relationships<br />& open communication with one another niggaz wont chill<br />with de gettin off & get on some lets live fo real & make life<br />be ery flavaful fantasy we beat to niggaz/nigg-ahs/nig-gods<br />are we stevie fukkin wonderin how many mo millions massa<br />gon keep reepin from him poster freaks befo we bust<br />ourselves endangered (right now on line) you can pay-per-view<br />some hungry nigga cummin inside another hungry nigga fo roof weed<br />& all de free wet azz him eyes can gander him aint gonna kiss<br />dude & him aint gotta commit dude name to memory<br />all him gotta do is be mandigo gun & shoot (bless him wretched soul)<br />him make enough change to cop timbs & fendi shades<br />but dis nigga cant shit piss shower belch unless massa can see it<br />& dis nigga still fool enough to believe him cum out on top<br />cause him aint de one gettin juiced in de booty<br /><p class="MsoNormal">***<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">now, back to the interview...<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">***<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: what do you do as clark kent?: meaning 9-5er.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: yeah i'm tryin to upgrade to $50 drawz & not be worried bout gettin dookie stains in them. lmao. did it say that out loud?!!! that is what i do ... keep my drawz clean</p> <p class="MsoNormal">naw .. for real ... 9-5 i am a teachin artist / teachin creative writing & performance</p><o:p></o:p>Steven: art @ CPS or somewhere else, or independently <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: through Project A.I.M. inside CCAP @ Columbia College - Chicago & through Young Chicago Authors</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: Very nice. I ask this next question frequently because I think it matters. Why do you write and what do you hope to achieve by writing and sharing your work?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: YCA is the organization that does GIrlSpeak & the swaggerzine joint i was workin on all summer ....</p> <p class="MsoNormal">why do i write?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">i write because i've always done it. its like laughing to me. i can't remember when i didnt laugh</p> <p class="MsoNormal">i cant remember when i didn't write</p> <p class="MsoNormal">i've become such a better human or have had such a better human experience because i write</p> <p class="MsoNormal">i've been outside this country ... i've met & shared many special moments with folk because i write</p> <p class="MsoNormal">its easy to do</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: nice. nice.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: its the only thing to do outside of breathin n bein b.l.a.c.k. ... lol</p> <p class="MsoNormal">what do i hope to achieve by writing .... more good times with good people ... some books ... n a body of work that speak fo me long after i aint here to do shit my damn self ....i mean do it myself. my bad. that damn millie jackson!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">who do i hope to achieve from sharin my work ... paid .. lmao</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: last q. tell me what you think of To Be Left with the Body</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: well yes .. paid. but more importantly a story is told the way i told it & it was communicated with a person that said .. that fool know he know what he know ...</p> <p class="MsoNormal">what doi i think about <span style="font-style: italic;">To Be Left With The Body</span> ...</p> <p class="MsoNormal">i think that book is like bad azz cimena saturday ...leem tell it</p> <p class="MsoNormal">n i mean it in the good way. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">its like watchin ... sweetback's baaad assssss song, the watermelon man & space is the place all in none sittin</p>i mean one sittin <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p>i</o:p>ts this very frank . honest / aberant / yet prgressive collection of language</p> <p class="MsoNormal">nothin bout the book is dead</p> <p class="MsoNormal">the voices all tangible / textured</p> <p class="MsoNormal">grits & cheese</p> <p class="MsoNormal">neck bones & collard greens</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: we talk about death and life but everything is alive</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: but all on a blue rectangle plate with parsley .. lmao. right!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">erything in the book is alive n should be</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: i agree</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: cause we talkin bout an issue that doesnt see the 6 ft of dirt</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: cha</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: aint gonna see 6 ft of dirt anytime soon</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: the magic is here, it's just waiting to be acknowledged.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: its some thick shit yo. 7 the book T</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: wait till you see the new stuff.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: or To Be Left With The Body is soe real life / eryday i'm livin with this language / with this cirmcumstance / with this dick in hand / with this hole in my heart / with this missin my mamma</p> <p class="MsoNormal">my big mama</p> <p class="MsoNormal">the book is powerful yo</p> <p class="MsoNormal">i know when i write about the subject i try to not to speak of the death of it</p> <p class="MsoNormal">i try to speak to the livin of it</p> <p class="MsoNormal">the "now what" the "and" of it</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: uhmm hmmm</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: n i believe the work Pamela . you & the other folk in this joint recognises that</p> <p class="MsoNormal">she donty look like she no more</p> <p class="MsoNormal">come on dude</p> <p class="MsoNormal">i be ready to room around the room sometimes when i read the book ...</p> <p class="MsoNormal">still</p> <p class="MsoNormal">dude! fire</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: lol</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: you know i like <span style="font-style: italic;">To Be Left With the Body</span> like i like mama sonia's <span style="font-style: italic;">Wounded in the House of a Friend</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">and for the same reasons</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: elaborate. tell me why you like <span style="font-style: italic;">TBLWTB</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Wounded</span>. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: they raw as my students will say ....<br />tblwtb .... pushin language & syntax ... its the new speak of an epidemic ... the work is alive ... you hear them accents / the pauses / the sneezes / the pot liquor ....like Wounded i feel myself descending into the pages of this book 7 i am left with an urgency to activate the advocacy ....<br /><br />like mama sonia folk up in that book are really doin some work</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: Pamela and I are working on her next collection KONG. go here: <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/friends/#/note.php?note_id=25849594036">http://www.new.facebook.com/friends/#/note.php?note_id=25849594036</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: that looks sick as hell yo</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: wait till you read it</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: i mean thats what i'm talkin bout</p> <p class="MsoNormal">i'm so happy we write yo</p> <p class="MsoNormal">as in we i mean black folk</p> <p class="MsoNormal">gay folk</p> <p class="MsoNormal">straight / white / crooked polka dot folk</p> <p class="MsoNormal">i'm so happy folk write</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: me too</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: cause even when i dig it or not. its documentation that somebody is present</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: true</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: i mean at the end of the day sharin yo writin is a way to let folk outside lil mama'em know you been here</p> <p class="MsoNormal">you was here</p> <p class="MsoNormal">you gon be here</p> <p class="MsoNormal">you feel me</p> <p class="MsoNormal">boy i'm bout to run up in this joint</p> <p class="MsoNormal">but thats what i feel yo</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Steven: lol</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: i love staceyann chin writes</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: yeah, she's scary.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Avery: i love jb (baldwin & brown) wrote. you feel me?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">o, cc carter told me to tell you you cant have me</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: tell i already got you and that i am coming for her. in fact give her my email, if you don't mind.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: i will she the new executive director at YCA. she started last week</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: nice. love it.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: i was like i know who can knock this joint outta the water</p> <p class="MsoNormal">n although she was makin moves at Center on Halsted .. she can make real moves here</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: nice. lovely.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Avery: i'm actually thinkin bout incorporating To Be Left With The Body in my spring semester master class @ YCA. it spose to be a lyric class inspired by the book of stevie wonder innervisions</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven: cool. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-59775372253305045242008-10-30T07:58:00.000-07:002008-11-14T13:50:00.788-08:00TBLWTB @ Good Vibrations!by <a href="http://www.kevinsimmonds.com/">Kevin Simmonds</a><br /> <b style=""><br />Good Vibrations</b> is a sex shop, a San Francisco Bay-area institution. They sell toys, massage oils, lube, condoms, books and even have a back room. Not the kind you'd expect though. It's a gallery—only in San Francisco(!)—and a great venue for the SF Bay-area premiere reading of <i style="">To Be Left with the Body</i>. <p class="MsoNormal">I arrived first and <a href="http://www.marvinkwhite.com/">Marvin K. White</a> showed a little after 6:30pm. As everyone feasted on the cheeses, crackers and fruit (ah, papaya), <a href="http://www.jewellegomez.com/">Jewelle Gomez</a> arrived. A few sips of the bubbly and she was ready. The audience was ready too—and precisely the motley crew of an audience we'd hoped for. Among them friends of poet and artist extraordinaire <a href="http://www.nhamagazine.com/back_issue/issue_0106/ac_p1.shtml">Truong Tran</a>; a spirited gang from <a href="http://www.larkinstreetyouth.org/">Larkin Street Youth Services</a>; B/GLAM co-founder <a href="http://www.cedricbrownsf.com/">Cedric Brown</a>; sweet-faced poet and activist <a href="http://godisbrown.blogspot.com/"><em><span style="font-style: normal;">Lorenzo Herrera</span></em> y </a><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://godisbrown.blogspot.com/">Lozano</a>; voracious reader and Cal professor <a href="http://mattviews.wordpress.com/">Matthew Yau</a>; and, oddly enough, London-based scholar and writer <a href="http://www.sophiemayer.net/">Sophie Mayer</a>. She'd just arrived in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">San Francisco</st1:place></st1:city>. I don’t remember how in the world she heard about the event.</span></em></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Marvin opened the reading by citing the 2005 study which found that over 45% of black men who have sex with men are infected with HIV. This, of course, is why <a href="http://www.apla.org/">AIDS Project Los Angeles’s</a> publications are essential by informing Black and Latino queer communities, annihilating societal ignorance, and exposing the willful neglect of our government in addressing this crisis. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Jewelle, with her warmth and refreshingly unadorned presence, read "Choirs," a stunning remembrance of her late cousin Allen, a gospel tenor. She closed with a poem based on the after party of the premiere of the film <i style="">Absolutely Positive</i> where she and Doris, a woman in the film, cut up about the changing same of race and invisibility. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I was up next and remember only how the audience laughed in unexpected places. I suppose I set the tone by reading a new poem inspired by a gchat exchange with my friend Brian McQueen. Let's just say it's about the word "faggot." For more, check out the forthcoming video clip. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Marvin closed the reading with "14", that powerful invocation of remembering and witnessing, followed by manifestos on dicks and ass—in particular, Marvin's ass. The night's glorious amen was "Glossolalia," inspired by the 2008 <a href="http://www.cavecanempoets.org/">Cave Canem</a> retreat, homage to black drag queens. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The night was lit. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-84862358318688665962008-09-10T05:55:00.000-07:002008-09-10T06:06:28.680-07:00Gomez, Simmonds & White TBLWTB Reading @ Good Vibrations in SF!<span style="font-weight: bold;">Thursday October 23 at 6:30pm<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">TBLWTB </span>Contributors<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><a href="http://jewellegomez.com/">Jewelle Gomez</a>, <a href="http://kevinsimmonds.com/">Kevin Simmonds</a> and <a href="http://marvinkwhite.com/">Marvin White</a> will be reading from the anthology<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>at <a href="http://www.goodvibes.com/">Good Vibrations</a> 1620 Polk Street (at Sacramento Street) San Francisco, CA 94109 (415) 345-0400. For more information contact Camilla Lombard @ clombard@goodvibes.com or at (415) 974-8985 ext.201.<br /><br />A founding member of <a href="http://www.glaad.org/?gclid=CO-vl9Ok0ZUCFQiSHgodGlP1iw">GLAAD</a> (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), Ms. Gomez is the double Lambda Award-winning writer of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Gilda Stories</span>. Mr. Simmonds is a writer and musician whose works, including "Wisteria: Twilight Songs of the Swamp Country," have been performed throughout the US, Japan, the UK and the Caribbean. Mr. White, author of <span style="font-style: italic;">last rights</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Nothin' Ugly Fly</span>, is a poet and co-founder of B/GLAM (Black Gay Letters and Arts Movement).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-87005880454944375682008-08-20T05:28:00.000-07:002008-08-20T05:35:26.118-07:00In this Body: Reflections of a Recent Reading of To Be Left With the Body<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk8t6A6NMz-xcD3U8OtVX_UhGapmJHD9FEE__LomcBs3Mh6XEj96GYcTfYtlQMhNxztq_LM_rxV83zcRiMEVMOHRyA8b1DJ5_GBJVbmltsqqReqMFhn6gpaaYZ0814lBGsnw00rblSMFJC/s1600-h/Rayond+Berry+pic.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk8t6A6NMz-xcD3U8OtVX_UhGapmJHD9FEE__LomcBs3Mh6XEj96GYcTfYtlQMhNxztq_LM_rxV83zcRiMEVMOHRyA8b1DJ5_GBJVbmltsqqReqMFhn6gpaaYZ0814lBGsnw00rblSMFJC/s200/Rayond+Berry+pic.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236577371351324770" border="0" /></a><br /><b> By Raymond Berry<i> (TWLWTB Contributor)<o:p></o:p></i></b> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>To Be Left With the Body</i> held its first major reading in <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">New York</st1:state></st1:place>, at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) on Thursday, August 14, 2008. The reading featured co-editors, Cheryl Clarke and Steven G. Fullwood. I was also one of the presenters. The audience for this reading consisted of a support group for men of color called The Barbershop, <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">a weekly discussion group for Black men who have sex with men. Each week the group focuses on a different topic, pertinent issues confronting participant's lives. The Barbershop’s intent is to provide an atmosphere for thought-provoking conversation with the end goal of skills building and increased community support. It is a program sponsored by GMHC.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I came to <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state> (for the first time) specifically for this reading. It was important that I share this work and prove that “positive” individuals can transcend “this body” of existence. Co-editors Steven and Cheryl sought to create a work that is universal to show that “we” are still in crisis, and that communities at large are capable of splintering this wall of inhumanity that separates us. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">There were about thirty people present. We did not start by introducing ourselves or the work. Instead, we brought this audience into this world, one in which silence, shame, fear, and invisibility serve as clouds that block possibility -- the light within ourselves that we often suppress, somehow trapped under the weight of what we’ve done. No longer people, but monsters inside ourselves, broken by moments.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We read various selections of the work that spoke to us. Some are own, and some by the other contributors. Cheryl read excerpts from Samiya Bashir’s poem “Clitigation,” and Naomi Jackson’s short story “Before and After.” She also provided a unique interpretation of Marvin K. White’s “<st1:metricconverter productid="14.”" st="on">14.”</st1:metricconverter> Her reading of her own poem, “Body Double,” seemed to resonate most with the audience.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I was simply ecstatic to be in the company of this great woman writer.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Steven - what can I say about him? His reading of “Death Poem” was amazing. The way I imagined it. The way I maybe would have read it. But it is “his” way that brings us in the center of it - able to touch it, smell it, crave it, then wish we could forget. “It tickles,” he writes - my favorite line of the poem. So many entendres here. So many memories I relived, and that of those listening or reading these words. I was anticipating his reading of “Here,” but he did not read it. However, he did read “Popeye’s” by Pamela Sneed, and it reminded us of the journey - the one that has been, the one we travel, and the one we fear will swallow us.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I read some of the poems that I am deeply connected with. They include “Sustiva,” “Dirty,” “Truvada,” “Transformation,” “<st1:metricconverter productid="1995,”" st="on">1995,”</st1:metricconverter> and “Journal.” Some of these works do not appear in <i>TBLWTB</i>, but they are equally important. I felt most comfortable here, not afraid to experience the moment. The silence of it. Sometimes we read, disconnecting ourselves from the world of the poem. Meaning is lost here. The audience made us feel welcome and free to explore the feelings we experienced when first crafting these poems.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Following the reading, there was a Q & A session, in which we had an opportunity to comment on the work and answer various questions, including what the work does aesthetically and contextually, and our assessment of the work as a whole, and how it’s compared to previous works. I responded by saying that one should not compare works, although it is the work of literary critics. It does a disservice to the work. <i>TBLWTB</i> is a continuation of what has been done, but experience is transcribed differently. The perspective is fresh.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">One person said that he appreciated the authenticity of the work, but I got the impression that he assumed that “we” the authors, personally experienced the world of these poems.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">This may or may be so, but I felt it necessary to explain that one should not assume the writer of a work and its speaker are the same. It was also brought to my attention that parts of this work can be transformed into film. I would love to see this as a series of monologues, a one-man show, or even a short play, especially the “Journal” suite. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">We concluded by signing copies of the work. One audience member planted his lips on my face, and held on, as if he knew we both needed it. It was in that moment, that I felt his connection to my work, and came into the knowledge that when I read these poems, I do not have to be ashamed of them or be afraid to let go.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-90541949250051209052008-08-15T05:45:00.001-07:002008-08-15T05:53:16.420-07:00TBLWTB Interview with Clarke and Fullwood, by Herukhuti @ Black Funk<span><span class="content">Black Funk was founded based upon the work of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Herukhuti</span>, a sociologist, sexologist and relationship coach, traditional/urban African shaman, educator, cultural animator, social theorist, and community activist. Black Funk draws upon Heru's philosophy and theories of human development, systems, and social transformation.</span></span> See <a href="http://www.blackfunk.org/funk/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=185">blackfunk.org</a> for more details.<br /><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"><b><br />*************<br /><br />HERU:</b> <i>Why this book and why now, both for you and for the world?</i></span> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"> </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"><b>STEVEN:</b> <i>TO BE LEFT WITH THE BODY</i> is the third in a series of books created by and for Black gay men produced by AIDS Project Los Angeles as a creative way to address HIV risk. </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"> </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;">That said, the book is both nostalgic and magical for me, a grateful return to the first editing job I ever had. My experience with Colin Robinson, formerly the Executive Director of New York State Black Gay Network, and George Ayala, then the outreach educator/coordinator from APLA, taught me how to collaborate with editors and writers, solicit work from artists and to dedicate myself to the process. Working with Colin, George and the writers in <i>Think Again</i> was a critical step toward opening my own press a year later. I thank George and specifically Pato Hebert, who helmed the project for APLA, for allowing me this space to create and refine my thinking about the endless possibilities in doing HIV outreach to Black gay men. Both men were open to new things and continuously strive to do their work in creative, profound ways. It was a joy to work with Pato on this project because his vision and talents are expansive. Not only did he design the book, he also gave Cheryl and I space to imagine this project without limiting us. All we had to do is hit our deadlines. Check out his work on the countless APLA publications online at apla.org. </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"> </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"><b>CHERYL:</b> Thank you, Heru, for doing this interview. Actually, I got introduced to the publications of AIDS Project Los Angeles with Vol.4, Issue 1 of <i>CORPUS</i>, edited by Alex Juhasz in 2006, in which I published an article on Black Gay Writing. That particular issue explored women’s relationships with HIV+ men.</span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"> </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;">However, working with you, Steven, on <i>TBLWTB</i>, recalled my work on <i>CONDITIONS</i> from 1981 to 1990. If you remember, <i>CONDITIONS</i> was a feminist journal “of writing for women with an emphasis on writing by lesbians,” begun in Brooklyn in 1977. Together with a multi-racial collective of dykes—Dorothy Allison, Jewelle Gomez, Mariana Romo-Carmona, Elly Bulkin, Jan Clausen, among the many over the course of the time I was an editor—we gathered and edited the writing of scores of women writing for women during the most active and activist period of lesbian-feminist publishing in the 20th century--and so far, the 21st century. Barbara Smith’s groundbreaking article, “Towards a Black Feminist Criticism,” appeared in <i>CONDITIONS: TWO </i>in 1977. This article radicalized criticism of Black women’s writing. So many of us, as critics, lesbian and non-lesbian, owe our orientations to Smith’s article, in which, among many other things, she interpreted Morrison’s SULA as a “lesbian novel.” You both may also remember <i>CONDITIONS: FIVE, THE BLACK WOMEN’S ISSUE</i> in 1979, guest-edited by Barbara Smith and Lorraine Bethel, which was the first publication to feature self-identified Black lesbian writers. So, <i>TBLWTB</i> took me back to those halcyon days of lesbian-feminism. </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"> </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"><b>STEVEN:</b> Yes, Cheryl, <i>CONDITIONS, FIVE</i> was quite important for me as a young Black gay man. It sort of showed me a way and opened a way for APLA’s publications and <i>TBLWTB</i>.</span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"> </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"><b>CHERYL:</b> Except we could not distribute <i>CONDITIONS</i> for free! </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"> </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"><b>STEVEN:</b> Oh yes! TBLWTB, for the world, specifically the Black queer community, groundbreaking as it is the first co-gender, co-edited journal produced by APLA, and contains both male and female writers and expands the original premise of the book by also considering the impact that HIV/AIDS has on not just Black gay males, but also the Black queer community <i>en masse</i>; those who carry the virus, conjuring those who have passed, aging, and probably most interesting, an acceptance of life and death wrought in creative, thought-provoking ways. More importantly there is a celebration of the body which is something Black -people have always been mindful of as a legacy of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Being told we were nothing <u>but </u>bodies is a confounding feeling. It hurts you where you live, born into pain because of one’s very body. Learning the history and my own complicity in self-denigration has led me on a quest not only to recover and celebrate my body in my life and writing, but to assess how this disembodiment has impacted the Black community, specifically Black queer bodies. Whose body is this, exactly? Fodder for Republicans? Whipping children for “normal” Black people? A voiceless, disembodied sociological experiment, always subject to, or farmed as white fantasies and terrors? The photo on the cover was taken when I was in Ghana, at Cape Coast at the Elmina Slave Castle. The last look at by some of our ancestors before they were shipped off to God knows where to be enslaved or killed. That abuse is in the blood memory and pain-body of the diasporic African. We need to remember this, so we can heal ourselves, the larger picture of how I believe we should address HIV/AIDS risk. </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"> </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"><b>CHERYL:</b> If I could chime in, Steven and Heru, about the body, the Black body, and the Black body’s pain: I’d like to say that I think the body records history, and this is infinitely crucial for and to the Black body—yours and mine and those of the contributors to <i>TO BE LEFT WITH THE BODY</i> who share the body of their work with us. The lesions, the scars, the wounds (which are historical record) remind us subconsciously and consciously and psychically of the last view of the edge of the Guinea coast and the first view of the West Indies and then the final debarkations in Boston or the Georgia Sea Islands or New York. </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;">Wherever. Inside of all of us in the West, no matter whom we pass or pose as, there is a Black body in all of us—rather like that “Black Mother” Lorde says is in all of us. Sorta like Heru’s “Black mama sauce!” [a poem from <i>Conjuring Black Funk: Notes on Culture, Sexuality and Spirituality, Vol. 1, </i>Vintage Entity Press, 2007.) </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"> </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"><b>STEVEN:</b> Yes, “Black mama sauce.” Visual representations of the bodies in the book compliment the stunning array of poems, essays and short stories that affirm “bodyspeak” before, during and after sex; during and after HIV/AIDS; as the body returns to dust; and the undertaking of the body as a text itself in remembrance pieces. </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"> </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;">What does it mean to be left with the body in today’s world? Witness war on the television and in the papers. Ask someone who is often reduced in public discourse to nothing but a body to be controlled, abused and discarded. Queer bodies, Black bodies, bodies of color, working-class bodies, poor and disaffected bodies. To be left with a body in revolt, in joy, in pain, pleasure, writhing, wheezing, erupting, moving toward its end. These are the places I think the book goes, with clear eyes, no pity, no regrets. Witness. </span></p> <p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"> </span></p> <p>To continue reading go to <a href="http://www.blackfunk.org/funk/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=185">Blackfunk.org</a>. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></p><p><span class="content" style="color:#505050;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-58621487661707548352008-08-12T07:30:00.000-07:002008-08-12T07:33:47.461-07:00francine j. harris – her intention<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_IdYpLCsX5fCY4K_K4Kux8wSHI4CMS8yg2enSHIp1X0jtVT9wfa3hwN2jFvjSV7FUS0Lesrse0Em0V6R2t6mdbYVD45GoB57E8_tO5esQ5AaC6jyWHJhwzaAuJ7kCaa6yQLpX5ek_pkP/s1600-h/francine+harris+is+from+detroit.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_IdYpLCsX5fCY4K_K4Kux8wSHI4CMS8yg2enSHIp1X0jtVT9wfa3hwN2jFvjSV7FUS0Lesrse0Em0V6R2t6mdbYVD45GoB57E8_tO5esQ5AaC6jyWHJhwzaAuJ7kCaa6yQLpX5ek_pkP/s200/francine+harris+is+from+detroit.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5233639272781226338" border="0" /></a><b>why write?</b> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify;">Once a week, I go to an open mike here in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Detroit</st1:city></st1:place>. And on the host’s sign-up sheet, there’s that question. Column A: <em>What’s Your Name</em>? Column B: <em>Why do you write poetry?</em></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify;">And every week, I try to come up with something clever and light, particularly since my poems – aren’t always. Like: “What else am I gonna’ do after six o’clock that won’t make me fat?” or “Someone put a gun to my pillow, I sneezed and a poem came out.” or “As a kid, I used to eat my gum.”</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify;">But ultimately, every week I have to think about it. Why do I write? </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify;">It’s like when your lover asks you: “Why do you love me?” and you have to start the list. <i>Because you’re smart. Because my heart thumps when you walk through the door. Because you’re hot and I can’t live without your dick </i>(you gotta’ work on ego in those moments). But ultimately – everything you say sounds awful in some way. Selfish. Sometimes it borders on cruel. <i>Because you complete me. Because no one else gets me. Because I need you. </i></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify;">I’ve got secret lovers. Things like trains. Places like the ocean. Grandiose ideas like God. There’s something I only share in the presence of these spaces. I tell it to them over and over again and they don’t tell anyone. I feel that way about writing. About the poems. Sometimes I think that’s what demands poetry to exist in its metaphorical environment. There’s an ambiguity in one’s true nature, always conflict, always dual meanings, and often – a cloaking. Something not every one else should see. Poems are very much about lingering in that space for me. I am comfortable there. Every poem has a secret of mine. Since its job is to communicate, it shares, and therefore does its job. But there is a secret in it, if only just in its creation. The poem’s mystery is the way it flirts with the reader and threatens betrothal of the creator. As an artist, I just can’t help myself. I love the dance and I love the mirror. </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-style: italic;">what inspired your poem "in intention?"</span> </b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify;">dUMBA (the poem’s <i>dedication</i>) was a queer performing arts collective in <st1:place st="on">Brooklyn</st1:place>. It had a long and varied history. I lived there during its final years, where it had incidentally, become comprised of folks of color. Some days it was a gallery walk. Some days it was host to out of town performing artists. Some days (or nights, to be precise) we hosted play parties. </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify;">dUMBA is the most complicated space I have ever lived in. It was highly sexual, terribly intellectual, often intoxicated, always engaged, emotionally effusive, sometimes explosive, and it was very spiritual, haunting, magical. </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify;">Coming home from our 9 to 5’s, we got into the habit of retreating into roundtable discussions at night. They generally lasted <em>all </em>night. Mondays were generally sober, but by Thursday, they often involved beer (just being honest here). We talked about all kinds of shit. But from these conversations, there was one in particular – about HIV and AIDS that stood out to me. There was this notion, not a theory entirely, a thought really. One of those things you say out loud just so it exists. But something you also quietly want to believe. The theory was that disease is not physical, at least not just physical. That the culprit is mental, spiritual. And that yes, the science is obvious - you come in contact with something contagious, you can catch it. But that there is something to be said, too, about faith, about <i>intention</i>. That there is some immeasurable quality of disease that has to do with what we believe we are susceptible too, or immune to. And we would talk about it while we were gathering boxes of condoms to pass out. And I believe – there was something to that.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify;">Interestingly, the people I knew there survived a spectrum of treacherous physical and emotional circumstances, not related to sex, but certainly the stuff of what can either make or break you. And I always thought something about the spirit, the <em>intention</em>, pulled us all through.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify; font-style: italic;"><b>what issues are you dealing with in your current work?</b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify;">Well, I am bumping up against myself in some ways. The various elements of my writing are calling for distinction between themselves, which probably demands a historical specificity and context. This is something I really struggle with. I find it very hard to incorporate factual information into my writing. I write from the gut. The gut tells its own truth and doesn't have clunky language. So it’s going to be a challenge. Which of course is a good thing.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify;">In the same vein, I think, I want my writing to be unafraid of its perspective. I’m not trying to write political poetry, but I do want my writing to stand on its own and for itself. I want to allow it to be itself and to have its own politic. I worry, sometimes, what people will say, from either side of the political spectrum. Ultimately, I don’t want to give a fuck. And really, that’s easier said than done.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="font-style: italic;">share some of your reactions to </b><b>TBLWTB</b><span style="font-style: italic;">. </span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Damn, Steven...first of all...and I don't have the book with me, so I think I've got the title right - but Death Poem... oh my God. Was brilliant. Brilliant. <br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As for the rest of the book - well, the lay out is gorgeous. But I just got into it this weekend, and you know - well, there's a lot of painful stuff in there. Maybe I shouldn't have started with <span style="font-weight: bold;">raymond berry</span>, I don't know.<br /></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify;">But I had to put it down at some point. I'm gonna' have to pull my way through it. But the writing is great and I'm so happy to be a part of it.<b style=""><o:p><br /></o:p></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify;"><b style=""><span style="font-style: italic;">in our last conversation you and I talked about spaces we occupy as artists.</span> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">isolated spaces are so strange. we crave them. need them. hate them. fight for them. politic for them. politic against them. we dip around the corner with our friends to get to them. we kiss inside them. we inivte others to kiss with us in opposition to them. they are healing and horrible. terrible things happen inside them. sometimes nothing can be accomplished outside of them.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">now i feel like i want to write something just around that whole idea. anyway, i think that way about the spaces we occupy as artists. every time we put pen to page, we create spaces, occupy them. we put up our walls and tear down others. it's really amazing - when you think about it - that anyone has any protest about ANY space at all. as humans, we can't help but occupy them. </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">physical law determines segregation. </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">art does too. it also worships at the altar of union. its offerings for the sake of society - these jarring connections we make with our paint.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-13421420098655783562008-08-01T09:43:00.000-07:002008-08-01T09:48:27.452-07:00Review of TBLWTB - The Edge<span class="body"><span style="font-style: italic;" class="bulletslug"><span style="font-style: italic;">To Be Left With the Body<br /></span></span></span><span class="body">Reviewed by Kevin Scott Hall </span><br /> <span class="small"> EDGE Contributor</span><span class="body"><span style="font-style: italic;" class="bulletslug"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><br />To Be Left With the Body</span> is the third in a series of publications issued by AIDS Project Los Angeles and designed to bring attention to the HIV/AIDS crisis among black gay and bisexual men.<br /><br />It is a crisis that needs to be addressed. According to a 2005 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HIV rates among gay and bisexual black men is more than twice the rate of that for whites, 46% to 21%. Sadly, the rate of infection in recent years has been spiking upwards again.<br /><br />As Vallerie Wagner puts it in the Foreword to this collection, "As the ’hidden’ face of AIDS became more public -- a black and brown face -- silence, stigma, and denial have become the inevitable result of inequity."<br /><br />Despite the subject matter, the cumulative effect of the essays, poems and stories presented in this collection <span style="font-weight: bold;">creates a tone of feistiness, radical creativity, and a will to not only live, but to transcend the illness</span> (emphasis mine - sgf.)<br /><br />Read more...<a href="http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=books&sc2=reviews&sc3=fiction&id=77292">here</a>.<br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-22384614386603526692008-07-31T05:37:00.000-07:002008-07-31T05:57:29.791-07:00Four Poems by Kevin Simmonds<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFrbEFZfS_Cpk4y9QDdWygJAeHBB0bCarKuMGVdrjR70EkfRAdpQxhqA014d9cp148J09oNJDh5bAgXLyYFAyDPFqY0SX4Yhe7hfvH_IRFAWcnSgQbiYYcQkKCJ84BElYWn-XO3dahZYA/s1600-h/SimmondsREAL.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFrbEFZfS_Cpk4y9QDdWygJAeHBB0bCarKuMGVdrjR70EkfRAdpQxhqA014d9cp148J09oNJDh5bAgXLyYFAyDPFqY0SX4Yhe7hfvH_IRFAWcnSgQbiYYcQkKCJ84BElYWn-XO3dahZYA/s200/SimmondsREAL.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229160089494941490" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>French Quarter</b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><i>for James Baldwin </i></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i><span style="font-size:10;"> </span></i></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Instead of art</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I'll have one boy</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">from dusk.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">One boy</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">who knows the relevance </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">of his body.</p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Almost no words </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">will pass between us</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">until we rinse the hours</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">from glad bodies</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">marooned not long enough</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">like the paradise we took.</p><br /><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">****</p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Until the father</b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Until the father </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">stops insisting the son fuck</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">any woman</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">to cure perversion</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">the son will crave</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">every mound </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">of a Japanese man's body smooth</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">as baby's teeth,</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">believing that man's smile</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">almost the same</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">as the father's hand warm</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">on the son's neck</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">brushing something away.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><br /><br /><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">****</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><strong><br /></strong></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><strong>Something Owed</strong><br /><br />The man across the street<br />would undo his trousers<br />and ask me to squeeze lotion<br />into his underpants.<br />He never touched me,<br />only himself.<br /><br />Some days it's sudden.<br />Some days it comes on slow:<br />the unbuckling the scent of aloe and musk<br />fingers serenading<br />beneath herringbone trousers later,<br />momma telling me how nice it is<br />him taking to me so.<br /><br />Among men<br />how many give a daily recital<br />such as this<br />somewhere in memory?</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">**** </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>The Bodybuilder</b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b> </b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Elated </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">by the pump: </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">pecs in stilettos</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">shimmy in the flex;</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">quads,</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">baroque viols;</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">navel-dripped </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">middle stones.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Turns out,</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">gay solider </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">gorged </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">with tears,</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">tired </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">of the speakeasy </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">self, </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">secret knock </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">and nod.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Just another man</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">gone ape</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">****</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">Kevin Simmonds is a writer and musician from <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">New Orleans</st1:place></st1:city></st1:place></st1:city>. His writing appears in <i>Callaloo</i>, <i>FIELD</i>, <i>Massachusetts Review </i>and<i> Poetry</i>, and in anthologies such as <i>Gathering Ground</i> and <i>The Ringing Ear</i>. He composed the music for “Wisteria: Twilight Songs for the Swamp Country,” a collaboration with writer Kwame Dawes. His poem, “Rent,” appears in <a href="http://apla.org/publications/to_be_left/ToBeLeftWiththeBody.pdf"><i>TBLWTB</i></a>. <o:p></o:p></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><u1:p></u1:p>To find out more about Kevin, check out his fly ass <a href="http://kevinsimmonds.com/">webpage</a> here and at the <a href="http://www.redroom.com/member/kevinsim">Red Room</a>.<o:p></o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">****</p><br /><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><o:p></o:p><b><span style=""></span></b><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-71144195885679024762008-07-21T12:51:00.000-07:002008-07-22T08:47:27.225-07:00Upcoming readings of TBLWTB - August 2008<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegE5gjn8VHhtgR9__AT71fxuiE5yk6sP4YNlyleroT9LOTQwN1L52Zjz0tF_kT4mnIdYInu-hvgVjMJL4MqPY39dhGsGXeWPJl9ULHC55iypV1u46ue1_tBqgJCFlhmA5X1m8Ry6RBKQq/s1600-h/2290653565_090a0e8fd9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegE5gjn8VHhtgR9__AT71fxuiE5yk6sP4YNlyleroT9LOTQwN1L52Zjz0tF_kT4mnIdYInu-hvgVjMJL4MqPY39dhGsGXeWPJl9ULHC55iypV1u46ue1_tBqgJCFlhmA5X1m8Ry6RBKQq/s320/2290653565_090a0e8fd9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225563444057915666" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p><i style="font-weight: bold;">To Be Left with the Body</i> <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Reading</st1:place></st1:city><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thursday August 14th</span><br />7-9pm<br />With Cheryl Clarke and Steven G. Fullwood<br />The Barbershop<br />GMHC<br />The <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Tisch</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Building</st1:placetype></st1:place><st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on"></st1:address></st1:street><br /><st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">119 West 24<sup>th</sup> Street</st1:address></st1:street><br /><st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on"></st1:address></st1:street>New York, New York<br /> </div><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal">Hosted by <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Barbershop</span><br /><br />Join Cheryl Clarke and Steven G. Fullwood, co-editors of <i style="font-weight: bold;">To Be Left with the Body</i>, for a reading of their latest work. <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">TBLWTB</span> is the third in a series of publications created by and for black gay and bisexual men to explore the impact of HIV/AIDS on their lives. Published by AIDS Project Los Angeles, the collection features contributions from 16 writers and poets, and a series of photographs by <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">New York</st1:state></st1:place> artist Artis Q. Clarke is the author of four books including <i style="font-weight: bold;">The Days of Good Looks</i>. Fullwood is the publisher of Vintage Entity Press, and a contributor to <i style="font-weight: bold;">Be A Father to Your Child, Real Talk from Black Men on Family, Love, and Fatherhood</i>. Books are free. A book signing will follow the presentation. Light refreshments will be served.<span style=""> </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal">Contact: La Meek Williams, 212.367 1102</p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal">***</p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Body Talk: </span><i style="font-weight: bold;">To Be Left with the Body</i><span style="font-weight: bold;"> and </span><i style="font-weight: bold;">Passing for Black</i> <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Readings</st1:city></st1:place><br />Featuring Cheryl Clarke, Pamela Sneed, Linda Villarosa<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Monday August 18</span><sup><span style="font-weight: bold;">th</span><br /></sup>7-9pm<br /><st1:placename st="on">Schomburg</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Center</st1:placetype> for Research in Black Culture<br />515 Malcolm X Boulevard<br />New York, New York<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"> </p><div style="text-align: center;">Hosted by the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Black Gay & Lesbian Archive<br /><br /></span>Join lesbian writers Cheryl Clarke, Pamela Sneed and Linda Villarosa, for an exciting evening of readings from their latest works, and a preview of upcoming projects. Clarke is co-editor of <i style="font-weight: bold;">To Be Left With the Body</i> and the author of <i style="font-weight: bold;">The Days of Good Looks</i><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span> Sneed, whose previous work includes <i style="font-weight: bold;">Imagine Being More Afraid of Freedom than Slavery</i>, will read from her upcoming work, <i style="font-weight: bold;">KONG</i><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span> Villarosa will read from her first book of fiction, <i style="font-weight: bold;">Passing for Black</i>. A book signing will follow the presentation. Free and open to the public. <o:p> </o:p> </div><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal">Contact: Steven G. Fullwood, 212.491.2226</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-69111794975602640912008-07-18T07:17:00.000-07:002008-07-18T08:05:58.158-07:00Cheryl Clarke: "black./womyn.:conversation<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglg_c9DQTq_Q92yZ6qnX16ePVxJCDAcU1klXZbHTK_hmm6ZMXOddmGPkzEIBg6ecr2mdWhkHBTh1Ry6eA3Me0V30LxufxCHDU9sZz5pvD7VI393ElPas5MboXt5i-5b93O1zYpVPe2WBh-/s1600-h/cclarke.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglg_c9DQTq_Q92yZ6qnX16ePVxJCDAcU1klXZbHTK_hmm6ZMXOddmGPkzEIBg6ecr2mdWhkHBTh1Ry6eA3Me0V30LxufxCHDU9sZz5pvD7VI393ElPas5MboXt5i-5b93O1zYpVPe2WBh-/s320/cclarke.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224370102115098162" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cheryl Clarke</span><span>, co-editor of <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">TBLWTB</span>, is featured in a new film, </span><span>"black./womyn.:conversations..." </span><span>here's an <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YxIAs6pkTM">excerpt</a></span><span> for your viewing pleasure.<br /><br />****<br /><br />about the film.<br /><br /></span><span>"black./womyn.:conversations..." </span><span>will be a feature length docu-film that will concern lesbians of African descent living in the U.S. It will include over 50 interviews with black lesbians of all ages /classes /nationalities/locations discussing a variety of topics including coming out, sexuality and religion, love and relationships, patriarchy, visibility in media, among others as well as a series of short vignettes representing the topics discussed. I'm hoping to provide a film that can encourage progressive dialogue between people on dealing with the image of the black lesbian and the stereotype that come with who black lesbians are portrayed to be. I hope to encourage conversation between black lesbians dealing with class and age, and the lack of communication between these groups and how that affects the overall unity between black lesbians as a group in society.<br /><br />www.myspace.com/tionamproductions<br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-11072137962651327402008-07-18T06:46:00.000-07:002008-07-18T06:50:15.126-07:00Redbone Press and TBLWTB!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSG5H29J4BNHJEl7ODsRTyDu-NIXXRjnI-9PLKupAC231DGPk4BQyM5p95A2lpuAJ3UfIwJuhVuPe78poIdQdmk9ui8Nzw9y59CRcThgrYigyGo3CTV3v4jo0P4Z7EJKUQRmg09w0SpaJj/s1600-h/inthelife.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSG5H29J4BNHJEl7ODsRTyDu-NIXXRjnI-9PLKupAC231DGPk4BQyM5p95A2lpuAJ3UfIwJuhVuPe78poIdQdmk9ui8Nzw9y59CRcThgrYigyGo3CTV3v4jo0P4Z7EJKUQRmg09w0SpaJj/s320/inthelife.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224350822052955090" border="0" /></a>For those of you in Philly and near Philly, come out for this wonderful program!<br /><br />***<br /><br />Please join RedBone Press in celebrating the 22nd anniversary of the publication of <em style="font-weight: bold;">In the Life: A Black Gay Anthology</em>, edited by Joseph Beam. The event will be 5:30 p.m. Saturday, July 19, 2008 at Giovanni's Room Bookstore, 345 South 12th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107. Best-selling author <span style="font-weight: bold;">James Earl Hardy</span> (<em>B-Boy Blues</em> series), who wrote the new introduction to <a href="http://www.redbonepress.com/books/inthelife/index.htm">In the Life</a>, and RedBone Press publisher <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lisa C. Moore</span> will discuss the impact of this seminal collection of black gay men's writing on black gay literature. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mrs. Dorothy Beam</span>, Joseph Beam's mother, will be in attendance; <span style="font-style: italic;">In the Life</span> contributors will read from their work.<br /><br /><br />And...with each <span style="font-weight: bold;">In the Life</span> sold, readers will also receive a copy of <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">To Be Left With the Body</span>!<br /><br />Come on out, bring a friend, and support RedBone Press!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-46083240154261176402008-07-14T14:13:00.001-07:002008-07-14T14:20:15.752-07:00Congratulations, Raymond!<span style="font-style: italic;">TBLWTB</span> contributor Raymond Berry's <em>World Left to Us </em>was selected as one of 16 finalists for the 2008 Autumn House Poetry Contest. This year there were over 700 poetry submissions. <div> </div> <div>The winner will be announced in September.<br /><br />Good luck, Raymond!<br /><br /><br /><br /></div> <div> </div> <div> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-11423281837493814212008-07-07T07:01:00.000-07:002008-07-07T07:16:28.988-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSuNqEBw647MYBB0ktxcvho-1AhMPpxFxly-AbYZBXYMfJ22_06KehhEbR9JBQ9O8rXPttKCAib4qvobonR9gNaGyRNv5-UkWb1CR2EBGvmHhpTgHPO4JWLoX-MddTOZy6wOm-NQudRPFe/s1600-h/pic2(2).jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSuNqEBw647MYBB0ktxcvho-1AhMPpxFxly-AbYZBXYMfJ22_06KehhEbR9JBQ9O8rXPttKCAib4qvobonR9gNaGyRNv5-UkWb1CR2EBGvmHhpTgHPO4JWLoX-MddTOZy6wOm-NQudRPFe/s320/pic2(2).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220274344493978290" border="0" /></a><b style=""><span style="">This Body: Raymond Berry on Writing and Risk <o:p></o:p></span></b> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">Raymond Berry is a writer, poet, and educator. His poetry is published in <i style="">Warpland: A Journal of Black Literature and Ideas</i> and the <i style="">Amandla Literary Journal</i>. He earned an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Chicago</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">State</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>. His manuscript, <i style="">Diagnosis</i>, was selected as a semi-finalist in the Seventh Annual Elixir Press Poetry Awards. <st1:state st="on">Berry</st1:state>, a native of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chicago</st1:place></st1:city>, is at work on a new poetry collection entitled <i style="">Fire of My Breath</i>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal">Below is an excerpt from an interview I conducted with Berry earlier this month. <br /><span style=""> <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span><b style=""><i style=""><span style="">Tell me about your writing process.</span></i></b><span style=""><o:p></o:p><br />My writing process changes with each project. I did not map out <i>Diagnosis</i>, like I did with my current manuscript. I didn’t say, “I’ll write a poem about this, then I’ll write a poem about that.” Nor, did I make a list of prompts. I wrote when I was most vulnerable. In the late hours of the night. When memory comes back to haunt, and shadows return to remind us of our choices. I dreamt a lot. And I would wake up and try to record what I saw and heard, if I could recall it. I would hear the ancestors speak. Somehow, I felt what they felt—when they were in that moment, facing death. Realizing that they would be next. And I used that. This passed on fear. This passed on emotion. This passed on knowledge. Our fire. It’s interesting because I used this “emotion” in the writing of this book, yet in the poems, there seems to be a disconnect between the speaker of the poem and the action that occurs. Sometimes there is not enough emotion. Almost as if the speaker wears a mask. So, I had to revisit those places, and fully capture who this dominant speaker is. The poem “journal” was written from a dream. Or should I say in a dream-state. I felt this young kid who was in pain, and I thought I imagined it. Or rather, that is was some manifestation of my own insecurity. I believed him to be real. And I had to tell his story. He would not “let me go” until the poem was written. After producing a publication-ready version of this manuscript, I began to feel alone. Because I could no longer hear the ancestors. It was as if they were done with me, and that I no longer needed them-like I to continue the journey on my own.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="">Let’s talk structure. I was not sure how I would open the book. If it would begin quietly and end loudly, or vise versa. I always certain the title of the book would be <i>Diagnosis</i>. To me, it represents a transformation—a knowledge other than an HIV diagnosis. There were some who expressed a disinterest in the title. But one goes with what feels right. To me, diagnosis is a process. There are many processes in this work, especially involving the main speaker.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><b style=""><i style=""><span style="">Can a poem stop someone from putting themselves at-risk? <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> </span></i></b><span style=""><br />Okay, so here’s the real question. Can art prevent death? Can it save?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="">It took more than four years, more than 40 encounters, and more than 6,000 pills to finally understand that loving does not mean accepting. So, I will say no. If someone would have told me “this can happen,” or showed me his or her scars, or made reference to the uncontrollable shit, then maybe I would have slowed down-became more cautious of who I allowed In my circle. Pun intended. When one is searching for worth, it takes experiencing the worst to understand. Again, knowledge is a process.<o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <div style="text-align: left;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="">At the end of the day, risk is the life we live. It is there everyday, like the memory of what you’ve done. Like gas. Like a bowel movement. It’s eventual. To ask if art can prevent death is like asking:<br /></span><br /><span style=""><o:p></o:p><span style="">1.)<span style=""> </span></span></span><span style="">Can mammograms prevent cancer?</span><br /><span style=""><span style="">2.)<span style=""> </span></span></span><span style="">Do condoms prevent pregnancy?</span><br /><span style=""><span style="">3.)<span style=""> </span></span></span><span style="">Does donating food eliminate hunger?<o:p></o:p></span><!--[endif]--><!--[endif]--><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p>Of course not! Art provides us with another way of seeing. It can change us. Help us tap into our humanity. Ultimately, our actions are up to us. Certainly, it gives us something to consider. I consider it a cure to ignorance. Again, when we are trapped inside ourselves, the rational no longer matters. Knowledge becomes irrelevant. Control becomes invisible. Whether we are infected or not, as long as we come into the knowledge that we can be more, then change can occur-before or after diagnosis. Art helps us to know. It does not matter when, as long as we grow, and become better. And come into the peace we’ve always longed for. I can say that poetry saved my life. Sometimes it saves us before we make choices, and sometimes after the moments. As long as we get there. A poem can only work if we embrace it. If we are open to seeing what it has to show us. If we are not open, then the poem is just lines on a page, soon to be forgotten. Words drowned out by the silence of our lives. Literature only has meaning when we are engaged.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style=""><o:p> ********</o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="">And now, a poem by <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">Berry</st1:state></st1:place>, which appears in <b style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);"><i style="">To Be Left With the Body</i></b>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -28.95pt; font-weight: bold;"><span style="">transformation</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -28.95pt;"><span style="">as he pounded between my cheeks, i smelled my own shit. went to wipe<br />for another round. feces covered white cloth. realized i was dirtier.<br />returned to bedroom. decided to ride. sat on top of him moving toward<br />someone i never wanted to be. showered in the morning. afraid to take<br />home the smell.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -28.95pt;"><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <div style="text-align: center;">********<br /></div><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-6649658331878045522008-06-30T13:37:00.000-07:002008-07-21T13:47:45.102-07:00How to Get Copies of To Be Left With the Body<o:p> </o:p><ul><li>If you are in <st1:state st="on">New York</st1:state> or <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">New Jersey</st1:place></st1:state>, contact one of the editors, <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Cheryl</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">(NJ) or </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Steven</span> (NY): nowjournal2008@gmail.com<o:p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"> </span><br /></o:p></li></ul><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li>You can order a hard copy by contacting <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Pato Hebert</span> at APLA: <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">phebert@apla.org</span></li></ul><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li>Or you can download the <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">PDF online</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">:</span> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">http://apla.org/publications/to_be_left/ToBeLeftWiththeBody.pdf</span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-22620509535388713902008-06-27T11:23:00.000-07:002008-07-03T06:01:06.383-07:00Just a Taste of Pamela Sneed<span style="font-weight: bold;">Pamela Sneed</span>, who contributed <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">TBLWTB</span>, riffs about Zena, love and breath in "Oxygen." Enjoy.<br /><br /><object height="349" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RunkkggLyuA&hl=en&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RunkkggLyuA&hl=en&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="349" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />And for your reading pleasure, "<span style="font-weight: bold;">Popeye's</span>" a wonderful poem featured in <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">TBLWTB</span> by the incomparable, Ms Sneed.<br /><br />***<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Popeye's<br /><br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -28.95pt;">Never thought it would have ended this way or begun<br />15 years later survivors sitting in Popeye’s chicken,<br />downtown Brooklyn<br />Our coleslaw and mashed potato cups imprinted with<br />We Love Chicken<br />Us sitting quietly for hours, staring into the<br />afternoon<br />out of Popeye’s big glass windows<br />When we first sat down Colin smoothed his napkin<br />over his lap<br />I was impressed at how elegant he was for Popeye’s<br />our gold and silver rings glistening as we ate chicken<br />brought it to our lips<br />He and I think were very unlikely customers<br />but who would have thought decades later<br />we would be sitting together in Popeye’s,<br />sole survivors of a generation gone,<br />our brothers and sisters gone<br />from Aids and cancer<br />We came together accidentally through a show<br />where later funding fell through<br />But we determined bravely without question<br />as we always had both separately and together<br />to go on<br />that part of the legacy Donald Woods and Essex<br />Hemphill,<br />Audre Lorde, Assotto Saint, Pat Parker, and Marlon Riggs<br />had left us with was to fight<br />to never walk away without fighting<br />through whatever circumstance to keep going<br />We had at least Colin and I had the memory of Assoto<br />slamming his hand on the pulpit at Donald’s funeral<br />we know somewhere inside we must always tell the truth<br />Colin and I are the witnesses, our tribe’s counsel<br />we buried each of those men<br />we saw<br />and over the years we haven't spoken much<br />not even on this project<br />but today during a rehearsal<br />during the recitation of a poem<br />he grabbed my hand full of trust and innocence<br />held on<br />then let go<br />and for me even as a poet that moment<br />meant more than words.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-57223549934175907492008-06-25T08:15:00.000-07:002008-07-03T06:05:27.780-07:00NEWS ABOUT THE BODY<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3sR_GdBJCRkS7lPojj3yypGgT7-wC7Hz9buzvnl4q_8S5WjWC-qIlETe4BqEyjHU6qhHcmIcoli1sofvv6O7RRMIASEBLVUb13BhlzIIjstwr3t4-VVYRb_g7MYSDoDjSA45SoDl3Y77F/s1600-h/2608455817_9858d39a9b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3sR_GdBJCRkS7lPojj3yypGgT7-wC7Hz9buzvnl4q_8S5WjWC-qIlETe4BqEyjHU6qhHcmIcoli1sofvv6O7RRMIASEBLVUb13BhlzIIjstwr3t4-VVYRb_g7MYSDoDjSA45SoDl3Y77F/s320/2608455817_9858d39a9b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215839215555914402" border="0" /></a><br /><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on"></st1:city></st1:place><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">New York</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">NY</st1:state></st1:place>. Sunday June 22, 2008. <b style="">Samiya Bashir</b> reads “Gospel” at the Live Love Be NYC Pride Festival. Bashir’s poem “Clitigation” appears in <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">TBLWTB</span>. The poem was originally published in <i style="">Where the Apple Falls</i>, published by RedBone Press (reprint courtesy of the author and publisher, 2005). Find out more the poet/writer/activist at <a href="http://samiyabashir.com/">samiyabashir.com</a> and at RedBone Press, <a href="http://www.redbonepress.com/">redbonepress.com</a>.<st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on"><br /></st1:city></st1:place><p class="MsoNormal"><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">New York</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">NY</st1:state></st1:place>. Saturday June 21, 2008. <b style="">Terence Taylor</b> reads his contribution to <i style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">TBLWTB</i>, the short story, “Sex Degrees of Separation,” at Other Countries, Summer Solstice Reading at the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">LGBT</st1:placename> <st1:placename st="on">Community</st1:placename> <st1:placename st="on">Services</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Center</st1:placetype></st1:place>. Read more about <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Taylor</st1:place></st1:city> and his writings at <a href="http://www.terencetaylor.com/">terencetaylor.com.</a></p><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">New York</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">NY</st1:state></st1:place><b style="">. SAGE Harlem Book Club</b> selection for July is <i style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">TBLWTB</i><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">!</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);"> </span>Join SAGE <st1:place st="on">Harlem</st1:place> at Hueman Bookstore Wednesday July 18<sup>th</sup> at 6-8pm for a discussion of the book. Contact Ty Martin at 212.741.2247 for more details. <span style=""> </span> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on"></st1:city></st1:place> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">For information about the book, contact Steven or Cheryl @ <a href="mailto:nowjournal2008@gmail.com">nowjournal2008@gmail.com</a>. <span style=""></span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-43379446909188494932008-06-25T07:44:00.000-07:002008-06-25T07:50:46.898-07:00TBLWTB Press Release - Please Circulate!<div> </div> <p class="MsoNormal">Contact:<br />Gabriel McGowan<br />AIDS Project <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:City><br />213.201.1521<br />gmcgowan@apla.org</p> <p class="MsoNormal">For Immediate Release</p> <p class="MsoNormal">AIDS PROJECT LOS ANGELES RELEASES THIRD IN SERIES OF PUBLICATIONS FOCUSED ON BLACK GAY MEN AND HIV/AIDS</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Los Angeles</st1:City>, <st1:state st="on">Calif.</st1:State></st1:place>, June 24, 2008 – AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) today announced the publication of “To Be Left with the Body,” the latest in a series of publications created by and for black gay and bisexual men to explore the impact of HIV/AIDS on their lives. Co-edited by Cheryl Clarke and Steven G. Fullwood, the collection features contributions from 16 writers and poets, and a series of photographs by <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:State> artist Artis Q. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">“AIDS Project Los Angeles is committed to a robust and relevant conversation with black gay men about HIV risk,” said APLA Director of Health and Wellness Programs Vallerie D. Wagner, who wrote the book’s foreword. “We have a responsibility to take action, stand firm and stem the tide of this pandemic.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Gathered into four sections, the essays, poems and stories of “To Be Left with the Body” pose provocative questions (“Who is the HIV/AIDS virus pushing us to become?”) and offer accounts of “bodies…at war with themselves; bodies aging, being positive, holding illiness; and seeking and finding their grace.” Throughout the book, Artis Q.’s series of seven photographs, “Me and My Shadow,” shows well-known <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">New York City</st1:place></st1:City> landmarks layered with an ever-present black male silhouette. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">As Ms. Wagner writes in her forward, “To Be Left with the Body” aims to expose the “hidden face of AIDS” and begin to conquer the “silence, stigma and denial” that have become the “inevitable result” of the spread of HIV into communities of color. </p>A 2005 study in five major <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> cities found that 46 percent of black men who have sex with men (MSM) in the study were infected with HIV, compared with 21 percent of white MSM and 17 percent of Latino MSM. Since that time, APLA has engaged a wide network of writers and artists to help drive conversations about HIV/AIDS among gay men of color through cultural production. “To Be Left with the Body” follows APLA publications “Think Again” (2003) and “If We Have to Take Tomorrow” (2006). <p class="MsoNormal">To place orders for the book, please contact Patrick Hebert at 213.201.1537. To download a copy, visit <a href="http://www.apla.org/publications/publications.html">http://www.apla.org/publications/publications.html</a>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Title: To Be Left with the Body</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Date: June 2008</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Editors: Cheryl Clarke and Steven G. Fullwood</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Contributors: </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Samiya Bashir, Raymond Berry, Cheryl Boyce-Taylor, Ramsey Brisueno, Jewelle Gomez, francine harris, A. Naomi Jackson, Ana-Maurine Lara, Dante Michaeux, Conrad Pegues, Kevin Simmonds, Pamela Sneed, Terence Taylor, Marvin K. White, james witherspoon and avery r. young</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Publisher: <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>AIDS Project <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:City></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Graphic Design: <span style=""> </span>Patrick “Pato” Hebert</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Images: <span style=""> </span>Artis Q and Steven G. Fullwood</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Pages: 84</p> <p class="MsoNormal">AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), one of the largest non-profit AIDS service organizations in the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>, provides bilingual direct services, prevention education and leadership on HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation. Marking 25 years of service in 2008, APLA is a community-based, volunteer-supported organization with local, national and global reach. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.apla.org/">www.apla.org</a>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center">###</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380015974588922304.post-72766431784814508352008-06-11T06:52:00.000-07:002008-06-25T07:52:00.188-07:00To Be Left with the Body - It's Here!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEmqvuhTiOo7OwwfYXFNhLGmSGhjcDhkMqwchPzYacu4KAA_7bXkUa5WFxRekh5vHCTcB1KNyz7b2DJw6sQvEskpH60XEBZbTO9WScsYGGj7EhvFE7ldH8NhMgLObdgTthBSI3rM7per5M/s1600-h/4.+FRONT+CVR.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEmqvuhTiOo7OwwfYXFNhLGmSGhjcDhkMqwchPzYacu4KAA_7bXkUa5WFxRekh5vHCTcB1KNyz7b2DJw6sQvEskpH60XEBZbTO9WScsYGGj7EhvFE7ldH8NhMgLObdgTthBSI3rM7per5M/s320/4.+FRONT+CVR.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210627290346572098" border="0" /></a><br />Welcome to <span style="font-style: italic;">TO BE LEFT WITH THE BODY</span> - the BLOG!<br /><br />The Editors would like to welcome you to the place to get information about the publication, <span style="font-style: italic;">TO BE LEFT WITH THE BODY</span>, as well as read interviews with contributors to the book, excerpts from the volume, find out about scheduled readings and where you can get the book, and other educational and promotional activities.<br /><br />Enjoy!<br /><br />***<br /><br /> <br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0