It's February, it's winter quarter, it's the time of the year when I don't have time to breathe. But I did manage to get to the Associated Writing Programs annual conference in Washington, DC, this past week, for two days, in part to participate in Encyclopedia's Vol. 2 F-K Launch Party, with War Diaries, the last in a series of arts-collaborative publications from AIDS Project Los Angeles.
The reading, organized by the remarkable Tisa Bryant, co-editor both of Encyclopedia (with Kate Schatz and Miranda Mellis) and of War Diaries (with Ernest Hardy) took place on Thursday night at the DC Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Communities, and the lineup included Samiya Bashir (Encyclo & War Diaries), A. Naomi Jackson, Jen Hofer, Sueyeun Juliette Lee, Reggie Harris (Reggie H.!), Robin Coste Lewis, Vanessa Place, Terese Swoboda, Bronwen Tate, Kevin Simmons, Sarah Fran Wisby, and Matias Viegener. It was an honor to read with this crew, and I was also very happy to present a little sunburst of Jean Wyllys's work in English. (Perhaps that was the first time anyone had done so?)
A few writers, including Duriel Harris and Bhanu Kapil, unfortunately weren't able to make to town in time to participate. (My own trip was happened truly on a few wings, a prayer, and one bad knee: I had to teach Thursday morning, so I raced to O'Hare on the post-Snowpocalyptic roads, which were still paved with snow atop a bed of ice, which meant an even longer trip than usual, only to be told that I had arrived too late to make my flight, but the American Airlines check-in agent suggested that I nevertheless go to the gate, and so after I made it through security I ran, luggage in tow, to the gate, was able to board my flight to Philadelphia, and then was able to make an even earlier connecting flight to DC, which brought me to DC National Airport with an hour to spare before the reading. Even after gym workouts I haven't gotten as soaked with sweat as I did sprinting to my gate.) The reading packed the room, and it was especially wonderful to see writers I haven't seen in a few years or many.
Below are a few photos from the event (including one of me that Reggie took). Some of the readings are obvious, but see if you can guess what each writer actually read. If you want to know, I highly recommend the new volume, whose index alone will give you a productive brain workout, and I also recommend War Diaries, which you can order directly from AIDS Project Los Angeles.
Organizer Tisa Bryant
The reading, organized by the remarkable Tisa Bryant, co-editor both of Encyclopedia (with Kate Schatz and Miranda Mellis) and of War Diaries (with Ernest Hardy) took place on Thursday night at the DC Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Communities, and the lineup included Samiya Bashir (Encyclo & War Diaries), A. Naomi Jackson, Jen Hofer, Sueyeun Juliette Lee, Reggie Harris (Reggie H.!), Robin Coste Lewis, Vanessa Place, Terese Swoboda, Bronwen Tate, Kevin Simmons, Sarah Fran Wisby, and Matias Viegener. It was an honor to read with this crew, and I was also very happy to present a little sunburst of Jean Wyllys's work in English. (Perhaps that was the first time anyone had done so?)
A few writers, including Duriel Harris and Bhanu Kapil, unfortunately weren't able to make to town in time to participate. (My own trip was happened truly on a few wings, a prayer, and one bad knee: I had to teach Thursday morning, so I raced to O'Hare on the post-Snowpocalyptic roads, which were still paved with snow atop a bed of ice, which meant an even longer trip than usual, only to be told that I had arrived too late to make my flight, but the American Airlines check-in agent suggested that I nevertheless go to the gate, and so after I made it through security I ran, luggage in tow, to the gate, was able to board my flight to Philadelphia, and then was able to make an even earlier connecting flight to DC, which brought me to DC National Airport with an hour to spare before the reading. Even after gym workouts I haven't gotten as soaked with sweat as I did sprinting to my gate.) The reading packed the room, and it was especially wonderful to see writers I haven't seen in a few years or many.
Below are a few photos from the event (including one of me that Reggie took). Some of the readings are obvious, but see if you can guess what each writer actually read. If you want to know, I highly recommend the new volume, whose index alone will give you a productive brain workout, and I also recommend War Diaries, which you can order directly from AIDS Project Los Angeles.
Organizer Tisa Bryant
Tisa
A. Naomi Jackson
Sueyuen Juliette Lee
Vanessa Place
Terese Swoboda
Robin Coste Lewis
Jen Hofer
Matias Viegener
Yours truly (photo by Reggie Harris)
Lisa Moore
Trasi Johnson
Erica Doyle, Kate Rushen, Holly Bass
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