For our February event, Genne Murphy will be returning! Queer Memoir is New York’s only queer storytelling event. Let us know how many chairs to put out; RSVP on facebook.

STORYTELLER BIOS

M.J. COREY – Born in California, M.J. Corey grew up all over the country and ended up in New York City to attend Sarah Lawrence College. She writes about New York City, feminism, lesbian life, and rock music. Her creative non-fiction has been seen in The Brooklyn Rail, Killing the Buddha, and Shelf Life Magazine. Other work is published in Make/Shift Magazine, Tom Tom Magazine, Bend Over Magazine, Seventeen Magazine, Freshly Hatched, VelvetPark, The Sentimentalist, Autostraddle and guestofaguest.com. In addition to writing, M.J. conducts oral history interviews, promotes parties in the city and curates art shows.

JOE DUNGEE is a resident of Philadelphia, where he currently serves as the Business Manager for Equality Pennsylvania, a statewide LGBTQ rights group dedicated to achieving equality for queer Pennsylvanians through coalition-building, education, organizing and policy reform. Joe recently earned an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts from the Community College of Philadelphia and plans to go on to earn a BA at Temple University.

LEYLA ERASLAN Leyla Eraslan owes her unrepentant weirdness to a South Jersey upbringing and reading too many books. Her writing has been featured in City Paper, the Fringe Festival, PDC’s Primary Stages, Apiary Magazine, and more. She has performed as an actress and storyteller in the Five Minute Follies, Queer Memoir, and The Philadelphia Queer Literary Festival to name a few. She’s involved in a smattering of other artistic endeavors, and enjoys the word ’smattering’. Leyla’s passions include art, helping people, and drawing lips in the corners of her notebook.

CASEY PLETT is a former columnist for McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and has also been published in Line Zero, Cavalier Literary Couture, and Anomalous Press. She is a student and teacher at Columbia University, and when not living the uptown life she works at the Strand, where she helps you get books off the top shelf.

HOSTS

KELLI DUNHAM
KELLI DUNHAM is a ex-nun, genderqueerious stand-up nerd comic and author of four books of humorous non-fiction, including two children’s books being used by Sonlight conservative home schooling association in their science curriculum. She has appeared on Showtime, the Discovery Channel and was once asked to emcee a livestock auction. Her website is kellidunham.com. She is the co-founder, with Genne Murphy, of Queer Memoir. Her hilarious new family-secret revealing show, Normal at Nite: Good Times & Family Matters with Perfect Strangers (a collaboration with R Eric Thomas) is debuting February 18th at NYC’s Stonewall Inn.

GENNE MURPHY is a Philadelphia native, playwright and arts educator. Her work has appeared on Philadelphia stages and radio.
Check out the upcoming production of her play, HOPE STREET AND OTHER LONELY PLACES with Azuka Theatre March 15-April 1: http://azukatheatre.org/show.php?prod=42. Genne is the co-producer, with Kelli Dunham, of Queer Memoir (queermemoir.com).

Announcing the amazing line-up of storytellers:
Jessica Pabón
Julie Blair
Colten
Kelli Dunham
allisonjoy
Sassafras Lowrey

Jessica Pabón received her MA in Women’s Studies with the completion of the project “Girls Unchained,” a mural by Claw, Dona, Lady Pink, and Miss 17. Now ABD in Performance Studies NYU, her dissertation analyzes the strategies of resistance employed by female graffiti writers navigating presence and belonging in a male-dominated subculture.

Julie Blair is a hack of all trades, a closeted musician, and ex-vlogger. She loves the internet so much she wants to live there. She works as a web developer, and runs a weekly drop-in internet development class that is 100% free for self-identified trans women.

Colten is an event planner, production manager, licensed barber, pet photographer and all-around dog-obsessed individual. He has been known to plan entire vacations around hitting all the right dog parks and dog boutiques and thinks this is totally normal behavior. Colten lives in Upstate New York with his partner and their dogs and identifies as a genderqueer transmasculine dog dad. For the past ten years, he has worked with his partner to create sex education films, present workshops around the world, and produce events. He has presented workshops about kink, trans sex, and service—this will be his first time talking about his life shared with animals. He is combining several of his passions to launch a new business venture in 2012, Dogged Pursuit Photography

Kelli Dunham is everyone’s favorite ex nun genderqueer nerdcomic., She is busy promoting her CD recording show in San Francisco and will submit a relevant bio as soon as she’s done.

Place “fierce” + “kind” in the same sentence & you’ll probably find allisonjoy. Their continuous work is a demonstration of their passionate commitment to social justice, whether it was as National Recruiter for ACORN, Co-Founder of media justice coalition R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop, National Organizer/touring member of We Got Issues, or Road Manager and performer for Mango Tribe. They have organized, created events, facilitated leadership & empowerment trainings and anti-oppression workshops with youth, women, & people of color all about North Amerika. As a Reiki Master Practitioner through their own practice, and with the Audre Lorde Project’s 3rd Space Wellness program, allisonjoy seeks to make holistic health care accessible to the LGBTSTGNC POC community. This queer pin@y believes in the strength in all of us, community building, art as activism, grassroots organizing, linking arms with all oppressed peoples, and manifesting visions of liberation! But, perhaps allisonjoy is most proud to be a dog-parent, a positive reinforcement trainer, and a member of the international Association of Pet Dog Trainers. This is where they’ve found that building healthy relationships, radical politics & practice, healing, joy, supportive learning, and transformative justice can reside. When they’re not geeking out teaching dog training classes, reading training & behavior books, and watching training science documentaries, they can be found playing with, learning with, and cuddling with their rescue dog, Cornbread Siopao who they co-parent with their partner, Kay. allisonjoy says, “But really, my dog rescued me.”

Sassafras Lowrey is an internationally award-winning storyteller, author, artist, and educator. Ze is the editor of the two time American Library Association honored and Lambda Literary Finalist Kicked Out anthology, which brought together the voices of current and former homeless LGBTQ youth. Hir prose has been included in numerous anthologies and ze regularly teaches LGBTQ storytelling workshops at colleges and conferences across the country. Sassafras is a lifelong dog lover and lives in Brooklyn with hir partner, two dogs, and two cats. To learn more about Sassafras and hir work, visit www.PoMoFreakshow.com

Ryann Holmes

Amber Dawn

Nick Krieger

Dan Horrigan

Lea Robinson

RYANN HOLMES

Born in Washington, DC and raised in neighboring PG County, Maryland, Ryann Makenzi Holmes, is an entrepreneur, student and community organizer. After completing her undergrad in Business and Marketing at George Mason University, she is now completing her final semester of graduate work in Baruch College’s MBA program. From her innovative event planning work with the Women’s Sports Foundation to her dedicated work with Public Interest Projects and The Audre Lorde Project, Ryann is committed to a life lived with integrity.

Settling in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn just over 5 years ago, the city and its energy felt vibrant, artistic and inspiring—all traits that she continually seeks to embody in her personal and professional endeavors. As a founder of bklyn boihood she spends much of her time working on providing visibility and promoting the empowerment of masculine of center folks of color.

After the successful launch of their visionary 2010 calendar, Ryann has set her sights high, committing to the creative expansion of the collective through hosting opportunities for networking, substantial program development and using social innovation to empower individuals and community efforts on a local to global scale.

AMBER DAWN

Amber Dawn is a writer, filmmaker and performance artist based in Vancouver. She is the author of the novel Sub Rosa (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2010), editor of the Lambda Award-nominated Fist of the Spider Woman (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2008) and co-editor of With a Rough Tongue: Femmes Write Porn (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2005). Her award-winning, genderfuck docu-porn, “Girl on Girl,” has been screened in eight countries and added to the gender studies curriculum at Concordia University. She has toured three times with the infamous Sex Workers’ Art Show. Currently, she is the director of programming for the Vancouver Queer Film Festival.

NICK KRIEGER

Nick Krieger is the author of the memoir NINA HERE NOR THERE: MY JOURNEY BEYOND GENDER, an exploration of the land between man and woman. Reviewers have called it “revolutionary,” “honest,” “funny,” “moving,” and “heartfelt.” Krieger’s writing has earned several travel-writing awards, has been published in multiple travel guides, and has appeared in numerous outlets, including 365gay, Original Plumbing, and the Advocate. A native of New York, Krieger realized at the age of twenty-one that he’d been born on the wrong coast, a malady he corrected by transitioning to San Francisco. He is passionate about activism through art, yoga, and queering all that he can. www.nickkrieger.com.

DAN HORRIGAN

Dan Horrigan got his start telling stories to anyone who would listen at bars and cocktail parties across New York. Dan is thrilled to be bringing his tales to a slightly more sober audience. Another incarnation of The Big A was produced in New York in February of 2010. In addition to being a writer / performer Dan is also a co-founder and Artistic Director of At Hand Theatre Company. At Hand is an independent, non profit theatre company in New York City that produces new plays while using eco-friendly practices. Dan likes to make you laugh and he likes trees and plays! He is proud to have produced Anton Dudley’s Letters to the End of the World, Mark Snyder’s Lila Cante, One Nation Under by Andrea Lepcio and 4 seasons of POP! Dan has directed At Hand’s productions of Cake And Plays Without The Cake by Jono Hustis, Silence! by Brian Dykstra and John Patrick Bray’s Trickster at the Gate. Last season, Dan was honored to have At Hand present his autobiographical solo show, MY AiDS. Other directing credits include Nicky Silver’s The Altruists (Access Theatre), Cindy Lou Johnson’s Brilliant Traces and PS Your Cat is Dead by James Kirkwood. Dan’s television appearances include Cash Cab, playing the role of Gay Guy In The Backseat With All The Wrong Answers (uncredited). He also appeared in Kathy Griffin’s My Life On The D-List playing Laughing Gay Guy in the 3rd Row At The WaMu Theatre (surprisingly, also uncredited). .

LEA ROBINSON

LEA ROBINSON is a multi-talented butch artist. NYC credits include ROOM FOR CREAM (Two-headed Calf/La MaMa), BUTCH MAMAS (WOW Café), The Bulldyke Chronicles (Dixon Place), and The Femme Show. She recently shared a bill with Elizabeth Whitney in the HOT! Festival at Dixon Place in SYRUP IN OUR SHORTS, AND OTHER SOUTHERN PLEASANTRIES, and she is currently working on a new solo show, YOU AIN’T SPECIAL. She also organized and emceed Boxers Off! An Evening of Butch Burlesque at Stonewall—a benefit for the upcoming Butch Voices Conference. She was featured in GO Magazine’s 2009 Edition of 100 Women We Love. www.learobinsonactor.com.

ABOUT OUR STORYTELLERS:

ASHLEY M YOUNG
Ashley is a black feminist queer dyke; poet, non-fiction writer and teaching artist. She is the creator of an online writing project for women of color called Brown Girl Love (www.browngirllove.com) and recently completed a chapbook inspired by the project. She is a non-fiction 2011 Lambda Literary Fellow and a 2010 poetry participant of Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation Retreat for Writers of Color. Under the name Indigo, Ashley writes a blog called Indigo’s Theory about her journey through sexuality, Polyamory and womanhood. She also writes a column called “Indigo’s Poly Beginnings” for Fearless Press, an online magazine about relationships and sexuality. Her erotica has been featured in Salacious Magazine and she will be a featured writer in “Perverts of Color” alongside her partner Sara Vibes. She has read her erotica throughout New York City and teaches sex positive workshops in the LBGTQ community. Ashley makes a living as non-profit arts administer and is currently working on her memoir.
KAY ULANDAY BARRETT
A CAMPUS PRIDE 2009 Hot List artist, Kay Ulanday Barrett is a poet, performer, educator, and martial artist navigating life as a pilipin@ transgender/queer in the U.S. with struggle, resistance, and laughter. Based in NY/NJ, their work has featured on stages nationally and internationally; from the NJ Performing Arts Center to the Chicago Historical Museum, Brooklyn Museum to Dublin’s Lesbian Arts Festival. Kay’s bold work continues to excite and challenge audiences. Previously, Kay has served on the Board of Directors for Beyondmedia Education and the Advocates Committee for freeDimensional, a social justice resource for the arts activist global community. Honors include: LGBTQ 30 under 30 awards and Finalist for The Gwendolyn Brooks Open-Mic Award. Kay’s work has appeared in several anthologies and journals such as: Make/shift magazine, Kicked Out Anthology, Philippine American Psychology, and Asian Americans for Progress. Kay. turns art into action as a dedicated activist who serves LGBTQ communities and youth. As a critical foodie of color, Kay’s next project is a documentary called Recipes for the People. Check out K. online: http://www.kaybarrett.net/ and http://www.recipesforthepeople.com/

BRYN KELLY
Bryn Kelly is all about the story. She has shared her written work at NYC-based performance series Gayety!, Low Standards, and Queer Memoir; on Showtime’s OurChart.com; and in the forthcoming anthology, Trans/Love: Radical Sex, Love and Relationships Beyond the Gender Binary. She was a cofounder of Theater Transgression, a multimedia performance collective, and has appeared in Dixon Place’s HOT! Festival; in As You Like It at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe; and on NBC’s Law and Order: SVU. She lives in Brooklyn.

JAY TOOLE
Jay Toole is the director of QEJ’s Shelter Project and a real, live superbutch.

R. ERIC THOMAS
R. Eric Thomas (@oureric) is a playwright, teaching artist and storyteller. He is the author of four produced plays, including “The Spectator” (Run of the Mill Theater Company, Baltimore). Eric has read or performed for Second Stories at the Dive, Rant-o-Wheel, Queer Ignite, Superheroes Who Are Super!, Queer Memoir, “Live at Kelly Writers House” on WXPN and Philadelphia’s First Person Arts Story Slams, at which he has competed in the Grand Slam three times. His writing has appeared in Columbia University’s The Collection and the literary magazine, The Q Review. His solo show, “Will You Accept This Friend Request?” premieres November 14 and 15 as part of the First Person Festival. Facebook.com/R.Eric.T

GENNE MURPHY
Genne Murphy is a Philadelphia native and playwright.. She’s passionate about the intersection of the arts, social change, and community-building. She has had readings or productions of her plays in Philly with Azuka Theatre Company, Flashpoint Theatre Company, Madhouse Late Night Cabaret, the Cardboard Box Collaborative, the Annenberg Center/Merge, LIVE at the Kelly Writers House (radio), and in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Check out her first full-length play, HOPE STREET AND OTHER LONELY PLACES to be produced by Azuka Theatre in spring 2012. Genne is the co-producer, with Kelli Dunham, of Queer Memoir (queermemoir.com

KELLI DUNHAM
Kelli Dunham (www.kellidunham.com) is everyone’s favorite nerd gone wild (mild?) stand up comic. She has appeared at colleges, clubs, fundraisers, the occasional livestock auction and on Showtime and the Discovery Channel. You can catch her full length show “Why Is the Fat One Always Angry: Kelli Dunham’s I’m Still Funny Dammit 43 Birthday Show” on October 1 at the Stonewall Inn. You can find her on facebook, youtube, twitter and any future social media platforms still to be invented as (get this cleverness) kellidunham.

Our March line-up is off the hook! We’ll also be debuting our new “One Word Memoir” audience participation project.

ABOUT OUR STORYTELLERS:

Geleni Fontaine
Robin Cloud
Taueret Manu
Paul Blore
Kate Bovitch
…
GELENI FONTAINE
Warning: This bio relentlessly and awkwardly resists gender pronounery! Geleni Fontaine is a fat, queer, Latina/o transperson; has been living and thriving in Park Slope, Brooklyn in the same apartment since the age of four; and has been witness to many layers of gentrification. As a lifelong poet Geleni has studied with Eileen Myles and other seasoned writers, and at many workshops including the Writer’s Voice at the West Side YMCA, but has been AWOL from the NYC poetry and writing landscape for many years. A licensed acupuncturist and registered nurse, Geleni is working to integrate a background in human rights and anti-violence activism with hands-on healing and empowerment work. Geleni is a former board member of the Audre Lorde Project, the first queer people of color center for community organizing in the U.S., and current board member of NOLOSE, an organization dedicated to ending the oppression of fat people and creating vibrant fat queer culture. Today Geleni practices out of home, treating folks in a living room clinic and working to help them create personal and social change toward a loving and more just world.

ROBIN CLOUD
ROBIN CLOUD is a New York City based comedian, writer and actor. Robin can be seen sharing her comedic observations to the masses at Caroline’s, Gotham Comedy Club, The Broadway Comedy club and many more; at times in the form of characters Jerri Beige, Angela Davison and Super Cunt. Robin is also called upon to be the master of ceremonies and is proud to have teamed up with fantastic artists such as Toshi Reagon, Doria Roberts, and Brown Girls Burlesque Performance Group.

Robin’s sassy, politically charged delivery coupled with her on point character work has gotten the attention of the press and Robin was just included in GO NYC Magazine’s Top 100 Women We Love.
Robin’s solo show “Tales from the Big House” has been in the Fresh Fruit Festival, Emerging Artist Festival, and the Hot! Festival at Dixon Place. Tales is a comical coming of age story about a young African-American woman who gallantly claims her lesbian identity at the age of 16 only to find that coming out is only the beginning. Robin’s writing was highlighted in Time Out New York’s Gay Pride Issue as the quote of the week and feature story about comedians telling their hysterical coming out stories. In the fall of 2008, Robin was awarded a month long writing residency at the Hedgebrook. During her time there she developed a new solo show, which will debut later this year.

TAUERET MANU
Taueret Manu is a New Yorker to the marrow. She loves the divine, sriracha, pitbulls, friction, hibiscus juice, pink prosecco, sexual currency, poetry, and rioting. She dislikes White Santa/White Jesus/White Male God, the prison industrial complex, and the NYPD.
She blogs at afrotitty.tumblr.com

KATE BOVITCH
Kate Bovitch is a third culture kid, on-and-off pop culture junkie, and one person craft revolution. Kate holds a BFA in Creative Writing and once wrote a master’s thesis on sexual desire and lesbian poetry.
The Boston Globe has called her “a series of contradictions”.

PAUL BLORE
Paul Blore is a Philadelphia-based activist, public speaker, writer and performer. Currently, he is Director of Development for Power Up Gambia, bringing reliable energy to healthcare facilities in West Africa through solar power, as well as the Interim Development Coordinator at the William Way LGBT Community Center in Philadelphia’s Gayborhood. He’s written, directed and/or produced a number of creative works, including plays, movement pieces and a short film. He was also very involved in fundraising for the recent 50-State Story Tour of I’m From Driftwood, an online repository of first-person written and video stories from LGBT people all over the world.

As always, your hosts and producers:

KELLI DUNHAM

KELLI DUNHAM is a ex-nun, butch-identified stand-up comic and author of four books of humorous non-fiction, including two children’s books being used by a conservative home schooling association in their science curriculum. She has appeared on Showtime, the Discovery Channel and was once asked to emcee a livestock auction. Her website is kellidunham.com. She is the co-founder, with Genne Murphy, of Queer Memoir.

GENNE MURPHY is a Philadelphia native, playwright, and arts educator. She is the co-founder, with Kelli Dunham, of Queer Memoir (queermemoir.com). She’s passionate about the intersection of the arts, social change, and community-building. Genne works for Philadelphia Young Playwrights, a local arts education non-profit, and is involved with initiatives to expand new play development in her hometown.

The Free Library of Philadelphia invited Queer Memoir to create a special salon as part of One Book, One Philadelphia, and inspired by themes in the writings of author Sherman Alexie.  Queer and LGBT storytellers of all ages will be sharing that night on the theme of “Growing Up.” The salon will be hosted at the local William Way LGBT Center.

Storytellers include:
Chris Bartlett – Executive Director of the William Way
Leyla Eraslan – writer
Staci Priano – Nurse/writer Philadelphia native
R. Eric Thomas – Playwright and First Person Arts story slam winner local
TS Hawkins- Author/Performance Poet
Queer youth from the Attic Youth Center!

BIOS
CHRIS BARTLETT is the Executive Director of the William Way Community Center and a gay men’s health community organizer. Throughout the 1990s he directed the SafeGuards Gay Men’s Health Project in Philadelphia. He also led the LGBT Community Assessment in Philadelphia, a project that gathers data about LGBT communities in order to make recommendations regarding community organizing, health, housing, and economic development. He co-facilitates the Gay Men’s Health Leadership Academy, and has helped to convene the Gay Men’s Health and LGBTI Summits. He can be found on Twitter at http://twitter.com/harveymilk.

LEYLA ERASLAN owes her unrepentant weirdness to a South Jersey upbringing and reading too many books. Currently an employee of a Philadelphia arts education nonprofit, Leyla lives in South Philly, or so it is rumored. In 2008, she wrote, directed and co-produced “Love After Death” for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. She frequents the Walking Fish Theatre Open Mic and has participated in The Five Minute Follies. She has been involved in a smattering of artistic endeavors, and likes the word ’smattering’. Leyla’s passions include art, helping people, and drawing lips in the corners of her notebook.

STACI PRIANO is a 45 year old Lesbian, Nurse, Mom, perpetual student, slightly twisted looker at life, and a Grandmom to boot. She’s been around the block a time or two and has gathered very little moss but has retained a tale or two about the journey; cautionary, maybe, interesting, hopefully. Poignant, funny, gripping? Well, you’ll be the judge.

R. ERIC THOMAS is a playwright, storyteller and essayist. He is the author of the plays “Lost Boy”, “The Spectator” (Run of the Mill Theater Company, 2005), and “The Affair” (LateNite Theater, 2001). He recently won Best Presentation at the First Person Arts Summer Grand Story Slam for his story “My Mother Hates The Facebook”. He is delighted to be reading at his third Queer Memoir and is starting Philly’s own LGBT literary salon this summer. Presently, Eric is working on plays about time travel, Santa Claus, bureaucracy and swimsuit models; cyber-stalk him here: enormouslyawkward.blogspot.com.

TS HAWKINS is an internationally recognized author and performance poet. Her previous publications, Sugar Lumps and Black Eye Blues and Confectionately Yours have been well received in print and radio media since 2007. Expanding her writing skill set, Hawkins will release her first book for teens titled Black Suga: diary of a troublesome teenager, which will debut in early 2011 along with Mahogany Nectar. Recently featured on the Authors Under 30 Book Tour, she is grateful to have traveled around Canada and the United States to share her work with other talented performers/writers. Taping into her theater foundation, Hawkins has been traveling with the American Family Theater for their national tour of Black Journey! For more detailed information, visit www.tspoetics.blogspot.com

RSVP on Facebook!

[Kelli shares her thoughts about Queer Memoir's anniversary...]

So it’s been just over a year since we had our first Queer Memoir event at the beta version of Collect Pond. We had seating for a little over 30 and more than 100 people showed up. And stayed. And listened. We were amazed by the spirit of the storytellers and by the audience response. That night, as Genne and I unpacked our stuff from a friend’s car on Lincoln Road in Brooklyn, someone who was at the event recognized us and shouted out their car window “thanks for Queer Memoir. Thanks for the stories. I really needed to hear those tonight.”

I’m a slightly goofy looking, chubby genderqueer person. That’s NOT the kind of thing people I usually hear yelled out car windows. Genne and I looked at each other and knew we were on to something.

Since that time, we’ve curated 11 events in three states with 60 unique storytellers to an estimated audience of just over 1000. We’ve collaborated with five different organizations, hosted one guest curator and used six different venues. We’ve had audience members from as far away as Toronto for our NYC shows and we have a regular Philly to NYC following. We’ve had a number of collaborative storysharings, including two set to music!

Our storytellers have been brave and amazing: our Philly event included a storyteller who shared about why he didn’t like the word queer; in our sober event an ordained minister stood up, holding his bible in his hand and told the story of choosing between a boyfriend and crack.

Our family-themed event was especially poignant. One couple shared how they had fought through their own difficult upbringing to start a family that included multiple teenagers from the foster care system, Genne’s (straight) dad and my (straight) sister traveled from Philly to NYC to share on stage with us. We explored what it means not only to be gay in a straight family, but to be a straight person interacting with the queer community. One storyteller shared an extremely difficult childhood experience and then asked “how do you turn around these moments?” the answer was “make a new memory, by sharing here, with people you love.” I can’t even write about that moment without getting choked up a little. As intense as these kind of stories sometimes are, they’re often very funny as well since the most difficult of human experiences are often the most absurd also.

It’s not just been the storytellers that have been amazing: the audiences that we’ve drawn have given me real hope for the queer communities. Due to broken air conditioning at the venue, the temperature at the July Sober-themed event (guest curated by Cheryl B) topped over 100 degrees. Despite this, more than 75 percent of the attendees stayed for the entire event. At every salon, the response to the very real sharing is warm and gracious and I often see strangers grabbbing and hugging storytellers (consensually I am sure) after the event.

Although Genne and have discussed it at length, I can’t say that we understand exactly, why this event has been successful in this way. Part of it, I’m sure, is timing.  Certain types of LGBT people are more prominent in media representation, but it’s become grossly obvious that it will still be a long time before queer stories, told by queer folks, with queer roles played by actual queer people will be commonplace. Hey, maybe we’re not satisfied with a storyline about a trans guy played by some Hollywood-type “beautiful” female with a penciled on mustache. Maybe we want to hear real stories. How about that!

I’m not so humble that I would omit Genne and I as part of the equation. I think it works that we’re both (as I was once called by a theater critic) “terminally earnest” and that we are willing to work with folks who are inexperienced. We often sit down with nervous storytellers and talk them through how to tell their stories and have been known to (lovingly of course) harass people into sharing. I think having both a “regular person” (Genne) and a performer (that’s me) on stage also reassures inexperienced storytellers. Our skill sets are complementary: I’m good with social media and getting the word out, but collaborative stuff we’ve done with other organizations has been all Genne’s doing: she speaks that arts education language fluently and doesn’t mind going to long meetings.

Although we say that Queer Memoir is for “writers, performers, and anyone with a queer story to tell”we are also aware that we’re only hearing a tiny fragment of the queer stories there are to hear. All our events have been in urban areas. Seldom do we have a storyteller sharing who is over age 60. We’ve heard from few storytellers whose first language was not English, and although presenting a wide range of voices is one of our highest priorities in choosing our line-ups, we’re also acutely aware we have a long way to go with that. We’re taking steps to address these challenges in the upcoming year and to expand the “preserving and documenting our complex queer history” part of our mission as well.

This past twelve months have been challenging for me personally, but Queer Memoir is one of the things I’ve done this year that I’ve been most proud of. It’s not just that I’m proud of what Genne and I have built, although it’s been some hard-ass work. I’m also proud of our storytellers who have shared in such an amazing, open and sometimes hilarious way. And I’m proud of the queer community for so enthusiastically supporting an event that is not about glitter, or drinking or house music or even, exactly, politics but instead simply consists of the sacred but not always glamorous act of telling and listening to our own stories.

PS our next event is February 26 in NY. All the details are here.

For more info about the storytellers and the latest updates, check out the event on facebook.

Ah family! In this special holiday edition of Queer Memoir, storytellers will share about about the folks we call family…and the families we make ourselves.