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OutWrite: The Speeches That Shaped LGBTQ Literary Culture
Rutgers University Press, 2022 Paper: 978-1-9788-2803-2 | Cloth: 978-1-9788-2804-9 | eISBN: 978-1-9788-2805-6 Library of Congress Classification PN6122.O98 2022 Dewey Decimal Classification 815.540992066
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Running from 1990 to 1999, the annual OutWrite conference played a pivotal role in shaping LGBTQ literary culture in the United States and its emerging canon. OutWrite provided a space where literary lions who had made their reputations before the gay liberation movement—like Edward Albee, John Rechy, and Samuel R. Delany—could mingle, network, and flirt with a new generation of emerging queer writers like Tony Kushner, Alison Bechdel, and Sarah Schulman. This collection gives readers a taste of this fabulous moment in LGBTQ literary history with twenty-seven of the most memorable speeches from the OutWrite conference, including both keynote addresses and panel presentations. These talks are drawn from a diverse array of contributors, including Allen Ginsberg, Judy Grahn, Essex Hemphill, Patrick Califia, Dorothy Allison, Allan Gurganus, Chrystos, John Preston, Linda Villarosa, Edmund White, and many more. OutWrite offers readers a front-row seat to the passionate debates, nascent identity politics, and provocative ideas that helped animate queer intellectual and literary culture in the 1990s. Covering everything from racial representation to sexual politics, the still-relevant topics in these talks are sure to strike a chord with today’s readers. See other books on: Enszer, Julie R. | Lesbian Studies | Sexual minorities' writings, American | Speeches | Speeches, addresses, etc., American See other titles from Rutgers University Press |
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OutWrite: The Speeches That Shaped LGBTQ Literary Culture
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC
edited by Julie R. Enszer and Elena Gross
Rutgers University Press, 2022
Paper: 978-1-9788-2803-2
Cloth: 978-1-9788-2804-9
eISBN: 978-1-9788-2805-6
Paper: 978-1-9788-2803-2
Cloth: 978-1-9788-2804-9
eISBN: 978-1-9788-2805-6
Running from 1990 to 1999, the annual OutWrite conference played a pivotal role in shaping LGBTQ literary culture in the United States and its emerging canon. OutWrite provided a space where literary lions who had made their reputations before the gay liberation movement—like Edward Albee, John Rechy, and Samuel R. Delany—could mingle, network, and flirt with a new generation of emerging queer writers like Tony Kushner, Alison Bechdel, and Sarah Schulman.
This collection gives readers a taste of this fabulous moment in LGBTQ literary history with twenty-seven of the most memorable speeches from the OutWrite conference, including both keynote addresses and panel presentations. These talks are drawn from a diverse array of contributors, including Allen Ginsberg, Judy Grahn, Essex Hemphill, Patrick Califia, Dorothy Allison, Allan Gurganus, Chrystos, John Preston, Linda Villarosa, Edmund White, and many more.
OutWrite offers readers a front-row seat to the passionate debates, nascent identity politics, and provocative ideas that helped animate queer intellectual and literary culture in the 1990s. Covering everything from racial representation to sexual politics, the still-relevant topics in these talks are sure to strike a chord with today’s readers.
This collection gives readers a taste of this fabulous moment in LGBTQ literary history with twenty-seven of the most memorable speeches from the OutWrite conference, including both keynote addresses and panel presentations. These talks are drawn from a diverse array of contributors, including Allen Ginsberg, Judy Grahn, Essex Hemphill, Patrick Califia, Dorothy Allison, Allan Gurganus, Chrystos, John Preston, Linda Villarosa, Edmund White, and many more.
OutWrite offers readers a front-row seat to the passionate debates, nascent identity politics, and provocative ideas that helped animate queer intellectual and literary culture in the 1990s. Covering everything from racial representation to sexual politics, the still-relevant topics in these talks are sure to strike a chord with today’s readers.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
JULIE R. ENSZER (she/her) is the author of four poetry collections, including Avowed, and the editor of The Complete Works of Pat Parker and Sister Love: The Letters of Audre Lorde and Pat Parker 1974-1989. Enszer edits and publishes Sinister Wisdom, a multicultural lesbian literary and art journal. She lives in central Florida.
ELENA GROSS (she/they) is an independent writer, curator, and culture critic living in Oakland, California. Her research specializes in conceptual and material abstractions of the body and representations of identity in fine art, photography, and popular media.
ELENA GROSS (she/they) is an independent writer, curator, and culture critic living in Oakland, California. Her research specializes in conceptual and material abstractions of the body and representations of identity in fine art, photography, and popular media.
REVIEWS
"Oh please, please powers-that-be, have the smarts and curiosity to bring OutWrite back into our lives. This inspiring collection reveals the dialogic community in negotiation/inspiration from all of its corners: where the most rewarded meet the most marginalized, where the grassroots meets the corporate, the dying met the future, and they all sit on the same panels, eat and drink together, make friends and lovers, business deals and friendships, and share aesthetics, politics, argue and thereby influence the creation of the literature."
— Sarah Schulman, author of Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993"The Outwrite conferences of the 1990s marked a critical turning point in the history of LGBTQ literary life and culture. This collection restores to historical memory the anger, the militancy, and the vibrant cultural voices that confronted directly the pain of the AIDS epidemic as well as the racial and gender divisions within the community. The editors have given us a wonderfully moving and inspiring gift by bringing into print these powerfully insightful speeches from the past."
— John D’Emilio, author of Queer Legacies: Stories from Chicago’s LGBTQ Archives"OutWrite: The Speeches that Shaped LGBTQ Literary Culture is an incredible collection that taps into the heart of the queer literary community in the 1990s - the struggles, the successes, the visions, and the revisions. Reading it, I was struck by our loss of an entire parallel culture of LGBTQ businesses, conferences, and infrastructure that existed before the wide spread of the internet—but I was also struck by the continuity of hope, the clarity with which these authors fought for a freer future, against incredible odds. OutWrite is a history that feels searingly present."
— Hugh Ryan, author of When Brooklyn Was Queer"The incredible importance of queer culture to American culture is usually ignored by heterosexuals and often underestimated by LGBTQ people. OutWrite: The Speeches that Shaped LGBTQ Literary Culture edited by Julie R. Enszer and Elena Gross is a magnificent testimony—and until now undocumented archive—of the expanse and the depth of LGBTQ literary and political culture that was the legacy of decades of struggle. Every piece here brilliantly embodies the insights, intellectual bravery, political acumen and sheer courage that went into building a fiercely independent literary and political culture that redefined American culture and still illuminates how we live today. This is an invaluable contribution to LGBTQ literature, Queer Studies, and the everyday reader of queer literature."
— Michael Bronski, Professor of the Practice in Activism and Media Studies of Women, Gender and Sexuality, Harvard University"What a fabulous and fascinating collection of speeches from leading figures in queer arts and letters in the 1990s! For everyone who wishes that they had attended the OutWrite conferences, for those who will enjoy re-experiencing them, and for all who are interested in cultural activism, this valuable anthology will inspire with words, wit, and wisdom."
— Marc Stein, author of The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History and Queer Public History: Essays on Scholarly Activism"The vital, urgent need to tell our stories, to share, to write within and for a community is an inspiring part of any gathering of writers and publishers, but it’s especially evident in the speeches collected in OutWrite: The Speeches that Shaped LGBTQ Literary Culture. This anthology documents the pivotal role the OutWrite conferences played in shaping and inspiring a generation of LGBTQ writers. The diversity of speakers gathered here, and the explicit links they make between silenced and marginalized sexual communities and other oppressed communities amidst the devastation wrought by the AIDS epidemic and the ‘90s culture wars is especially valuable. This collection honors the memory of our forebearers—many of whom fired my own passion for critical queer writing—and is sure to bolster today’s artists and activists working against a global pandemic, climate crises, and the continued ascendency of white supremacy and conservative politics."
— Dwight A. McBride, President & University Professor at The New School"Far from academic ephemera, these resonant messages offer ever relevant takes on the current discourse around identity, inclusion, dissent, and the responsibility of the artist. The result is an indispensable addition to literary and cultural history."
— Publishers Weekly, starred review
— The Georgia Review
— Mile High Gay Guy
March 2022 Reads for the Rest of Us by Karla J. Strand: "This volume is a collection of speeches and presentations from the annual OutWrite Conference which ran from 1990 to 1999. Included are queer greats such as Dorothy Allison, Jewelle Gomez, Allen Ginsburg, Minnie Bruce Pratt and more."
— Ms. Magazine
— Poetry Foundation - Off the Shelf Podcast
— Public Seminar
— Erie Gay News
"When I look back at my heavily marked-up OutWrite programs and reread the articles I’d written about it, I’m reminded that as wonderful as many speeches were, they were only part of what made OutWrite so memorable."
— Gay & Lesbian Review"Oh please, please powers-that-be, have the smarts and curiosity to bring OutWrite back into our lives. This inspiring collection reveals the dialogic community in negotiation/inspiration from all of its corners: where the most rewarded meet the most marginalized, where the grassroots meets the corporate, the dying met the future, and they all sit on the same panels, eat and drink together, make friends and lovers, business deals and friendships, and share aesthetics, politics, argue and thereby influence the creation of the literature."
— Sarah Schulman, author of Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993"The Outwrite conferences of the 1990s marked a critical turning point in the history of LGBTQ literary life and culture. This collection restores to historical memory the anger, the militancy, and the vibrant cultural voices that confronted directly the pain of the AIDS epidemic as well as the racial and gender divisions within the community. The editors have given us a wonderfully moving and inspiring gift by bringing into print these powerfully insightful speeches from the past."
— John D’Emilio, author of Queer Legacies: Stories from Chicago’s LGBTQ Archives"What a fabulous and fascinating collection of speeches from leading figures in queer arts and letters in the 1990s! For everyone who wishes that they had attended the OutWrite conferences, for those who will enjoy re-experiencing them, and for all who are interested in cultural activism, this valuable anthology will inspire with words, wit, and wisdom."
— Marc Stein, author of The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History and Queer Public History: Essays on Scholarly A"OutWrite: The Speeches that Shaped LGBTQ Literary Culture is an incredible collection that taps into the heart of the queer literary community in the 1990s - the struggles, the successes, the visions, and the revisions. Reading it, I was struck by our loss of an entire parallel culture of LGBTQ businesses, conferences, and infrastructure that existed before the wide spread of the internet—but I was also struck by the continuity of hope, the clarity with which these authors fought for a freer future, against incredible odds. OutWrite is a history that feels searingly present."
— Hugh Ryan, author of When Brooklyn Was Queer
— Erie Gay News
"When I look back at my heavily marked-up OutWrite programs and reread the articles I’d written about it, I’m reminded that as wonderful as many speeches were, they were only part of what made OutWrite so memorable."
— Gay & Lesbian Review
— Mile High Gay Guy
March 2022 Reads for the Rest of Us by Karla J. Strand: "This volume is a collection of speeches and presentations from the annual OutWrite Conference which ran from 1990 to 1999. Included are queer greats such as Dorothy Allison, Jewelle Gomez, Allen Ginsburg, Minnie Bruce Pratt and more."
— Ms. Magazine
— Poetry Foundation - Off the Shelf Podcast
"The vital, urgent need to tell our stories, to share, to write within and for a community is an inspiring part of any gathering of writers and publishers, but it’s especially evident in the speeches collected in OutWrite: The Speeches that Shaped LGBTQ Literary Culture. This anthology documents the pivotal role the OutWrite conferences played in shaping and inspiring a generation of LGBTQ writers. The diversity of speakers gathered here, and the explicit links they make between silenced and marginalized sexual communities and other oppressed communities amidst the devastation wrought by the AIDS epidemic and the ‘90s culture wars is especially valuable. This collection honors the memory of our forebearers—many of whom fired my own passion for critical queer writing—and is sure to bolster today’s artists and activists working against a global pandemic, climate crises, and the continued ascendency of white supremacy and conservative politics."
— Dwight A. McBride, President & University Professor at The New School"The incredible importance of queer culture to American culture is usually ignored by heterosexuals and often underestimated by LGBTQ people. OutWrite: The Speeches that Shaped LGBTQ Literary Culture edited by Julie R. Enszer and Elena Gross is a magnificent testimony—and until now undocumented archive—of the expanse and the depth of LGBTQ literary and political culture that was the legacy of decades of struggle. Every piece here brilliantly embodies the insights, intellectual bravery, political acumen and sheer courage that went into building a fiercely independent literary and political culture that redefined American culture and still illuminates how we live today. This is an invaluable contribution to LGBTQ literature, Queer Studies, and the everyday reader of queer literature."
— Michael Bronski, Professor of the Practice in Activism and Media Studies of Women, Gender and Sexuality, Harvard Univ
— Public Seminar
"Far from academic ephemera, these resonant messages offer ever relevant takes on the current discourse around identity, inclusion, dissent, and the responsibility of the artist. The result is an indispensable addition to literary and cultural history."
— Publishers Weekly, starred review
— The Georgia Review
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Judy Grahn: Your First Audience Is Your People
Allen Ginsberg: American Glasnost and Reconstruction
Sarah Schulman: AIDS and the Responsibility of the Writer
Essex Hemphill: Does Your Mama Know About Me?
Susan Griffin: The Effects of Ecological Disaster
Pat Califia: More Fuel to Run On
John Preston: AIDS Writing
Lesbians and Gays of African Descent Take Issue
Mariana Romo-Carmona: The Color of My Narrative
Dorothy Allison: Survival is the Least of My Desires
Janice Gould: Speaking a World Into Existence
Melvin Dixon: I’ll Be Somewhere Listening for My Name
Allan Gurganus: What Fiction Means
Chrystos: The Gift of Open Sky to Carry You Safely on Your Journey as Writers
John Preston: An Exceptional Child
Samuel R. Delany: An Excerpt from “Aversion/Perversion/Diversion”
Jewelle Gomez: Less Than a Mile from Here
Kate Rushin: The Bridge Poem and A Pacifist Becomes Militant and Declares War
Linda Villarosa: We Have to Fight for Our Political Lives
Tony Kushner: On Pretentiousness
Luis Alfaro: Heroes and Saints from Downtown
Edmund White: Remembrances of a Gay Old Time
Minnie Bruce Pratt: Imagination and the Mockingbird
Cheryl Clarke: A House of Difference: Audre Lorde’s Legacy to Lesbian and Gay Writers
Nancy K. Bereano: Keeping Our Queer Souls
Craig Lucas: Making a Fresh Start
Peggy Shaw: from “A Menopausal Gentleman”
Voices from OutWrite
Acknowledgements
Index
Judy Grahn: Your First Audience Is Your People
Allen Ginsberg: American Glasnost and Reconstruction
Sarah Schulman: AIDS and the Responsibility of the Writer
Essex Hemphill: Does Your Mama Know About Me?
Susan Griffin: The Effects of Ecological Disaster
Pat Califia: More Fuel to Run On
John Preston: AIDS Writing
Lesbians and Gays of African Descent Take Issue
Mariana Romo-Carmona: The Color of My Narrative
Dorothy Allison: Survival is the Least of My Desires
Janice Gould: Speaking a World Into Existence
Melvin Dixon: I’ll Be Somewhere Listening for My Name
Allan Gurganus: What Fiction Means
Chrystos: The Gift of Open Sky to Carry You Safely on Your Journey as Writers
John Preston: An Exceptional Child
Samuel R. Delany: An Excerpt from “Aversion/Perversion/Diversion”
Jewelle Gomez: Less Than a Mile from Here
Kate Rushin: The Bridge Poem and A Pacifist Becomes Militant and Declares War
Linda Villarosa: We Have to Fight for Our Political Lives
Tony Kushner: On Pretentiousness
Luis Alfaro: Heroes and Saints from Downtown
Edmund White: Remembrances of a Gay Old Time
Minnie Bruce Pratt: Imagination and the Mockingbird
Cheryl Clarke: A House of Difference: Audre Lorde’s Legacy to Lesbian and Gay Writers
Nancy K. Bereano: Keeping Our Queer Souls
Craig Lucas: Making a Fresh Start
Peggy Shaw: from “A Menopausal Gentleman”
Voices from OutWrite
Acknowledgements
Index
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC
