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.
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.
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
