“There is no better person than me to explore the male gaze because we share initials. MG. Myriam Gurba. Male gaze. Male gays. Mail gaze. (I once dated a mailman. He had a hardcore male gaze. He told me if I ever cut my hair short he would stop talking to me. I totally Ruby Rosed my hair and now he no longer calls me his slot).”–Myriam Gurba on “AMERICAN OBJECT I: SCOPOPHILIA, MEN, AND ME”
“Those three albums [Pretty on the Inside, Live Through This and Celebrity Skin] are all unique and incredible. Courtney [Love] is a once-in-a-generation piece of art. She is f–kin’ incredible. And, yes, her drama sometimes overshadows the power of the band. The power of the band, the arc of the albums and her performing abilities, we have it all on tape everywhere. We have proof of it and I would love to have it in one place. I support that story and I would be happy to put it in an incredible archival package. But that doesn’t mean playing a thousand f–kin’ festivals for money. If you wanna talk about the archives and you wanna talk about the brilliant past then I’ll have a conversation.”–Hole bassist, Melissa Auf Der Maur on the kind of Hole reunion she’d be interested in
“What is the poet’s job? my students and I ask each other and ourselves. The simple answer is to write poems. The harder answer is to help us see the world, in all its fraught beauty and failed grace—to see it so fully that we too are impelled to bear witness; that we, like the poet-speakers before us, are unable to turn away.”–Julie Marie Wade on TROUBLE THE WATER BY DERRICK AUSTIN
“The best way I know how to make a difference is what I have strived to do my whole life and that is show up for my family, friends, and fans in the LGBT community. So, for that reason I think the best way I can do my part is to turn my show in Raleigh on June 4th into an entire day to build public support to repeal HB2.”–Cyndi Lauper says proceeds from Raleigh show will support repeal of HB2
Ta da! Check out this amazing list of “56 Women Journalists Everyone Should Read” researched and compiled by powerhouse journalist, Ann Friedman.
“The small-town Texas jail where Sandra Bland died last summer needs a new building, more expertise among its staff to identify mental health issues, and body cameras and anger-management training for its jailers, according to a report issued Tuesday by a panel convened after Bland’s death.”
“How can we have the free exchange of ideas and share provocative work if we are always wondering if someone in the room is carrying a gun? The latter expression should never supersede the former as a representation of our freedom. So why are we writing? We are hoping that you and your students or other members of your community might support us on April 20th for a day of action demanding Governor Deal veto the campus carry bill.”–From “A CALL TO ACTION FROM THE POETRY ACTION NETWORK IN SOLIDARITY WITH GA AGAINST CAMPUS CARRY”
“Mississippi’s sweeping anti-LGBT ‘religious liberty’ law could cost the state billions in federal aid, MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow reported. The law, known as House Bill 1523 or the ‘Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act,’ will allow businesses, individuals, and religiously affiliated organizations to deny service to LGBT people, single mothers, and others who somehow offend an individual’s ‘sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction.’ It also directly targets transgender residents, effectively claiming that one’s sex assigned at birth is immutable, and will be the only gender recognized by the state. The law takes effect July 1.”
“Though we often look to the act of writing as documentation and witness, the writing of violence somehow becomes the burden of those who have endured it and forgotten by those with the privilege to ignore.”–Check out Apogee Journal’s “TO BECOME LOUDER, EVEN STILL: Responses to Sexual Violence in Literary Spaces”
‘Whatever You Want’ by Mickalene Thomas
What did we miss this week? Let us know in the comments! <3
