Red Room Where the Writers Are

The final Jack Straw Writers reading was a lot of fun for me. The chance to share my work is probably one of the greatest motivations for creating. I do it to connect with people and talk about what we share and hope to share. As usual, the audience laughed in unexpected places and seemed compelled by poems I find very close to me. Though one person did thank me for writing/sharing poems from my feti(sh)ame project, one that examines sexual fetishes and shame in the lives of gay men of color, this subject is taboo. I read four of the poems--considering rosebuds, fisting, smegma and barebacking--and, other than sheer silence, there was nothing from the audience. I'm going to test the waters more in the coming month before my complete feti(sh)ame presentation at Good Vibrations on Thursday, July 16 at 6:30 pm.

 All communities would benefit from artistic examinations of shame and how it harms one's spirit, mind, soul and body. And, in many cases, one person's fetish can harm others' spirits, minds, souls and bodies--reason enough, I think, to talk about this.