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October 7, 2022

Enjoy this week’s Sinister Snapshot, Sinister Wisdom’s biweekly newsletter with a featurette and lots of links. If you have suggestions for future editions of Sinister Snapshot, send them to info@sinisterwisdom.org.

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Meeting Merril Mushroom
written by Julie R. Enszer

I took an epic southern road trip this summer. I was itching to get on the road and connect with people after all the COVID-19 lockdowns, and lesbian road trips are a part of my psyche.

I imagined my travels a combination of the road trip that Pat Parker and her lover Sunshine took one summer to promote Parker’s poetry book; the road trip that the Amazon Quarterly dykes, Gina Covina and Laurel Galena, took after they stopped their quarterly publication (which partially inspired the beginnings of Sinister Wisdom); and the road trip that Elana Dykewomon took from Northampton, Massachusetts, across the country with a stop at the Pagoda in St. Augustine, Florida. Dykes have a history of traveling.

One of my favorite stops on my road trip was in Tennessee, where I popped in to have breakfast with the divine Merril Mushroom. Merril and I have talked on the phone frequently and collaborated on a variety of projects, particularly the issues of Sinister Wisdom from the Southern Lesbian Feminist Activist Herstory Project. Merril is also my “go-to gal” when I have a question about an obscure element of southern lesbian history, so I just wanted to meet her. And I am delighted to say she is as wonderful in person as she is on the telephone. We had a lovely breakfast together and a tour of Merril’s homestead. She’s raising chickens, tending to beloved pups, and has a magnificent garden. Here is a photo of Merril and me and a photo of Merril, my buddy La Shonda, and me.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Florida State University’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program is hosting a panel, co-sponsored by the Lesbian Herstory Archives, on Thursday, October 13, at 6 P.M. EDT. Inspired by their exhibit showcasing the history of Naiad Press, “It’s a Lot Like Falling in Love: Lesbian Publishing in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and Beyond,” which is on display until October 29, Stephanie Andrea Allen, Cheryl Clarke, Katherine V. Forrest, Joan Nestle, and Barbara Smith will discuss pivotal moments in the Lesbian print movement. Sinister Wisdom Editor and Publisher Julie R. Enszer will moderate the discussion. Register here. Listen to the oral history interviews.
Join the Southern Lesbian Feminist Activist Herstory Project, Salkana Schindler, and Reverend Carolyn J. Mobley-Bowie for a reparations vigil titled “A Prayer Vigil for Repair and Redress.” The vigil will take place on October 13 at 8 P.M. ET. Read more here. Register for the zoom event here.
IKON: The Second Series (1982 to 1994), was a major feminist publication edited by a Lesbian. It was comprised of artists, writers, activists, and organizations whose work would come to define a pivotal era in women’s history. Join Susan Sherman, Demetria Martinez, Margaret Randall, and others for a virtual reading and archive launch; hosted by Jules’ Poetry Playhouse, on October 16 at 4 P.M. ET.
Celebrate the launch of Sinister Wisdom 126: Out of Control on October 18 at 8 P.M. ET. Join us to honor and listen to the stories of the members and activism of the organization Out of Control: Lesbian Committee to Support Women Political Prisoners. Register here.

Curated by Ariel Goldberg, Images on which to build, 1970s-1990s shows the activism, education, and media production within Trans, Queer, and feminist grassroots organizing of the 1970s through the 1990s through the work of Diana Solís, Joan E. Biren (JEB), Lola Flash, the Lesbian Herstory Archives, and others. The exhibit is currently showing at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, until February 12, 2023, and will travel to the Leslie-Lohman Museum in New York City in March 2023.

Jewelle Gomez will be a guest of honor at StokerCon 2023, hosted by the Horror Writers Association. The convention will take place in Pittsburgh from June 15 to June 18, 2023. Also, check out the Horror Writers Association's Point of Pride series.
NEWS
The Tennessee Williams and New Orleans Literary Festival is still accepting submissions for their Poetry and Very Short Fiction contests until November 1. The Saints + Sinners LGBTQ+ Literary Festival is also still accepting poetry submissions until October 15. Submit here.

Betty LaDuke’s most recent exhibition, Fire, Fury, and Resilience: Totem Witnesses and Turtle Wisdom, will be at the Corvallis Museum, in Corvallis, Oregon, from October 7, 2022, to January 22, 2023. In response, Calyx Press is holding an ekphrastic writing contest. Read details and view some of LaDuke’s works here and read Calyx Press’s submission guidelines. Submissions for this contest are open until December 31.

Ghadir Shafie, cofounder of Aswat, the Palestinian Feminist Center for Sexual and Gender Freedoms, and Bashar Murad were interviewed by Democracy in Exile about intersectional struggles for liberation. They see their fight for LGBTQ+ rights as inextricable from their Palestinian identity.

Do you know a dyke/Queer artist/musician over 30 who'd be interested in living at the Dyke+ ArtHaus in Philadelphia? If so, forward them this craigslist ad with details and photos.

In the latest episode of Enduring Value, Caitlyn (KT) Abadir-Mullally and Kamala Puligandla talk about growing beyond one's work and Kamala's current project about a pleasure-centered dystopia. This conversation sparked reflections on the tension between doing meaningful work and being more than one's work. Listen here.

Speaking of podcasts, on the Latino USA podcast, Denice Frohman opens up about her childhood playing basketball, her writing career, and honoring her Queer Latino/Latina/Latinx ancestors. Listen here and read the written companion piece.

Ramzi Fawaz discusses Thelma and Louise and Queer friendships in an article on Literary Hub.

Read about Erzulie Dantor, the Vodou defender of Lesbians, and the divine feminine symbol of Black Madonnas, in an article on Q Spirit. “She has a reputation for taking revenge on abusive husbands and unfaithful lovers,” Kittredge Cherry writes. Cherry also makes some fantastic book recommendations at the end of the article.
Even those who write workbooks about Polyamory aren’t experts in Polyamory. Sarah Youngblood Gregory asserts that her book “would question expertise” in an article published by Salty.
Listen to the story of Olivia Records cofounder and Furies member Meg Christian on the Making Gay History podcast. This episode centers Christian’s autobiography around her music releases. Read more about the episode.

If you would like to support Sinister Wisdom's thriving Lesbian community, please consider donating or subscribing. Your support is vital to our mission of profiling, supporting, and nurturing Lesbian culture as well as providing educational resources to women and Lesbians. Thank you to our sustainers for supporting the advancement of Lesbian art and culture!

 

Curated with community, history, and an understanding that every present moment is a nexus of many pasts. May these stories of Queer culture inspire, enthuse, and rouse you to Lesbian actions. We hope you've enjoyed the eighteenth installment of Sinister Snapshot! Have a lovely weekend.

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