POETREE

In the early-morning hours of June 28th 1969, New York police officers barricaded patrons inside the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar, and began the then-common process of identifying and arresting individuals who were in drag. The outcome was unprecedented: patrons fought back, refusing to cooperate and submit to unjust arrests. The scene spilled into the streets, where resistance from bar-goers and bystanders alike snowballed into rioting that forced the police into retreat.

For many, the Stonewall riots heralded the unofficial start of the national Gay Pride movement. Shortly after the events dubbed "The Liberation of Christopher Street," there was a proliferation of pro-gay mobilization in Greenwich Village. One year after the riots, in 1970, the first Gay Pride march was started on Christopher Street, traversing 51 blocks. This historic event symbolized a change in gay activism: it was an end to quiet, apologist strategies and the start of openly celebrating homosexuality.

Today, the Pride movement carries on in the same spirit of creating visibility for the QUILTBAG community while promoting acceptance (both self and societal) and equal rights. This week, at Poetree, we'll be celebrating sexual and gender diversity by highlighting the works of QUILTBAG poets and poetry.

The poem I will be sharing with you today is by activist-poet Buddy Wakefield. Wakefield won the World Poetry Slam Championship for two consecutive years, has several published poetry collections and records, and makes his living touring the United States presenting his art. Known for his lively delivery and bold, hard-hitting use of language, Wakefield is a big name in the world of Slam Poetry and an inspiration to other queer poets.

While homosexuality is not the predominant theme of his works, I thought it appropriate to share the activist poem A Waste. I am not certain of my permission to re-post its full text, and it does contain profanity, so below is a short snip of it; the rest can be found at this link - I highly recommend the full text.

A Waste - selected verses

....

The way she said it still blurs me up like a massacre.
In an attempt to make me feel handsome, Sweet Angel said, "If I was a girl your age and I found out you were gay, I'd just think, ya know, what a waste."

Okay, hey, Perky Cheeks,
if that was supposed to be a compliment
please don't ever send me a care package.

....

"A waste is a nine-year-old boy
Playing catch with the roof of his garage
Who already knows that
His existence makes for the perfect insult –
GAY"


Readers: feel free to share and discuss your reactions below!

As I will be away all day today, I'm posting this one early - hope you don't feel too inundated, folks!

The Gay Rights community is well known for using a broad scope of creative media - including art, poetry, music, plays, etc. - to convey the struggles of the homosexual community. Considered by many to be the civil rights struggle of our day and age, the issue of gay rights has been at the forefront of US policy making in recent years, marked by victories and defeats in the areas of gay marriage, adoption, workers' rights, health care, and more.

Several noteworthy gay poets are currently making big waves in the modern "poetry Renaissance," and today's poem comes from slam poet Andrea Gibson, winner of the Women's World Poetry Slam and self-described queer activist. She has toured universities and venues across the United States delivering hard-hitting poems on a wide range of human rights issues, her poems making it as far as Utah's conservative state legislature (you can imagine the scandal when the poet's identity was revealed in this context!).

"I Do" was written in response to California's Prop 8 and will be presented today in the form of a video, as Gibson's poetry is arguably best appreciated performed. Text is below; I did not post the transcript because I do not know if it falls within the guidelines of the community's posting.



Transcript or, look into her published works, The Madness Vase and Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns available at andreagibson.com

Noteworthy Related Reading
Does Your House Have Lions? by Sonia Sanchez, 1998 (book/poem). Written as an epic poem, this touching book details the life of Sanchez's homosexual brother, who died of AIDs, and serves as an eye-opening experience about what it is to be gay and black in America.

Mere Baba by Iftikhar Nasim (poem). Written by Urdu's first openly gay poet, this short but powerful poem (presented here in multiple languages for your viewing pleasure) brings to light the emotional anguish of asking questions about one's sexuality. Nasim is considered a highly significant figure to the Indian and Pakistani gay rights community, an activist voice in a culture where open homosexuality is often met with brutal violence.


If you have any gay rights poetry you'd like to share, or comments on the reads (and listens) shared today, please post in the comments!