When I first had the idea to gather queer readers and writers, I wasn’t sure if there would be much interest. Still, I knew I wanted a chance to meet new people and offer a space for us to connect with each other. I could only imagine that others might want the same.
Within the first few minutes of Queer Lit Night, Hex & Hop started filling up. There were folks who had knit their own sweaters, patched their own overalls, donned their Carhartt jackets, their beanies, their flannels. People brought everything from TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea and Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr! to their manuscripts-in-progress, their embroidered journals, and their letter-writing sets. Everything about the space felt queer – which is to say, everything felt at once familiar, and fresh, and beautiful.
Over the course of the night, while Angie Stone’s voice cradled the taproom, I watched constellations form: a group of readers here, a group of writers there, strangers sharing a drink, a laugh, a story.
The next day, as I read through the feedback we’d received, I was moved to find a collection of doodles on the slips of paper: snowflakes, a flag that reads “GAY,” a flock of birds, smiley faces, wishes for another Queer Lit Night. As I sit now, cross-legged in an armchair at ACW, looking down at these doodles and out at the people strolling past on Broadway, I am reminded that to be queer means to believe in possibility.
Let me tell you again about Queer Lit Night:
When I first had the idea to gather queer readers and writers, I wasn’t sure if there would be much interest. Within the first few minutes, Hex & Hop started filling up. There were folks who had knit their own sweaters, patched their own overalls, dawned their Carhartt jackets, their beanies, their flannels. People brought everything from TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea and Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr! to their manuscripts, embroidered journals, and letter-writing sets. Everything about the space felt queer – which is to say, everything felt possible.
I can’t wait to see you at the next Queer Lit Night: Slumber Party edition!
– Obi Taswell, ACW’s program manager
Date: January 11th
Time: 4-6pm
Location: Hex & Hop
Attire: Comfy clothes (whatever that means to you! Pajamas, sweats, etc.). Feel free to bring blankets and get cozy!