Queerness and disability centered and celebrated
what a relief to find kindreds
I had the pleasure of attending a reading last night at Ottawa’s Perfect Books, a book store that is full of enticing reads and a comfortable space for readings (except that it would be even better if it had a cafe…ah…a girl can dream!).
The event was a celebration of queer writing at a time when we have started Capital Pride, but there are few literary events at Pride these days. I found myself feeling so happy to get a chance to hear queer writers and celebrate their work.
Readers included
Windsor-based author and dear out-of-town friend Jade Wallace who read from their novel Anomia (which I have a lot more to say about (all glowing) in a forthcoming review in the Temz Review.
Local writer Alyssa Gonzalez, who read from Nonmonogamy and Neurodiversity, a nonfiction work that discusses the benefits and challenges of non-monogamy for neurodiverse people. It’s so rare that I hear anything about non-monogamy these days and this combo made such great sense to me when hearing Alyssa read from the book. Support Alyssa via Patreon here. Read Alyssa’s blog, the Perfumed Void here.
London, Ontario-based author and academic Jeremy Colangelo read from his weird and delightfully macabre short story collection Beneath the Statue.
Finally dear friend and local author James K. Moran read a riveting opening from his short story collection Fear Itself.
Afterward there was a fun conversation/q & a with the authors, and I got to ask a question I will always want to ask based on the quote, “Write the book you need/want to see in the world.” I wanted to know if the authors wrote their book because it was something they felt was needed. Alyssa was asked to write her book by Thornapple Press as part of its More Than Two Essentials Series. Jade talked about wanting to write a work that didn’t include gender pronouns. James mentioned queer characters in horror/sci-fi and how they were on the fringes in works by Stephen King, Ray Bradbury etc.
And hey, I learned about More Than Two: “More Than Two Essentials is a series of books by Canadian authors on focused topics in nonmonogamy. It is curated by Eve Rickert, author of the books More Than Two: A Practical Guide to Ethical Polyamory and the forthcoming Nonmonogamy and Jealousy. Learn more and find all forthcoming titles at morethantwo.ca.
There are six titles in this series, which combine non-monogamy with neurodiversity, sex work, death, happiness, post-non-monogamy and beyond ) with a forthcoming book on non-monogamy and jealousy, which many people will want to get.
I just was happy to be in a room full of people that pushed against conventional rules of writing and lifestyles. I’m so tired of the white-picket-fence-monogamous-heterosexual-gender binary stories that feel so pervasive to me.
I want a series that specifically centers and celebrates queerness and disability. I would call it Joy. Organizers and readers would be paid. Readers would come from Ottawa and elsewhere. The venue would be accessible. It wouldn’t just be a space where disabled people were accommodated/bleh an afterthought - it would be set up to for celebration and affirmation with a proper stage with a ramp, good lighting, accessible and gender-neutral bathrooms, a sober space. A girl can dream!
Imagine if this series existed. Who would you invite? Who would you like to see on stage?
A series that is as close to this as we have is the wonderful Riverbed Reading Series, run by dear friends and fellow writers Ellen Chang-Richardson and nina jane drystek. It is in an accessible space: Club Saw at Arts Court and its stage has a ramp. It is a hybrid series that offers its events in person and on Zoom. It even has an open mic.
Riverbed is in its fifth season already. Hurray! On Wednesday, you can attend either in person or on Zoom, its second iteration of season 5 with both music and literature, featuring Britta Badour, Jay Ritchie, Dessa Bayrock and DJ FUN. Support Riverbed here.
The Ottawa International Writers Festival is also always in accessible spaces. Check out its forthcoming program.
I’m currently working on the fourth edition of Access Word Ottawa, a guide to accessible literary, spoken word, storytelling and nonfiction venues, and it is a real challenge to find spaces these days that are nominally accessible. You can find the previous edition on Bywords.ca under the City of Ottawa logo (free pdf). There are so many great disabled and queer artists and writers in Ottawa. Audiences are missing out because they are not welcomed. There are disabled people who would love to attend events but are not welcomed.
This is one of my frustrations about living in a capitalist system. I can’t do this series. I need to do stuff that makes rent every month. But I really wish it existed. Sigh.
Perfect Books at least can be accessed via a ramp on Somerset, so that’s something…sort of.
PS: We used to have a queer literary festival in Ottawa with a title I can’t remember. I miss those days. We have a wonderful queer arts collective named Qu’Art, run by dear friend and amazing musician Glenn Nuotio but it doesn’t focus specifically on literature or on disabled performers.
Instead of writing this post, I should be working on a grant application, but I’m here sharing my thoughts with you, darling readers.
Thank you to those who have supported my efforts via a paid or free subscription or by buying me a coffee.