Upcoming events!

Feb is turning out to be a busy month around these parts! Come on down for one or more of these events in San Francisco:

Feb 15: Open Mic at the Exiles!
Keep that V-day energy moving! Gina De Vries and I will be the features at this first ever kinky and erotic open mic sponsored by the Exiles! Open to all Exiles members and guests. 5 min per performer, signup at 7:30, program begins at 8. For more info, visit The Exiles online (http://www.theexiles.org/).

Feb 16: Philosophy/Art Salon: What is Erotic?
Join us for a Socratic dialogue on the question: What makes for erotic art? Philosopher-at-Large Rita Alfonso, Ph.D., will be joined by erotic Writer Jen Cross and visual artist Dorian Katz for a brief show-and-tell followed by philosophical discussion. At Femina Potens, 2199 Market St. at Sanchez, SF. Admission is $10-$25 sliding scale. (www.feminiapotens.org)

Feb 27: Monthly Erotic Reading Circle at the Center for Sex and Culture, 1519 Mission Street, Suite 1, SF. Admission $1-5, no one turned away. (www.centerforsexandculture.org)

March 8: New Erotica Reading at the Center for Sex and Culture.
Join recent and veteran Declaring Our Erotic writers as they share their brave, blistering and brilliant new writing! More details to come: watch this space!

April 3-April 20: Jen joins the Body Heat: Femme Porn Tour (image heavy/prob. not work safe) as we read and riot across these peculiarly united states. Opening stop: Thursday, April 3 at the Center for Sex and Culture. Next stop: San Diego -- warn your friends! We're coming to their town...

And then, of course, the Spring workshops get started!

More info about these events coming soon!

Kicked Out - Call for submissions!

Passing the word -- Someone else noted that one needn't be a youth *now* to tell your story. Fell free to forward it on to anyone you think might be interested.

(Forwarded) Call for submissions:

Kicked Out is a new anthology, which uniquely seeks to tell the tales of former queer youth and current queer youth who were forced to leave home because of their sexuality and/or gender identity. This anthology will tell our collective stories of survival, weaving together descriptions of abuse, and homelessness with poignant accounts of the ways in which queer community centers offered sanctuary, and the power and importance of creating our own chosen families in the face of losing everything we have ever known. Kicked Out offers advice and wisdom to the queer youth of today from those who have been in their shoes.

Additionally, it provides the opportunity for readers to get a glimpse into the world of those queer youth who as a result of circumstance have to leave home, while simultaneously shattering the stereotypes of who queer youth are, and what they have the potential to become.

Kicked Out is a collection of stories of those of us who have survived the experiences of having to leave home as minors as a result of our gender and/or sexual identities; and it tells the tales of our queer survival. These are the stories of overcoming obstacles, not simply surviving but thriving in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity. Kicked Out will explore the diversity of our experiences across lines race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, and geographic region celebrating our differences, and showcases the ways in which they have contributed to our unique experiences.

Possible topics include but are not limited to:
How being forced to leave home as a minor continues to impact your adult life
What happened to you when you left home and how you survived
Words of wisdom for today's homeless queer youth-what you wished someone had told you
Survival through the creation of "chosen family"
Challenges of dealing with CPS or other agencies
Success through adversity- overcoming a troubled past

Submissions should be between 1,500 and 2,500 words in length and previously unpublished. Submit your piece via e-mail in .doc format to KickedOutAnthology@gmail.com. Multiple submissions per contributor are welcome. Please include a short biography and contact information with your submission. Submissions must be received no later than March 1, 2008; contributors are encouraged to submit early. Rights revert to the authors upon publication. Contributors whose work appears in the anthology will receive TBA free copy(ies) as well as ongoing royalties. Visit us online at www.myspace.com/kickedoutanthology

"Kicked Out" Call for Submissions: Edited by: Sassafras Lowrey*
Publisher: Homofactus Press
Deadline: March 1, 2008

*Sassafras Lowrey is a high femme writer, artist, and activist. Ze was forced to leave home as a teenager after suffering physical violence after coming out as queer. Sassafras found hir way to queer youth organizations and movements, which quite literally saved hir life. As an adult ze has never forgotten the impact those groups had on hir life and has volunteered regularly with the queer youth of today. Sassafras lives with hir partner, two cats and a dog in New York City.
Hir first book "GSA to Marriage: Stories of a Life Lived Queerly" is scheduled for release Summer 2008.