BGSQD

READ ALOUD TO CAUSE TROUBLE: Impropria Persona Release Party
2017-03-25 19:30 - 21:00 (America/New_York)
READ ALOUD TO CAUSE TROUBLE brings together a gaggle of wobbly-kneed armchair revolutionaries who don’t vote to celebrate the release of IMPROPRIA PERSONA, a collaborative chapbook by Kay Gabriel and David W. Pritchard (Damask Press, 2017) with an evening of poems and provocations.

READERS:

KAY GABRIEL is the author of Elegy Department Spring (BOAAT Press, forthcoming) and, with David W. Pritchard, Impropria Persona. She is aufgehoben or bust, baby.

DAVID W. PRITCHARD is a poet and a scholar, though he is not a poet-scholar. He is the author, with Kay Gabriel, of Impropria Persona. He is currently working on a super-poem entitled REVOLUTION OR DECADENCE for which he has been paid 50 cents by an anonymous donor. In this way he is the last living residue of literary patronage.

A.B. ROBINSON has been called a Surrealist in both condemnation and praise. She is not a Surrealist.

CAM SCOTT is a poet, critic, and practicing non-musician from Winnipeg, Canada, Treaty One territory. He performs under the name Cold-catcher and as always, the motivating question is For whom?

ZACHARY LAMALFA was recently described as a poet whom one could easily imagine enjoying a career as a civil engineer or architect, which made everyone else in the room laugh very hard. He is one thing about the city.

Direct Action: Protest and the Reinvention of American Radicalism
2017-03-24 19:00 - 21:00
A reading and discussion on resistance movements past and present, and the special role of LGBTQ movements in American radicalism, by L.A. Kauffman, author of the new book, DIRECT ACTION.

As Americans take to the streets in record numbers to resist the presidency of Donald Trump, L.A. Kauffman’s timely, trenchant history of protest offers unique insights into how past movements have won victories in times of crisis and backlash and how they can be most effective today.
This deeply researched account, twenty-five years in the making, traces the evolution of disruptive protest since the Sixties to tell a larger story about the reshaping of the American left. Kauffman, a longtime grassroots organizer, examines how movements from ACT UP to Occupy Wall Street to Black Lives Matter have used disruptive tactics to catalyze change despite long odds. The book highlights the centrality of feminist and queer organizers to the creation of a vibrant, decentralized tradition of resistance and activism.
Kauffman’s lively and elegant history is propelled by hundreds of candid interviews conducted over a span of decades. Direct Action showcases the voices of key players in an array of movements – environmentalist, anti-nuclear, anti-apartheid, feminist, LGBTQ, anti-globalization, racial-justice, anti-war, and more – across an era when American politics shifted to the right, and a constellation of decentralized issue- and identity-based movements supplanted the older ideal of a single, unified left.
Suggested donation of $10 to benefit the Bureau. No one turned away for lack of funds.
L.A. Kauffman has spent more than 30 years immersed in radical movements, as an organizer, strategist, journalist, and observer.

Union Square Slam presents Natasha Hooper and our Last Open Slam
2017-03-21 18:30 - 21:30
Union Square Slam is delighted to host, all the way from San Diego, nationally-ranked poet and goddess of grace, NATASHA HOOPER!!
AND! It’s your very last chance to qualify for Union Square Slam’s Finals Stage on April 18th. Get down here and sign up early!
6:30pm: Free Writing Workshop w/ IS Jones
7:30pm Sign-ups and Socialize
8:00pm: Slam and Feature
All Ages // Wheelchair Accessible
Suggested Donation $5-$10
About our Feature:
In a short period of time, Natasha Hooper has made her mark on the spoken word community, performing on various stages across the country, spanning from California to New York. She ‘s performed with the likes of Jasmine Mans at the infamous Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C. and competed in the largest individual poetry competition, the Individual World Poetry Slam, ranking among the top 25. A force to be reckoned with, Natasha holds the record in San Diego for the most consecutive slam wins in a single season. Recently, she also became a driving force in helping her slam team, San Diego Poetry SLAM, become the #2 team in the nation during her first trip to the National Poetry Slam in Decatur, GA.

USS presents Raena Shirali and David Winter
2017-03-14 18:30 - 21:30
Union Square Slam is thrilled to host a lively open mic, and dynamic duo Raena Shirali and David Winter!!
6:30pm: Free Writing Workshop
7:30pm: Sign-Ups and Socialize
8:00pm: Open Mic
9:00pm: Feature — Raena Shirali and David Winter
// All Ages // Wheelchair Accessible //
Suggested Donation $3-$10
(all proceeds go to supporting the Bureau and sending USS reps to national events)
About our Feature:
Raena Shirali’s collection, GILT, fiercely unveils its first generation, East Indian speakers’ reconciliation of her identity as it engages with and critiques both Indian and American culture’s treatment and expectations of women. David Winter’s chapbook Safe House, and his current manuscript Archived Light, explore how queer and raced bodies live and love in a violent world. By performing their poems in conversation with each other, these two poets pose questions such as: How do we discern safe space from violence in drag? How can fragmentation and lyric explore our unknowable selves, lovers, heritages? How do we reconcile the personal body with the political, the self with its surrounding cultures? How can violence be music, and music be violent? How does communication fail us; how then, can silence (of lovers, families, cultures, nations) be a source of trauma? And can such silences be reclaimed as spaces for meditation or healing?
Indian American poet Raena Shirali’s first book, GILT, is forthcoming in 2017 with YesYes Books, and her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Blackbird, Crazyhorse, Four Way Review, Indiana Review, Muzzle Magazine, Ninth Letter, and many more. She received her MFA from The Ohio State University. Her honors include a 2016 Pushcart Prize, the 2016 Cosmonauts Avenue Prize, recognition as a finalist for the 2016 Tupelo Quarterly Poetry Prize, the 2014 Gulf Coast Poetry Prize, recognition as a finalist for the 2014 Ruth Lilly Fellowship, and a “Discovery” / Boston Review Poetry Prize in 2013. She will be the Spring 2017 Philip Roth Resident at the Stadler Center for Poetry at Bucknell University, and currently serves as a poetry reader for Muzzle Magazine.

David Winter wrote the chapbook Safe House (Thrush Press, 2013), and is currently working on a full-length manuscript entitled Archived Light, which has been a semi-finalist for the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award and a finalist for the May Swenson Poetry Award. From 2010-2012 David led creative writing workshops with NYC non-profits in locations such as the LGBT Community Center, the 14th Street Y, Riker’s Island, and PS 279. More recently, he has received an MFA from The Ohio State University, a 2016 Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council, and a 2016-18 Stadler Fellowship from Bucknell University. David’s poems appear in publications such as The Baffler, Day One, Four Way Review, Muzzle, Ninth Letter, The Offing, and For Some Time Now: Performance Poets of New York City.

Join the Bureau at the New York Live Arts Live Ideas Festival: Mx'd Messages
2017-03-14 - 2017-03-19
The Bureau will have a pop-up shop at the Live Ideas Festival, Mx’d Messages, in the lobby of New York Live Arts, March 14—19.
MX’D MESSAGES
Curated by Mx Justin Vivian Bond
Trans-genre artist Mx Justin Vivian Bond curates a series examining the idea of a world without binaries–across gender, politics, theology, sensory perception and race.
Richard Move and MoveOpolis!, kick off the festival with the world premiere of XXYY and a special performance celebrating the 20th anniversary of Martha@…
Mx’d Messages continues March 14-19 with a keynote conversation, lunch time reading series, an afternoon film program curated by Dirty Looks, Happy Hour panel discussions on trans-theology, afrofuturism, activism and social justice, caregiving and choral workshops, Prime Time genre bending performance events including the TEAM’s RoosevElvis (Re_MX’D), Mx Bond’s House of Whimsy and more, and ends with a queer punk rock dance party.
Live Ideas is an annual humanities festival of arts and ideas, exploring the ideas, controversies and thinking informing a different bodily-oriented theme each time out. Past festivals have included The Worlds of Oliver Sacks, James Baldwin, This Time!, SKY-Force and Wisdom in America Today, curated by Laurie Anderson, andMENA/Future-Cultural Transformations in the Middle East North Africa Region.

VIEW THE FESTIVAL BROCHURE FOR FULL LISTING OF EVENTS

219 West 19th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues
NY, NY 10011

TELL 32: Dating
2017-03-11 19:00 - 21:30 | Online event, New York, NY, United States
TELL is an evening of story telling from the mouths and minds of queers in NYC hosted by Drae Campbell at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division since February 2014.
DATING is the theme of the thirty-second installment of TELL. Featuring Micah Brown, Katie Liederman, and Shane O’Neill.

$10 suggested donation – no one turned away for lack of funds

Drae Campbell is a writer, actor, director, story teller, dancer, and nightlife emcee. Drae has been featured on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and on stages all over NYC. Drae’s directing work has appeared in Iceland, NYC, Budapest and in the San Francisco Fringe Festival. The short film Drae wrote and starred in with Rebecca Drysdale, YOU MOVE ME won the Audience Award for Outstanding Narrative Short at OUTFEST 2010 and has been shown in festivals globally. Drae won the grand prize at the first annual San Miguel De Allende Storytelling Festival in Mexico. She once reigned as Miss LEZ and also got dubbed “the next lezzie comedian on the block” by AfterEllen.com for her comedic stylings on the interwebs. Campbell hosts and curates a monthly queer storytelling show called TELL at BGSQD. Check her out online! www.draecampbell.com.

Micah Brown is a non binary NYC native and self-proclaimed wise guy who works as a barista in NoLita, and is never short of stories or perspective. With an emphasis on Spotify playlist-based self care, he’s been navigating adulthood and neurodivergence without any major injuries (so far).

Katie Liedermanis a writer, playwright and director whose next play, about a sordid love affair between a magician and a saxophone player opens August 2017. She also hosts a monthly travel storytelling event at Metropolitan called TRIPS and you should come talk to her after the show if you have a story to tell.

Shane O’Neill is a writer, performer, video maker, and homosexual living in Brooklyn, NY. His writing and videos have been featured on The New York Times website, Refinery29, and ArtNews New York. He and his work have appeared onstage at Joe’s Pub, the LaMama Theater, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, and at too many gay bars and queer DIY party spaces to list here. He has toured extensively in the U.S. and Europe via his musical persona Shane Shane. “Jane Johnson for the Stay At Home Shopper,” an original musical he wrote with Jill Pangallo, recently debuted at the OUTsider festival in Austin, TX. You can see him in New York City at his monthly comedy/variety shows “Tonight’s Special with Shane Shane” and “S.U.C.K. (Stand Up Comedy Klub).” He has a boyfriend named Dusty, a cat named Wanda, and a lovely family–both chosen and by blood–in the Great Midwest, all of whom he loves a great deal.

ACLU People Power Action Event - March 11
2017-03-11 16:30 - 18:30
Join us on March 11 for a livestream viewing of the ACLU’s launch of People Power. We’ll watch the Resistance Training live and talk about next steps for organizing to resist Trump’s attacks on our basic freedoms.
Please RSVP here:
https://go.peoplepower.org/event/attend/1227

Note about capacity: we’ve capped attendance at 75 but probably can fit around 50 folks. We know that not everyone will actually be able to make it. If you have arrived to the RSVP page (link above) after we’ve reached capacity, you can still try to make the event, as it’s always likely that some folks will not show up. We will have a list of RSVP’s at the door! Please try to arrive at 4:30 given how many attendees we have. We will try to admit those who might not have been able to RSVP around 4:45, until our space is full. Thanks for your interest!

The schedule for the day, FYI: 4:30-5, introductions and strategic intentions 5-6, national training lifestream 6-6:30, group discussion We’ve got to leave at 6:30 to clear the space for an evening event! So looking forward to meeting you.

From the American Civil Liberties Union website:
“In the weeks following President Donald Trump’s inauguration, we have seen the harms that his policies cause people around the world and the danger his actions represent for our civil liberties. Trump’s use of executive power has prompted the protest and defiance of millions, echoing the voices of many who know that our basic American values are being tested by our president.
The ACLU will continue to defend our basic freedoms and hold this administration accountable for every unlawful or unconstitutional measure they propose. We will use the courts as one avenue to aggressively advance our agenda, but we cannot do it alone.
That is why the ACLU is launching a major new grassroots mobilization platform, PeoplePower.org, in response to the growing number of people who believe that Trump’s actions cannot go unchallenged.
We’ve hired a group of digital organizers who have worked with activist groups, the White House, and Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign to help build and launch PeoplePower.org. With this platform, we hope to help organize the mass resistance to President Trump’s bankrupt policies. With a nationwide presence through our 50-plus state affiliates, the ACLU is well-positioned to take on the incredible responsibility of grassroots organizing coast to coast. This type of program is new for us at ACLU, but it is necessary if we are going to overcome the Trump administration’s attempts to curtail civil rights and eventually advance a 21st century civil liberties agenda.
On March 11, the ACLU will hold a “Resistance Training” town hall in Miami, Florida. An email ask went out today to the organization’s over 2.5 million members to organize thousands of grassroots events in communities across the country to watch the ACLU town hall. Full details on the training are forthcoming.
PeoplePower.org will use digital tools to communicate with and help train volunteers to resist President Trump’s unlawful policies across the country. The ACLU will promote ideas for action to defend sanctuary cities, resist deportation raids, oppose the Muslim Ban, maintain Planned Parenthood funding, and support other priorities. But the program will also seek to amplify organic, bottom-up grassroots actions. PeoplePower.org will be a one-stop hub for everyone looking to influence the national debate.
We ask you to join us as we build communities ready to resist Trump’s agenda and to protect our constitutional rights. The fight may not be easy, but it will be worth it.”
Suggested donation of $5 – $10 to support the Bureau. No one turned away for lack of funds.

Elska Magazine issue (10) Mumbai (India) - Launch Party
2017-03-09 19:00 - 21:00
Come celebrate the launch of the tenth edition of Elska Magazine, this time dedicated to Mumbai, India. Noticing how underrepresented South Asian men are in gay media, we were inspired to showcase the local boys and local stories from India’s biggest city. The founder of Elska Magazine, Liam Campbell, will be there to say a few words about Elska and talk about the experience of meeting and shooting men In India and around the world. Come hang out with us, ask questions, have a chat, maybe meet some boys… and pick up a copy of the latest issue. Free “Elska Mumbai” posters will be available to everyone who buys a copy from the Bureau on the night.
Featuring:
Liam Campbell – founder, editor, and chief photographer of Elska Magazine
Mark Blakey – assistant for the making of issue (07) Cardiff (Wales) and issue (08) Yokohama (Japan)

USS presents Kirwyn Sutherland
2017-03-07 18:30 - 21:30
Union Square Slam is thrilled to host a lively open mic, with none other than Philly’s own fantastic Kirwyn Sutherland!!
6:30pm: Free Writing Workshop
7:30pm: Sign-Ups and Socialize
8:00pm: Open Mic
9:00pm: Feature — Kirwyn Sutherland
// All Ages // Wheelchair Accessible //
Suggested Donation $3-$10
(all proceeds go to supporting the Bureau and sending USS reps to national events)
About our Feature:
Kirwyn Sutherland was inspired to write poetry while watching the HBO series Def Poetry Jam. Issues of racial discrimination, apartheid, and survival as a black man discussed in the poetry of Amiri Baraka, Craig muMs Grant, and Black Ice hit home for Kirwyn. Writing poetry became a vehicle for introspection, community building, connecting with people from diverse cultures, and healing. These early writings culminated in a chapbook, self- published March 2013, entitled X: A Mixtape. The majority of the proceeds from this book went to a $500 book scholarship (Delores Sutherland Scholarship) to a freshman student. Kirwyn’s second chapbook, published by Two Pens & Lint June 2014, entitled X: A Mixtape Re-mastered contained a combination of new and old poems on the topics of slavery, racial discrimination, mental health, and biological sciences. Kirwyn has featured at several open mic and slam venues in Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, DC, Delaware, and Detroit. Additionally, he was one of 5 poets to represent Philadelphia at the 2015 National Poetry Slam. The team made the Semi-finals of the competition (top 20 out of 72 teams). Kirwyn has participated in workshop/residencies at Cave Canem, Poet’s House, Pearlstein Art Gallery at Drexel University, Philadelphia Sculpture Gym, and Lincoln University. Kirwyn’s poetry has been published in Tobeco Literary Arts Journal, Drunkinamidnightchoir, APIARY magazine, and Public Pool. Kirwyn currently serves as editor-at-large of Public Pool and list editor at WusGood magazine.

Feminists Read Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, by Audre Lorde
2017-03-05 17:00 - 19:00
Join us to discuss Audre Lorde‘s autobiography/biomythography, ZAMI : A NEW SPELLING OF MY NAME (Freedom, CA: The Crossing Press, 1982). In the words of the feminist publication off our backs’ review (quoted on the cover of the book), “ZAMI is a fast-moving chronicle. From the author’s vivid childhood memories in Harlem to her coming of age in the late 50’s, the nature of Audre Lorde’s work is cyclical. It especially relates the linkage of women who have shaped her. … Lorde brings into play her craft of lush description and characterization. It keeps unfolding page after page.”

Please support the Bureau and purchase your copy of ZAMI: A NEW SPELLING OF MY NAME at the Bureau! Thanks!

Union Square Slam Presents: Lo Anderson!
2017-02-28 19:30 - 21:30
*Mark your calendars: the last Tuesday of every month will feature a local musical performer.*
The stunning Lo Anderson will be blessing USS with her down-to-earthy vibes and damn near angelic voice.
About our Show:
7:30pm: Sign-ups and Socialize
8:00pm: Open Mic (Music + Poetry Are Welcomed Here!)
8:45pm: Lo Anderson!
All Ages // Wheelchair Accessible
Open Mic // $5

FIGHT Harder: NYC Poets Organize In Trump Era
2017-02-25 16:00 - 18:00
I DONT WANT TO LOOK BACK AT THESE YEARS AND THINK
“I SHOULD HAVE FOUGHT HARDER.” NOW IS THE TIME TO STAND UP.
this event is a strategic planning meeting for poets in nyc who want to discuss and get ready for the year of literary activism ahead… that way we can be proactive about all the bullshit coming our way, as opposed to reactionary to it.
This event is being planned quickly / organically. Literary Presses that will be present for the discussion and promoting this event are:
Nepantla & Undocupoets
Drunken Boat
The Operating System
No, Dear
Brooklyn Arts Press
Women Writers in Bloom Poetry Salon
Sibling Rivalry Press
Noemi Press
Weird Sister
Kundiman
The Poets Settlement
Newfound
Union Square Slam
Let Christopher Soto know if you would like to add your press or organization to this list. All you need to do is help invite folks to the event page and have a representative present at the meeting.
—
Tenative Agenda:
– What social/governmental issues do we want addressed in the coming year
– What literary activist issues do we want addressed in the coming year
– What strategies for activism have we seen be successful?
-Where and how do we focus our energy?

Come Talk Some Moonlight! Meaning, Message, and Magic
2017-02-22 18:30 - 20:30
Join Urban+Out for an intimate community conversation on Moonlight! One of the most important and innovative LGBT films in years, Moonlight has sparked lots of feelings and thoughts- come share yours!
We will delve deeper into key themes and perspectives through our discussion and closer readings of the extraordinary writing it has inspired, from deeply personal pieces on masculinity, sexuality, race, and redemption, to poignant explorations of 1980s Miami, Afro-Cuban identity, and music. We are putting together an online Moonlight Reader of articles and invite you to select articles/themes to explore and share during our discussion.
URBAN+OUT supports professional development, community empowerment, and cultural and civic
engagement.
​
URBAN+OUT engages, empowers, and supports diverse LGBTQ professionals of color to connect with, invest in, and contribute to each other, and all the communities in which we live.

USS presents Nora Meiners and Open Slam #5
2017-02-21 18:30 - 21:30
It’s that time of the month again! Time for our second-to-last chance to qualify for Union Square Slam Finals! Time to attend a free writing workshop to tighten up that poem you’ve been working on! Time to get your head and heart back on straight, with a little help from the wicked smaht Nora Meiners!
6:30pm-7:30pm: Free Writing Workshop
7:30pm – 8pm: Sign Ups.
8pm: First round of Slam
8:45pm: Feature
9:10 second and third rounds of slam
$5 // All Ages // Wheelchair Accessible
About our Feature:
Nora Meiners is mostly all ears and maybe some words. Which is to say she wants to read/hear your poems most! She has competed as a member of the 2013 Boston Poetry Slam, 2014 Lizard Lounge Poetry Slam National teams, and performed as a showcase poet on finals stage for the 2016 Individual World Poetry Slam in Flagstaff. She lives in Cambridge, MA.
About our Slam:
::Union Square Slam National Team Competition::
There are six opportunities to compete for the Union Square Slam National Team. The top two winners of each Open Slam have secured their spot in Finals.
Each open slam will :
consist of up to 8 poet competitors
have a 3 min time limit for each round with a 10-second grace period
will go from 8 in the first round to 5 in the second round and 3 in the third round (this is subject to change depending on the number of competitors that night — see below)
be scored cumulatively — the winner of the night will have the highest cumulative score from all three rounds.
Union Square Slam Nationals Qualifiers (Open Slams) are on the following dates:
September 20th
October 18th
November 15th
January 17th
February 21st
March 21st
Union Square Slam National Team Selection Finals will be held on April 18th.
The National Poetry Slam will be held in Denver, CO August 7-12th, 2017. All proceeds and donations to Union Square Slam go directly to funding travel, lodging and registration fees for representatives of Union Square Slam at national events.
In order to represent Union Square Slam at any National Competition, you must meet the following requirements:
Be 18 years old or older
Be an active member of PSI at the time of competition (register at www.poetryslam.com you cover your annual registration fee of $20 — questions? Talk to Cecily or the current slam manager)
Read, sign, and adhere to the PSI Code of Conduct
Participate in at least one Specialty Slam during the 2016-7 season. Specialty Slams include WOWPS qualifiers, Nerd Slams, Petty Slams, Iron Poet Slams, etc.

Queer Collage Party
2017-02-19 15:00 - 18:00
The Queer Collage Party is back! This will be our fifth Queer Collage Party at the Bureau. We provide the glue sticks and scissors, you provide the pictures and paper/cardboard. Everyone who attends should bring at least one magazine or book or a bunch of pictures that you’ll contribute to the group. Each person can make their own collage(s), or team up with others! You can keep your own collage(s), but don’t expect to walk away with your magazine intact! The spirit here is fun and sharing. Attend for part or all of the afternoon. You are encouraged but not required to bring a little snack to share — chips, tangerines, grapes, hummus, whatever.
Suggested donation of $10 to benefit the Bureau. No one turned away for lack of funds.

TELL 31: Black History Month Edition: EVERYTHING
2017-02-18 19:00 - 21:30 | Online event, New York, NY, United States
TELL is an evening of story telling from the mouths and minds of queers in NYC hosted by Drae Campbell at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division since February 2014.
EVERYTHING is the theme of the thirty-first installment of TELL, the Black History Month Edition. Featuring Robin Cloud, Marcus Hicks, Meliq Karim, and Dorian S.!

$10 suggested donation – no one turned away for lack of funds

Drae Campbell is a writer, actor, director, story teller, dancer, and nightlife emcee. Drae has been featured on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and on stages all over NYC. Drae’s directing work has appeared in Iceland, NYC, Budapest and in the San Francisco Fringe Festival. The short film Drae wrote and starred in with Rebecca Drysdale, YOU MOVE ME won the Audience Award for Outstanding Narrative Short at OUTFEST 2010 and has been shown in festivals globally. Drae won the grand prize at the first annual San Miguel De Allende Storytelling Festival in Mexico. She once reigned as Miss LEZ and also got dubbed “the next lezzie comedian on the block” by AfterEllen.com for her comedic stylings on the interwebs. Campbell hosts and curates a monthly queer storytelling show called TELL at BGSQD. Check her out online! www.draecampbell.com.

Robin Cloud is a New York City-based TV host, comedian, and writer. She is the host of BK Live, a daily show that showcases Brooklyn’s art, culture, and political scenes. She has been featured in Diva Magazine, GO magazine’s “Top 100 Women We Love,” Time Out New York’s “Quote of the Week”, and the Washington Post. Her festival appearances include the Women in Comedy, Ohio Lesbian, Fresh Fruit, Emerging Artists, and Hot! Festivals. Frequently booked to be the Master of Ceremonies, she is proud to have teamed up with fantastic artists and organizations such as the Hetrick-Martin Institute, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, NYC Pride, Mr. Murray Hill, Toshi Reagon, Doria Roberts and many more!As a college speaker, Robin tours the country with her talk “Accept Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself” which aims to inspire audiences to transform their fears into acts of courage. She is thrilled to be represented by OUTmedia and The Contemporary Issues Agency.

Marcus Hicks is a Brooklyn based designer, tailor and humorist. Born and raised in Bakersfield, CA, Hicks studied Black Studies at San Francisco State University before moving to New York to start a career in fashion.

Meliq Karim or ‘Mel August’ is a black, Afro-Caribbean, bigender photographer and activist. They currently attend St. John’s University and study sociology and photography. Their main points of interest lie in black trans and queer activism, Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Latinix visibility, and photographing the Pan-African Diaspora in and around NYC.

Dorian S. is an ex suburban teen who spends most of his time teaching yoga, reading, playing with cats, commuting, pondering US health care, and making playlists. He has always loved a good story and is just happy to be (here).”

Fire!! and the Young Rebels of the Harlem Renaissance
2017-02-17 19:00 - 21:30
Join longtime activist, scholar of African American studies, and friend of the Bureau James Wright for a discussion of FIRE!! and the Young Rebels of the Harlem Renaissance.

In 1926, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Wallace Thurman, Aaron Douglas, Richard Bruce Nugent, Gwendolyn Bennett, and John P. Davis created the first and only issue of the black literary journal FIRE!!, which included Nugent’s explicitly gay poem “Smoke, Lilies and Jade.” Wright will discuss FIRE!! in the context of the Harlem Renaissance, and we will screen Brother to Brother (2005, written and directed by Rodney Evans, 90 minutes), a dramatic film about the life and times of Bruce Nugent.

James Wright has organized events at the Bureau exploring the lives and works of James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry. Refreshments will be served and materials relating to FIRE!! and Bruce Nugent will be distributed at the event.

CopWatch/HateWatch Training
2017-02-16 19:00 - 21:00
CopWatch is an effective and legal tool for empowering communities, ending police misconduct, unprofessional behavior, and discrimination. You have the right to observe and record all police activities in public places. Learn how to exercise your rights safely and legally. Workshop will be taught by comedian and activist Elsa Waithe. Suggested donation of $5 to $10, but no one will be turned away.

Spread the word!!!

“What to do if you’re stopped by the police”: a handy guide from the New York Civil Liberties Union. Print it out. Share it widely. Keep it with you. And you can find other “know your rights” cards (in English and Spanish) here.

USS Presents the Joy Slam Fundraiser Featuring Taylor Steele
2017-02-14 18:30 - 21:30
This Valentine’s Day, we’ve got a special night of poems for you!
6:30pm-7:30pm: Free Writing Workshop with I.S. Jones
7:30-8pm: Sign-ups and Socialize
8pm-8:30pm: Joy Slam sign-ups (sign up limited to 6)
8:30pm-9:30pm: Feature: Taylor Steele
All ages // Wheelchair Accessible // $5
About the Slam:
5 poets / 3 rounds / 3 minutes per poem
Theme on Joy:
There is a lot we have to mourn: the direction our country is heading, heartbreak, capitalism, lost edges, not being Rihanna enough, shitty bosses, etc etc etc.
Tonight, let’s honor our love/hurt/grief/peace. Let’s celebrate life.
ABOUT THE FEATURE:
Taylor Steele is a Bronx-born, Brooklyn-based writer and performer. Her work can be found at such esteemed publications as Apogee Journal, Drunk in a Midnight Choir, Rogue Agent, Blackberry: a Magazine, and more. Her chapbook “Dirty.Mouth.Kiss” is available on Pizza Pi Press. Taylor has written for The Body is Not an Apology and Drunken Boat Journal and is a content writer for Philadelphia Printworks. An internationally ranked spoken word artist, she has been featured by Huffington Post, Brooklyn Poets, Button Poetry and is a 2016 Pushcart Nominee. Most importantly, Taylor is a triple-Taurus who believes in the power of art to change, shape, and heal.

A Thin Bright Line: A Conversation About Queer Historical Fiction
2017-02-12 17:00 - 19:00
Lucy Jane Bledsoe (A THIN BRIGHT LINE) and Sarah Schulman (THE COSMOPOLITANS) will converse about their queer historical novels. Bledsoe’s novel tells the true story of her aunt and namesake, a woman who, as a lesbian, worked at a highly classified government job during the McCarthy Era and Civil Rights Movement. Schulman’s novel takes place in 1950s Greenwich Village and spins the complex friendship between a black, gay actor and a white secretary.

Praise for A Thin Bright Line:
“Gripping historical fiction.” – Alison Bechdel
“An engaging and moving novel about an unforgettable character.” – Rabih Alameddine
“Poignant in both its conception and execution.” – Lillian Faderman
“Literary page-turner.” – Patrick Ryan
“In this ingenious hybrid of fact and fiction, a fine novelist uses her storytelling skills to recover the lost life of a favorite aunt.” – Christopher Bram
“It triumphs as an intimate and humane evocation of day-to-day life under inhumane circumstances.” – New York Times Book Review

“Gripping historical fiction about queer life at the height of the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement.” – Alison Bechdel

“A stirring and deeply felt story.” – Kirkus Reviews

“Empowering and bold…Bledsoe injects life and dimension through her often stunning dialogue. With heart and zest, the author depicts Lucybelle’s slice of life as both pleasant and harrowing.” – Publishers Weekly

“Bledsoe’s novel is an absolute wonder. Combining a McCullers-like facility in letting her settings tell half the story with characterization and dialogue worthy of Harper Lee, Bledsoe dives deep into the life of her protagonist…A Thin Bright Linewill help widen the metaphorical crack in the chains that bind those who are outside of societal norms.” – New York Journal of Books

“Berkeley author Lucy Jane Bledsoe shows the sexy side of the 1950s in her new novel, A Thin Bright Line.” – San Francisco Chronicle

SISSY THAT SHOP: a really queer pop up gigarama
2017-02-11 13:00 - 19:00
5 creative and independent artisan makers of New York City come together to represent their unique brands of clothing, jewelry, zines and more!

On the roster we’ll have clothing by Tyler Wallach Studio, custom lighters by THE CLOUT CLUB, jewelry and jocks by Ten Yards Clothing and ZINES by Raw Meat.

CopWatch/HateWatch Training
2017-02-10 19:00 - 21:00
CopWatch is an effective and legal tool for empowering communities, ending police misconduct, unprofessional behavior, and discrimination. You have the right to observe and record all police activities in public places. Learn how to exercise your rights safely and legally. Workshop will be taught by comedian and activist Elsa Waithe. Suggested donation of $5 to $10, but no one will be turned away. The Bureau will host another CopWatch training on Thursday, February 16th, at 7 PM. Spread the word!!!

USS presents Regional!! Slam!! Off!
2017-02-07 18:30 - 21:30
Time for a regional slam off! Come see and hear some of the best poets in the region duke it out for their team! Heartache! Glory! All the Feels! Hosted by none other than Justin Woo! Free writing workshop and limited open mic beforehand — see y’all there!
6:30pm-7:30pm: Free Writing Workshop
7:30-8pm: Sign-ups and Socialize
8pm-8:30pm Open Mic (limit to 5 poets, 3 minutes each)
8:30pm-9:30pm: Regional Slam Off
UNION SQUARE:
Kearah Armonie!!
Patrick Roche!!
Taylor Steele!!
Cecily Schuler!!
JERSEY CITY:
Rashad Wright!!
Chris Rodriguez!!
Ann Marie Manso!!
Sean Aliño!!
ADVANCED:
Eric Alter!!
Nick Yuk!!
Jessica “Morningstar” Kratz!!
Thomas Fucaloro!!
ROC SLAM:
Bryan Roessel!!
Nick Nappo!!
Joseph Quiroz!!

Opening reception for Steady Mess: Works from the 2016 Fire Island Artist Residency
2017-02-03 18:00 - 21:00
Each year, the Fire Island Artist Residency receives over 400 applications to its free one month LGBTQ exclusive artist residency in Cherry Grove, on Fire Island. The five artists chosen for FIAR live and work in rental properties that become their studios, kitchens, and social spaces. While in residence, they are visited by celebrated figures in contemporary art who act as mentors. Chosen by the five 2016 artists themselves, the title of our show, Steady Mess, refers to rustic living quarters and studio spaces, as well as Cherry Grove’s own special funky charms. Much of the work on display was conceived or completed during the residency, and a beach vibe permeates many of the works on display.
Featuring works by the 2016 FIAR residents: Wilder Alison, Paolo Arao, Edie Fake, Jesse Harrod, and Derrick Woods-Morrow.
Now in our seventh year, Fire Island Artist Residency (FIAR) is an organization founded in 2011 which brings gay, bisexual, transgender and queer identifying artists to Fire Island, a place long-steeped in LGBTQ history, to create, commune, and contribute to the location’s rich legacy. FIAR is the first and only visual arts residency exclusively for LGBTQ emerging artists.
Steady Mess will remain on view at the Bureau from Friday, February 3, through Sunday, March 26.

Launch party for LGBTQ STATS by David Deschamps and Bennett Singer
2017-02-02 19:00 - 21:00
Join authors David Deschamps and Bennett Singer as they celebrate the launch of LGBTQ Stats: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer People by the Numbers. This “astounding handbook” (Booklist, starred review) chronicles the ongoing LGBTQ revolution, presenting more than 1,000 facts and figures about LGBTQ people at home, at work, at school, and at play. Professor M.V. Lee Badgett calls the book “the most comprehensive portrait of LGBTQ people around,” while activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Mandy Carter describes it as “essential reading for everyone committed to social justice.”

Deschamps and Singer will discuss how this book differs from the first edition, which they co-authored in 1994; the event will also feature an interactive quiz highlighting the most eye-opening stats that the authors unearthed during the year they spent researching this project.

Refreshments will be served. Learn more at www.lgbtqstats.org.

David Deschamps is co-author (with Bennett Singer) of Gay & Lesbian Stats, the acclaimed first edition of this book. He conceived and co-directed the award-winning PBS documentary Electoral Dysfunction, hosted by political humorist Mo Rocca, and co-directed four videos on voting for the New York Times Op-Docs series. Deschamps and Singer have been partners since 1987 and were married in 2012; they live in Brooklyn.

Bennett Singer is the editor of Growing Up Gay/Growing Up Lesbian (a Lambda Literary Award finalist) and 42 UP (both published by The New Press). He co-directed Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin, a feature-length documentary that premiered at Sundance and won more than 20 international awards, including the GLAAD Media Award. Singer served for eight years as executive editor of the education program at Time magazine and has written curriculum materials for WGBH, HBO, and Teaching Tolerance.

Union Square Slam Presents: Christopher Lilley!
2017-01-31 19:00 - 21:30
*Mark your calendars: the last Tuesday of every month will feature a local musical performer.*
We’ve got quite the treat for y’all. Christopher Lilley, the phenom, will be bringing us light and good vibes with his musical magic.
About our Show:
7:30pm: Sign-ups and Socialize
8:00pm: Open Mic (Music + Poetry Are Welcomed Here!)
8:45pm: Chris Lilley!
All Ages // Wheelchair Accessible
Open Mic // $5
About our Feature:
Christopher Lilley, a New York native, is a poet, spoken word artist, a singer and multi-instrumentalist, and a teaching artist.
Chris has had the privilege of collaborating with Jasmine Mans and Rudy Fransisco, and has performed in several famed spaces such as the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and the Bowery Poetry Club, as well as in venues across the country. A graduate of Manhattan School of Music with his Master’s degree, he seeks to fuse music and poetry to create well rounded and engaging stories. These stories are used to begin community dialogues on topics that have been labeled as taboo or shameful, with a focus on bringing mental health awareness to black, Christian, and otherwise marginalized communities.
For more of Chris and his work, visit him @clilleypoetry on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
And over at Clilleypoetry.com

10th Anniversary Celebration of A Midsummer Night's Press
2017-01-27 19:00 - 21:00
Please join us to celebrate ten years of publishing poetry from A Midsummer Night’s Press.
Since the press’ beginnings in 2007, it has championed LGBT voices with its Body Language imprint, later adding the Sapphic Classics series (co-published with Sinister Wisdom) which reprints iconic lesbian feminist texts with new introductions and afterwords, making them available to a new generation of readers.

Authors published in Body Language include: Achy Obejas, Brane Mozetic, Julie R. Enszer, Raymond Luczak, Roz Kaveney, David Bergman, Lawrence Schimel, Michael Broder, Julie Marie Wade, and Rigoberto González.

Authors published in Sapphic Classics include: Minnie Bruce Pratt, Cheryl Clarke, elana dykewomon, and Pat Parker.
The press also publishes poetry in translation by women writers under the Periscope imprint, featuring poets from Estonia, Slovenia, Spain and Lithuania so far, and mythic poetry under the Fabula Rasa imprint, which has published authors like Rachel Pollack, Francesca Lia Block, and Jane Yolen, among others.

All of A Midsummer Night’s Press’ titles will be available at the Bureau.
Reception at 7pm, Readings at 7:30pm.
Readers:

David Bergman

Michael Broder

Cheryl Clarke

Rachel Pollack

Lawrence Schimel

Julie Marie Wade

David Bergman is the author of four books of poetry: Fortunate Light (A Midsummer Night’s Press), Heroic Measures, The Care and Treatment of Pain, and Cracking the Code. He is poetry editor of The Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide. He is winner of the Lambda Literary Prize as the editor of Men on Men 2000. He has published two studies, The Violet Hour: The Violet Quill and the Making of Gay Culture and Gaiety Transfigured: Gay Self-Representation in American Literature. Educated at Kenyon College and The Johns Hopkins University, where he earned a Ph.D., he is a professor of English at Towson University. He lives in Baltimore with his partner of many years, John Lessner.

Michael Broder is the author of the poetry collections This Life Now (A Midsummer Night’s Press, a finalist for the 2015 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry) and Drug & Disease Free (Indolent Books). He holds a BA from Columbia University, an MFA from New York University, and a PhD in Classics from The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the founding publisher of Indolent Books and the creator of the HIV Here & Now Project. He lives in Brooklyn with his husband, the poet Jason Schneiderman, and a backyard colony of stray and feral cats.

Cheryl Clarke is a poet, essayist, scholar and activist. She is the author of the poetry collections: By My Precise Haircut, Experimental Love, Humid Pitch, Living as a Lesbian (reprinted by Sapphic Classics), and Narratives: Poems in the Tradition of Black Women. She is also the author of the study After Mecca: Women Poets and the Black Arts Movement as well as the volume of her selected works The Days of Good Looks: Prose and Poetry, 1980-2005. She lives with her partner in Jersey City, NJ and Hobart, NY.

Rachel Pollack is an author (poetry, fiction, and non-fiction) and an authority on the modern interpretation of Tarot cards. Her novel Godmother Night won the World Fantasy Award and her novel Unquenchable Fire won the Arthur C. Clarke Award. Some of her non-fiction works include 78 Degrees of Wisdom and The Body of the Goddess. She is also the creator of The Shining Tribe Tarot, which she wrote and illustrated herself, and teaches in the MFA program at Goddard College. A Midsummer Night’s Press published her first collection of poetry, Fortune’s Lover: A Book of Tarot Poems.

Lawrence Schimel writes in both Spanish and English and has published over 100 books as author or anthologist, in many different genres. He has won the Lambda Literary Award twice, for PoMoSexuals: Challenging Assumptions About Gender and Sexuality (with Carol Queen) and First Person Queer (with Richard Labonté), in addition to numerous other awards. He is the publisher of A Midsummer Night’s Press, which has also published his collections Fairy Tales for Writers and Deleted Names. He is also a prolific literary translator.

Julie Marie Wade is the award-winning author of the poetry collections When I Was Straight (A Midsummer Night’s Press), SIX, Postage Due and Without, as well as the prose works Wishbone: A Memoir in Fractures (winner of the Lambda Literary Award in Lesbian Memoir), Small Fires: Essays, Tremolo: An Essay, and Catechism: A Love Story, in addition to a forthcoming collection co-written with Denise Duhamel. She teaches in the creative writing program at Florida International University and lives in the Sunshine State with her wife Angie Griffin.

Love Positive Women Valentine Pop-up Exhibition
2017-01-26 18:30 - 20:30
Opening Reception with reflections:
Thursday, January 26, 6:30–8:30 PM
Exhibition Hours:
Thursday, January 26 – Sunday, January 29, 2017, 1 PM–7 PM

For LOVE POSITIVE WOMEN 2017, artists, activists and HIV+ women will come together at Dieu Donné’s paper making studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard to create hundreds of unique handmade paper valentines which will be mailed to women living with HIV around the world. Visual AIDS, the Fire Island Artist Residency, Dieu Donné and the International Community of Women Living With HIV (ICW) are hosting three papermaking valentine workshops on January 18 to show their love and support for women living with HIV internationally. The LOVE POSITIVE WOMEN Valentine Pop-up Exhibition at the Bureau of General Services Queer Division will display a selection of the valentines, and directly after the reception, these artworks will be mailed to women internationally and will arrive for Valentine’s Day.
Women living with HIV as well as invited artists—including Chitra Ganesh, Carrie Moyer, Marlene McCarty, Travis Boyer, Jesse Harrod, Jarrod Beck, Pamela Sneed, Natalie Frank, and many others—will make paper valentines for women living with HIV around the world. The valentines will be mailed with personalized messages as a gesture of love and support in the hopes of lessening the stigma experienced by women living with HIV.
LOVE POSITIVE WOMEN is an ongoing project established by Visual AIDS artist member Jessica Whitbread in 2013. “Why not do something nice for the women most forgotten about?” says Whitbread. “Taking the time to do something for someone else is really beneficial to society as a whole. Don’t underestimate the value in something as simple as sending a valentine to a stranger.”
LOVE POSITIVE WOMEN (LPW) is an international series of grassroots events that uses Valentines Day as a backdrop, creating a platform for individuals and communities to engage in public and private acts of love and caring for women living with HIV. Working from a place of strength, LPW focuses on the idea of interconnectedness, relationship building, loving oneself and loving ones’ community.
Women living with HIV can sign up to receive a valentine by sending their name and mailing address to: lovepositivewomen@gmail.com

USS presents: Muggs Fogarty and New! Shit! Slam!
2017-01-24 18:30 - 21:30
Oh Hey There, USSers!! We know you’ve been all holed up behind all this snow doing nothing else but writing all about your feelings and impending doom — time to see what kinda chops those freewrites have! Come join us for a New! Shit! Slam! AND LEST WE NOT FORGET, MUGGS MOTHERFUCKIN FOGARTY will be in house coming for your heart’s throat, so just BE PREPARED.
* * * * * * PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW START TIME * * * * * *
6:30pm: Writing Workshop (FREE!!)
7:30pm: Sign-Ups and Socialize
7:55pm: Slam Draw
8:00pm: Slam, Round One; Feature; Slam, Round 2
Bureau of General Services — Queer Division
208 W 13th St, #210
NY, NY 10010
(btw 7th and 8th Aves W)
$5 // All Ages // Wheelchair Accessible
About our Feature:
Muggs Fogarty is a genderqueer poet and teaching artist from Providence, Rhode Island. Muggs’ work addresses identity and lived experience, with a focus on intersectionality. A former Brave New Voices finalist, Muggs’ unique poetry and stunning performance has left audiences breathless from Providence to San Jose. After graduating from The New School in 2013 with a degree in creative writing, Muggs has been serving the youth of Rhode Island as a writing instructor at the award-winning youth advocacy group, New Urban Arts, and also as head coach of the Providence National Youth Slam Team. Muggs has become one of the most respected voices for queer rights and identity issues within the performance poetry community, and their work has received tens of thousands of views via Button Poetry, the largest spoken word platform in the world. Muggs is working currently as the co-director of the Providence Poetry Slam, and as a teaching artist with CityArts. Their published work can be found in FreezeRay, Wicked Banshee, Bluestockings Magazine, among others.
About our Slam:
New Shit Slam is a triple-dog-dare to push ourselves as artists and to use the mic as an aural and community-based editing tool. Fashioned after Tatyana Browne’s Lit Slam, judges will act as editors: they will not only score the poem on a scale of 0.0-10.0, but also make quick first impression notes based on originality, content, and performance, that will be handed back to the poet as feedback. (Don’t worry, judges! It’s anonymous! But do keep it to a loving objective criticism) Audience members are also encouraged to approach the poets afterwards with their own feedback and responses after the show.
New Shit is defined by having never touched a USS mic — the one exception is if the work has been heavily edited (over 50% new)
8 poets, 2 rounds, 4 minute time limit, no elimination
All poets read in both rounds. Order is determined/drawn before the show
(Participation in at least one Theme Slam (New Shit, WOWPS or Capturing Fire Qualifier, etc) is required for you to compete in Finals. You do not have to win a Theme Slam in order to compete in Finals)

Book Release Reading for SLABS by Brittany Billmeyer-Finn
2017-01-22 18:00 - 20:00
We’re having a reading / a showing / a sharing to present Timeless, Infinite Light’s newest release with you: SLABS by Brittany Billmeyer-Finn.
Slabs is a collection of poetry dealing in and out of the body through various sites including; home, memory, books, and ritual. It is a meditation on self care, sexuality, and identity through a dis/embodied subject in the water, the home, and in the streets. It is a collection of tender sincerities and queer awakening.
PERFORMERS:
// Brittany Billmeyer-Finn //
// Ariel Goldberg //
// Trace Peterson //
// Phyllis Ma //

Bureau of General Services—Queer Division
Sunday Jan 22
Doors 5:30
Event 6-PM
10$ suggested donation // NOTAFLOF
TIMELESS INFINITE LIGHT is an oakland-based small press that publishes poetry and environs, with a heavy, west-coast lean towards the experimental/political/mystical. Sometimes our books look like books, and sometimes they don’t. Join us step into the lifestream fuck the police.
