BGSQD

Benjamin Fredrickson in Conversation with Hunter O'Hanian
2016-02-18 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | NY
In conjunction with the Bureau’s exhibition Benjamin Fredrickson: Salon, the Bureau hosts a conversation between Benjamin Fredrickson and Hunter O’Hanian, Director of the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art.
Benjamin Fredrickson: Salon organized by Daniel Cooney Fine Art. On view at the Bureau January 20 – March 20, 2016.
Suggested donation of $5 to benefit the Bureau.
No one turned away for lack of funds.

Image: Benjamin Fredrickson. EJ Sleeping, 2015, 10 x 8” Gelatin silver print from paper negative. Edition # 1/3.

Radicals Reading Series | New York
2016-02-17 19:00 - 21:30 | NY
Radicals | New York features some of today’s leading LGBTQ activists, educators and commentators. From gay history and identity to awareness and sexual health, Radicals honors those who strive to make a difference through their work, provoking thought and demanding change. Featuring legendary writer and activist Larry Kramer, along with writer and editor, J. Bryan Lowder, and educator Damon Jacobs.

Larry Kramer is a distinguished American playwright and LGBT rights activist. He has won an Oscar nomination, two Obie Awards, the American Academy of Arts Award in Literature, and is a Pulitzer Award finalist. He also won two Tonys and an Emmy for the TV movie, The Normal Heart. As one of the most dynamic and influential forces for political activism, gay rights, public health policy, and AIDS-awareness, Larry is a widely-recognizable and remarkable speaker on these crucial issues.

Larry is renowned for both his literary achievements and political activism. At the root of both is his life-long commitment to criticizing and correcting gay apathy and government and social indifference to AIDS. He is a founder of Gay Men’s Health Crisis, an AIDS service organization, and ACT UP, a widely effective direct action AIDS advocacy group. Larry’s most acclaimed plays include The Normal Heart (1985) and the Pulitzer Prize-finalist The Destiny of Me (1992). His screenplay for Women in Love was nominated for an Academy Award in 1969. He is also well-known for his influential novel Faggots (1978), a confrontational portrayal of gay culture, and his critical essay about the AIDS crisis, “1,112 and Counting” (1983).

Larry has also written the plays Sissie’s Scrapbook, A Minor Dark Age, and Just Say No, A Play about Farce. His other books are The Tragedy of Today’s Gays and Reports From the Holocaust: The Story of an AIDS Activist.

The recent Broadway revival of The Normal Heart was nominated for five Tonys and won three, including Best Play. The film version stars Mark Ruffalo and Julia Roberts and premiered in May 2014.

Larry earned his B.A. in English from Yale University. They have also awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. For the past three decades he has been researching American history and the cause of AIDS/HIVS for his novel The American People—the first volume was released in April 2015. He lives in New York City.

***

J. Bryan Lowder is an Associate Editor at Slate, where he has written and edited since 2011. He co-founded the magazine’s award-winning LGBTQ vertical, Outward, in 2013, which he continues to edit and write for regularly. Beyond the queer beat, he frequently contributes elsewhere in Slate, particularly to the culture and lifestyle sections, as well as to the magazine’s podcast, video, and live event operations. Lowder is a graduate of New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, where he focused on cultural reporting and criticism. He lives in Harlem with his partner Charles McDonald and their cats Pieces and Suite—named for the two best gay bars in New York.

***

Damon L. Jacobs is a New York based Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and HIV prevention specialist who focuses his work on health, social justice, and pleasure. He is best known for championing the use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) through his work in media including MSNBC, NPR, Vice TV, Here! TV, as well as New York Times, USA Today, Out Magazine, and many more.

He is featured as one of 35 “Leading HIV Activists” by The Advocate Magazine, and one of the Twelve “Influential Voices in HIV/AIDS for 2015” by Healthline Magazine. Damon recently spoke at The 2015 CDC National HIV Prevention Conference, The 2015 International AIDS Society Conference (IAS), The 2015 Annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), 2014 Funders Concerned About AIDS (FCAA) [Part 18:20-38:40], 5th Annual NYS Transgender Health Conference, 2015 European AIDS Treatment Group Conference, Albany Medical Center, Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), New York University (NYU) as well New York State Health Department Of Health (NYS DOH) Trainings.

Union Square Slam present JOSE' OLIVAREZ and our LOVE AND HEARTBREAK THEME SLAM
2016-02-15 19:00 - 21:30 | NY
Oh. It’s that time of year again. That time when no matter who you are, you got something to say about Love. Welp. Let’s hear it!! Join us for an incredible feature by Chicago’s own literary badass, José Olivarez, and our Love and Heartbreak Theme Slam!!
COMPETING POETS, TAKE NOTE: THIS IS THE LAST THEME SLAM BEFORE THE IRON POET SLAM ON APRIL 26TH. IF YOU HAVEN’T COMPETED IN A THEME SLAM YET AND WANT TO GO FOR TEAM, THIS IS YOUR SECOND TO LAST CHANCE TO DO SO.
6:00pm: Free Poetry Workshop with Sara Emily Kuntz
7:00pm: Sign ups for Open Mic and Slam
7:30pm: Open Mic
8:00pm: Feature
8:30pm: Poetry Slam
About our Feature:
José Olivarez is the co-author of the book of poems Home Court. He is a graduate of Harvard University and the Program Director at Urban Word NYC. A winner of a 2015 Bronx Recognizes Its Own award from the Bronx Council on the Arts, his work has been published in The BreakBeat Poets, Vinyl Poetry and Prose, The Acentos Review, Specter Magazine, Union Station Magazine, among other places. His work has also been featured on Yahoo’s Ball Don’t Lie basketball blog, Chicago Public Radio, and on Mass Poetry’s PoeTry on the T program. He is from Calumet City, IL, and he lives in the Bronx. You can purchase Home Court at https://homecourtpoems.tumblr.com/purchase & follow him on social media at @jayohessee.
About our Slam:
Bust out your sexy erotica, your heartfelt odes, your viled and anguished break-up lines.
::THEME SLAMS::
We have a variety of Theme Slams, meant to introduce different artistic elements, challenges, and inspiration to our work. Points will be recorded for the sake of naming a “winner”, however, these points do not count towards your total score for the quarter. Your participation in one Theme slam meets your requirement for Final Stage Participation. All theme slams will take up to 8 competitors, and will be ranked in an 8-5-3 cumulative fashion. Each round has a 3 min time limit unless otherwise stated.
All slammers who are competing to represent Union Square Slam nationally in 2016 and beyond, at either IWPS, WOWPS, or as part of the Union Square Slam Nationals Team, MUST participate in BOTH a New Shit Slam and a Theme Slam at any point during the slam season. (9/14/15 – 4/28/15). You may compete in any or all of these slams, whether or not you intend to go out for the team, however, preference may be given to competitors that have qualified for Semis or Finals.

Love Songs from the Closet - Valentine's Eve Poetry and Dance - Poet Brad Vogel accompanied by dancer Mariusz Kujawksi
2016-02-13 07:00 - 21:30 | NY
Whether you’re partnered, single or in some kind of mingle, join poet Brad Vogel as he reads from his poetry book, Broad Meadow Bird, with a focus on the series “Love Songs from the Closet” – taking on unrequited love, sublimated desire and both the perils and conquering of the closet. Dancer Mariusz Kujawksi will accompany and interpret a number of the poems.
Suggested donation of $5 to benefit the Bureau.
No one turned away for lack of funds.
Poet Brad Vogel recently debuted Broad Meadow Bird, his collection covering poetry from the past 15 years. Born in Wisconsin, Vogel lived and worked in post-Katrina New Orleans. He and his boyfriend Suresh live in New York City.

Mariusz Kujawski – A dancer and model, Mariusz was born in Poland and grew up in Iceland.

Bi Book Club discusses The Lunatic, the Lover, and the Poet by Myrlin A. Hermes
2016-02-11 18:30 - 20:00 | NY
The Bi Book Club meets on the second Thursday of each month to discuss bi-themed books and the issues they raise.
Dinner after nearby (so far, we always go to Village Den.)
On February 11, The Bi Book Club will discuss:
The Lunatic, the Lover, and the Poet by Myrlin A. Hermes
Shakespeare turned topsy turvy: a clever bisexual mashup between a sexy young Hamlet and characters from the sonnets. Very readable–no olde English. Note: The Sonnets, and Shakespeare, were bisexual.
Pick out some phrases, paragraphs or scenes that you’d like to discuss, give us your critique of the book: what worked, what didn’t, how was bisexuality represented? If you haven’t had the chance to read the book, come anyway because we read passages aloud for discussion. As usual, we’ll also be using the text as a jumping off point to further discussion of bisexual issues and personal experiences.
Suggested donation of $5 to benefit the Bureau. No one turned away for lack of funds.
RSVP on meetup.com (not required)

20Something Monthly Manhattan Meetup
2016-02-10 20:00 - 21:30 | NY
If you are new to the city, recently out, just looking for friends, or whatever experiences brought you to us – we offer a safe space where we can mingle and talk about our experiences as an LGBT person in New York City. We hold our meetings on the second Wednesday of every month from 8-10 PM at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division. We recommend this 20Something Meetup to anyone who is looking for a more casual space to explore their sexual/gender identity. There will be light refreshments. Bring friends!
Suggested donation of $5 to benefit the Bureau and 20Something. No one turned away for lack of funds.
20Something is the largest social events organization for young lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in New York City, aged 21 to 30. We hold a monthly social, and two monthly icebreaker/discussion groups at the Brooklyn Pride Center and at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, the queer cultural center and bookstore on the second floor of The LGBT Community Center, in Manhattan. With more than 2,500 members, we engage young adults across all 5 boroughs with a safe, confidential, and respectful platform to meet other LGBT folk. Many of our members have made long lasting friendships, relationships, and have been connected to important LGBT services and resources. Whether you are new to the city, recently out, or just looking to make friends – 20Something offers a space for you to pave the way to your own adventures in New York City – and make living here a little easier. Become a member: meetup.com/20SomethingNYC

Union Square Slam presents SAVON BARTLEY and Open 2.6 (NEW SHIT SLAM)
2016-02-08 19:00 - 21:30 | NY
We are thrilled to host internationally-ranked poet, Savon Bartley and our last open slam of this quarter!!
It’s also a NEW SHIT SLAM, so bring your freshest!!
(New Shit slams are open to anyone, however, if you are going out for the Nationals Team, you need to compete in at least one New Shit Slam at some point before Finals in May. New Shit is defined as anything that has not been heard on a Union Square mic, the exception being that it has been over 50% edited)
(Please note: the Bureau is closed on Mondays. We open at 6 PM on Mondays for the Union Square Slam.)
6:00pm: Free Poetry Workshop, hosted by Sara Emily Kuntz
7:00pm: Sign-ups
7:30pm: Open Mic
8:00pm: Feature
8:30pm: Slam
$5 // All Ages
About our Feature:
Savon Bartley is a North Chicago born poet, writer, and Oreo cookie connoisseur. Known for his lyricism and ability to command a crowd he has worked with HBO Def Poets, United Nation Officials, Grammy, Oscar, Tony, and Emmy award winners. Savon’s work is a reflection of his experiences with identity, mental illness, social justice, and what it means to be a man that’s better than his father. Having represented New York and New Jersey on the international poetry slam level multiple times, placing 3rd in the world in 2013, his work has captured the attention and hearts of many. Savon, who has been featured at The Apollo Theater, Auditorium Theater, and The United Nations General Assembly, has been published in Slate Magazine and was the youngest coach at the 2015 National Poetry Slam.

About our Slam:
::Union Square Slam National Team Competition::
There are 3 quarters of competitive poetry slam, each culminating in a Semifinal. Each quarter consists of six open slams (one or more of which is a New Shit slam — competition in New Shit slams counts towards your total points!)
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.
At the end of each quarter, the poets with the 8 highest cumulative scores FOR THE QUARTER, are invited to compete in Semifinals. If a qualified poet opts out, then the next highest ranking poet qualifies. Semifinals are run using the same rules as the Open Slams. The top two highest ranked poets in each Semifinals bout will advance to Finals Stage, along with the top two winners of the Last Chance slam.
Last Chance Slam will be INVITATIONAL only to include the top 8 poets who have the highest cumulative scores over the entire season/all three quarters, but who didn’t not otherwise qualify for FINALS.

RuPaul's Drag Race Mad Libs Launch
2016-02-06 19:00 - 21:00 | NY
Come play Mad Libs with the authors of RuPaul’s Drag Race Mad Libs!

DRAG QUEEN UPDATE!!!! WE WILL BE JOINED SATURDAY BY JIGGLY CALIENTE (Season 4) & VIVACIOUS (Season 6)!
ALSO THE SMART AND HILARIOUS ARIEL ITALIC FROM THE NOBODIES WILL BE ON HAND TO DO A MAD LIBS!!!

Authors of RuPaul’s Drag Mad Libs, Karl Marks and Nico Medina celebrate the publication of the fiercest Mad Libs in herstory. Appearing in their drag alter egos, the authors will invite local drag queens and audience members on stage to complete Mad Libs stories from the book.

Suggested donation of $5 to benefit the Bureau. No one turned away for lack of funds.

RuPaul’s Drag Mad Libs is based on the hit reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race!

You’ll want to run—in heels—to pick up your copy of RuPaul’s Drag Race Mad Libs. Fans can relive their favorite moments from this fierce reality show by playing the 21 stories included in this book. Work!

February Moon Show in Manhattan
2016-02-05 19:00 - 22:00 | NY
The Moon Show is excited to be expanding its series to the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division in Manhattan which is wheel chair accessible!
Starting at 7 pm
Featuring:
Valerie Brooks, poetry
Maxine Montilus, dance
Sunny Wilder, poetry
Noia Isaiah, music
Kiki Williams, performance
Frances Damian Arpaia, film
The Moon Show is a queer, trans, anti-racist, intersectional feminist performance series.
We will be asking for a $5-15 suggested donation for the performers. No one will be made to feel unwelcome for lack of funds. There are plenty of chairs for everyone to sit.
https://ourmoonshow.tumblr.com/

NYC Revolutionary Feminism Study Group
2016-02-04 19:00 - 21:30 | NY
Join us for week 14 of the Fall-Winter 2015/2016 NYC reading group of Revolutionary Feminism: Communist Interventions, vol. III, a reader from the Communist Research Cluster. All NYC Revolutionary Feminism meetings are open and welcoming to the public. Week 14 will look at materialist feminism, reading pieces written by Christine Delphy and Monique Wittig.
The reader can be found online here: https://communistresearchcluster.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/crc_ci_vol_three_1_1.pdf

Union Square Slam presents PAUL TRAN and Open Slam 2.5
2016-02-01 19:00 - 21:30 | NY
WWWWWHHHHHHHHAAAAAATTTTTTT Too thrilled to be hosting the fiercest Queen of Queer Fabulosity and Wicked Sharp Wordsmith Paul Tran and our 5th open slam of this quarter, that’s what!
Hosted by CE Bain!!!
$5 // All Ages
(Please note: the Bureau is closed on Mondays. We open at 6 PM on Mondays for the Union Square Slam.)
6:00pm: Free Poetry Workshop, hosted by Sara Emily Kuntz
7:00pm: Sign-ups for open mic and slam begin
7:30pm: Open Mic
8:00pm: Feature
8:30pm: Slam
About our Feature:
Paul Tran is the 10th ranked slam poet in the world. His Pushcart-nominated work appears in Prairie Schooner, The Cortland Review, The Offing, and RHINO, which gave him a 2015 Editor’s Prize. He has received fellowships and residencies from Kundiman, VONA, Poets House, Lambda Literary, Napa Valley, Home School Miami, and the Vermont Studio Center. Paul is the first Asian American poet to represent the Nuyorican Poets Cafe at the National Poetry Slam in almost 20 years. He lives in NYC, where he is a graduate student at NYU.
About our Slam:
::Union Square Slam National Team Competition::
There are 3 quarters of competitive poetry slam, each culminating in a Semifinal. Each quarter consists of six open slams (one or more of which is a New Shit slam — competition in New Shit slams counts towards your total points!)
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.
At the end of each quarter, the poets with the 8 highest cumulative scores FOR THE QUARTER, are invited to compete in Semifinals. If a qualified poet opts out, then the next highest ranking poet qualifies. Semifinals are run using the same rules as the Open Slams. The top two highest ranked poets in each Semifinals bout will advance to Finals Stage, along with the top two winners of the Last Chance slam.
Last Chance Slam will be INVITATIONAL only to include the top 8 poets who have the highest cumulative scores over the entire season/all three quarters, but who didn’t not otherwise qualify for FINALS.

Feminists Read (and Watch): Carol, or The Price of Salt
2016-01-31 18:00 - 20:30 | NY
Lost your hearts to Carol? Desperate to discuss, analyze, gush?
We can relate.
Stop swooning and join us for our next meeting of Feminists Read (and Watch).
We will be discussing Carol – the book AND the movie. Once again, the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division has graciously agreed to host us. See you there!
Suggested donation of $5 to benefit the Bureau. No one turned away for lack of funds.
Purchase a copy of The Price of Salt (AKA Carol), by Patricia Highsmith, from the Bureau! Write to us to reserve a copy: contact@bgsqd.com.

The New Mutants: Superheroes and the Radical Imagination of American Comics
2016-01-30 14:00 - 16:00 | NY
Please join us for a public discussion of The New Mutants: Superheroes and the Radical Imagination of American Comics. The New Mutants explores the queer history of superhero comics in the late 20th century; with case studies on The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, The Silver Surfer, and Captain America among many others, the book explores how mainstream comics engaged with the left-wing politics of women’s and gay liberation, black power, and third world movements since the 1950s. Author Ramzi Fawaz will join scholars and cultural critics Rebecca Wanzo (U of Washington, St. Louis) and Alexandro Segade to discuss queerness, comics, and the politics of popular culture. The conversation will include a Q&A with the audience.

To reserve a copy of The New Mutants: Superheroes and the Radical Imagination of American Comics (NYU Press) please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com.

Ramzi Fawaz is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is the author of The New Mutants: Superheroes and the Radical Imagination of American Comics (NYU Press: Fall 2015), which received the 2012 Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies Fellowship award for best first book manuscript in LGBT Studies. His research and writing has been published in GLQ, American Literature, Callaloo, and Anthropological Quarterly.

Alexandro Segade is a video and performance artist whose collaborative works use theater, genre, play and spectacle to confront conditions of mediation, alienation, identification and difference. Founder of the collective My Barbarian, which received the 2013 Foundation For Contemporary Art award for performance and had video and performance included in the 2014 Whitney Biennial, Segade has co-directed the group since 2000. Segade leads classes on performance art internationally, most recently on a pedagogical workshop project in Jerusalem funded by Creative Capital. He currently teaches part-time at Parsons the New School, and serves as faculty for Film/Video MFA program at the Milton Avery School of the Arts, Bard College.

Rebecca Wanzo is Associate Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Associate Director of the Center for the Humanities at Washington University in St Louis. Her first book, The Suffering Will Not Be Televised: African American Women and Sentimental Political Storytelling was published by SUNY in 2009. She has published essays on African American literature and comics, race and child abduction, black women film and television performers, and the role of feelings in police brutality discourse.

New Gay Fiction: Cardamone, Graves, Hoffman
2016-01-29 19:00 - 21:30 | NY
Tom Cardamone, Michael Graves, and Wayne Hoffman will read from their new works of gay fiction.

Suggested donation of $5 to benefit the Bureau. No one turned away for lack of funds.

Please contact the Bureau in advance to reserve books: contact@bgsqd.com

Tom Cardamone is the author of the Lambda Literary Award-winning speculative novella Green Thumb and the erotic fantasy novel The Werewolves of Central Park as well as the novella Pacific Rimming. His short story collection,Pumpkin Teeth, was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and Black Quill Award. Additionally, he has edited The Lost Library: Gay Fiction Rediscovered and the anthology Lavender Menace: Tales of Queer Villainy!, which was nominated for the Over The Rainbow List by the LGBT Round Table of the American Library Association. His short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines, some of which have been collected on his website: www.pumpkinteeth.net.

Night Sweats: Tales of Homosexual Wonder and Woe

Set in Japan, small town America, midnight Manhattan, ancient Greece, Rome, and beyond, these stories run the gamut of urban nightmare, gay love lost and found, dragons, super villains, a fairy addicted to meth, and Satan on the subway. Readers of Night Sweats will find tales that push boundaries while supplying ample scares, erotic thrills, much wonderment, and some woe.

Michael Graves is the author of Dirty One, a collection of short stories. This book was a Lambda Literary Award Finalist and an American Library Association Honoree. His fiction and poetry has been featured in numerous literary publications. Connect with him at www.michaelgravesauthor.com

Parade
Reggie Lauderdale suffers from a crisis of faith. His cousin, Elmer Mott, dreams of becoming their hometown mayor. Both boys are stuck in suburbia trying to be adults… but they aren’t sure how to be themselves yet. When a twist of fate sends them fleeing in a stolen limousine, the cousins escape to Florida where they meet a retired televangelist, who inspires them on a path of glitzy sermons and late night parties. But are the celebrations sincere or deceptive? And who is keeping tabs? Who is watching?
Parade is a tour-de-force, comic tale of religion and government.

Wayne Hoffman is the author of three books—HARD, SWEET LIKE SUGAR (winner of the Stonewall Book Award), and AN OLDER MAN. His essays and short stories have appeared in such collections as BEST GAY STORIES 2010, FRESH MEN 2, and MAMA’S BOY. As a cultural reporter, he has written for the Washington Post, Village Voice, The Nation, Billboard, and Instinct magazine; he is currently executive editor of Tablet magazine. He lives in the West Village and the Catskills.

AN OLDER MAN is about a gay man struggling to come to terms with getting older, while he searches for love and sex in Provincetown. Jeff Mann (CUB) called the book “as much a touching examination of aging and loneliness as it is a witty tale of sexual shenanigans during Provincetown’s Bear Week.” AN OLDER MAN is a sequel to Wayne’s debut novel, HARD.

Gay Art and History at the Louvre Museum
2016-01-28 19:00 - 20:30 | NY
Certain American museums, like the Met or the MFA in Boston, have great collections of art on gay themes. There are also of course museums like this in Europe, and the greatest of all is the Louvre. Its excellent Greek, Roman, and Italian Renaissance collections are full of works that refer to the gay side of their cultural moments, such as the museum’s *four* statues or busts of the Roman Emperor Hadrian’s lover Antinous and the most rapturously languorous of Michelangelo’s captives. The museum also contains great collections of French historical pieces and patriotic works of the Napoleonic period, and both of these also contain fascinating gay themed works. A gay tour of the museum turns up many surprises and speaks to us of many centuries of gay history.

Image: Michelangelo Buonarroti. Captive (The Rebellious Slave). Marble. After 1513. H. 2.09 m. Louvre

Suggested donation of $5 to benefit the Bureau.
No one turned away for lack of funds.

Dr. Andrew Lear is a world renowned expert on sexuality in ancient art and the author of Images of Ancient Greek Pederasty: Boys Were Their Gods (Routledge 2008). He is also the founder of Oscar Wilde Tours, the world’s first gay history and art tour company. Oscar Wilde Tours gives gay art tours of the Metropolitan Museum, called “Gay Secrets of the Met” and will launch a gay tour of the Louvre this August as part of its Gay London/Gay Paris tour.

Union Square Slam presents PAULIE LIPMAN and Open Slam 2.4
2016-01-25 19:00 - 21:30 | NY
Come get warm with Denver’s own hometown hero/National Poetry Slam Veteran/Wild Wild Word Wizard Paulie Lipman and our 4th open slam of the second quarter!!!
(Please note: the Bureau is closed on Mondays. We open at 6 PM on Mondays for the Union Square Slam.)
Suggested donation of $5 to benefit the Bureau. No one turned away for lack of funds.

6pm: Free Writing Workshop with Sara Emily Kuntz
7pm: Sign-ups
7:30pm: Open Mic
8pm: Feature
8:30pm: Slam
About Our Feature:
Paulie Lipman is a Jewish/Queer/Writer out of Denver, CO. He has toured the U.S. extensively (and a little bit of Canada) performing poetry, is the voice of Neal Cassady in the documentary ‘Neal Cassidy: The Denver Years’, and has had work appear in The Legendary, Radius, Borderline, Drunk In A Midnight Choir, The Write Bloody Publishing anthologies ‘The Good Things About America’ and ‘We Will Be Shelter’, and the upcoming University Of Hell anthology ‘We Can Make Your Life Better’.He has been a member of 9 Denver Mercury Slam teams, including 2004’s 2nd place finishers and 2015’s 4th place finishers.

About Our Slam:
::Union Square Slam National Team Competition::
There are 3 quarters of competitive poetry slam, each culminating in a Semifinal. Each quarter consists of six open slams (one or more of which is a New Shit slam — competition in New Shit slams counts towards your total points!)
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.
At the end of each quarter, the poets with the 8 highest cumulative scores FOR THE QUARTER, are invited to compete in Semifinals. If a qualified poet opts out, then the next highest ranking poet qualifies. Semifinals are run using the same rules as the Open Slams. The top two highest ranked poets in each Semifinals bout will advance to Finals Stage, along with the top two winners of the Last Chance slam.

Canceled! January Moon Show in Manhattan
2016-01-23 19:00 - 22:00 | NY
This event has been re-scheduled for Friday, February 5th!
The Moon Show is excited to be expanding its series to the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division in Manhattan which is wheel chair accessible!
Starting at 7 pm
Featuring:
Valerie Brooks, poetry
Maxine Montilus, dance
Sunny Wilder, poetry
Noia Isaiah, music
Kiki Williams, performance
Frances Damian Arpaia, film
The Moon Show is a queer, trans, anti-racist, intersectional feminist performance series.
We will be asking for a $5-15 suggested donation for the performers. No one will be made to feel unwelcome for lack of funds. There are plenty of chairs for everyone to sit.
https://ourmoonshow.tumblr.com/

Canceled! Paper Cuts Zine Reading
2016-01-22 19:00 - 21:30 | NY
As of 2:30 PM, on Friday, January 22nd, The LGBT Community Center is closed until further notice due to a water main break. So the Bureau is now closed and our events for tonight, Friday, January 22, and tomorrow, Saturday, January 23, will be rescheduled. We will post updates, so stay tuned…
Paper Cuts is an exploration of the contemporary world of zines and DIY publishing that airs on Clocktower.org. In 2015, Paper Cuts took the show on the road in a monthly reading series that’s touring independent bookstores in New York. We feature writers, zinesters, artists, and performers who typically share their work in print, on paper, and in small editions. This series is a cross section of the varied landscape and rich history of publishing and the institutions that support it. Listen to voices that would normally live in your hands and demand your eyeballs.
Readers:
Paul Moreno
Arno Mokros
Posture // Winter Mendelson and M. Lamar
Sy Abudu
Nicholas Boggs

Suggested donation of $5 to benefit the Bureau. No one turned away for lack of funds.
Event image: Drawing by Paul Moreno
Sy Abudu is from Los Angeles and lives in Brooklyn, where she creates visual art and zines under the moniker great/grand/golden. Her work, which has been shown at the Black Lesbian DIY Fest, the Feminist Zine Fest, and the Allied Media Conference, features archival images from the Library of Congress “remixed” into new pieces that explore themes of visibility, African-American identity, and relationships through the lens of historical imagery. Sy earned her BFA in film & television from NYU, where she now works as a multimedia producer.
Nicholas Boggs is writing a book about his search for the untold story of James Baldwin’s collaboration with French painter Yoran Cazac, which has been supported by fellowships from Yaddo and MacDowell and grants from the Camargo and Jerome foundations. Co-editor of a forthcoming new edition of Baldwin and Cazac’s “child’s story for adults,” Little Man Little Man: A Story of Childhood, his writing has appeared in the journals PANK and Callaloo and in the anthologies James Baldwin Now, The Cambridge Companion to James Baldwin, and Best Gay Stories 2013. He teaches in the Department of English at New York University.
Arno Mokros is an aspiring art historian invested in the personal as political. He creates zines exploring queerness, art, and how histories are written. He graduated from Smith College in 2013, and currently lives in Brooklyn.
Paul Moreno was born in Sparks, NV. Studied Literature at University of San Francisco and then moved to New York to attend the Gallatin School of Independent Study at NYU. After an early departure from a program in Critical Thought, Paul pursued careers as a Gallerina, a Home-maker, and most recently, a set and prop stylist. Throughout these careers, Paul, a self taught visual artist, has been making drawings, paintings, and zines that deal with sexual positions, tropes of masculinity, and notions of beauty. Paul, in collaboration with Charlie Welch, is the creator of KNOWSGAY, a zine that takes an artistic approach to gay iconography. Paul lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Posture is an online and print arts publication that explores identity, sexuality, and gender through artistic practice. The publication features extraordinary LGBTQI and allied individuals who seek to simultaneously address and overcome oppression. They believe that visual activism, fashion, and artistic practice are powerful forces that can further cultural progress and build community. Posture’s audience is unified by the shared interpretation of queerness as a lifestyle that is defined by an openness to possibility rather than exclusions or boundaries.
Posture’s featured artist for the Zine Reading is M. Lamar.

Opening Reception for Benjamin Fredrickson: Salon
2016-01-21 18:00 - 21:30 | NY
Please join us for the opening reception for Benjamin Fredrickson: Salon
Organized by Daniel Cooney Fine Art
On view at the Bureau: January 20 — March 20, 2016
Download Press Release

The Bureau of General Services—Queer Division and Daniel Cooney Fine Art are very pleased to present New York City artist Benjamin Fredrickson’s solo exhibition at the Bureau’s space in The LGBT Community Center on 13th Street. This exhibition coincides with Fredrickson’s collaborative exhibition with Juan Betancurth at Daniel Cooney Fine Art in Chelsea.
The exhibition, titled Salon, will feature previously unseen Polaroid photographs and new images made with paper negatives. Fredrickson’s early work documents his sexual life and his community of gay men. His new work, while less explicit, unexpectedly offers deep intimacy and beauty among his subjects. Fredrickson relies on his intuition while working with his subjects and achieves an ephemeral quality that is unique to this new work.
Fredrickson himself appears in many of his own images as part of the culture he photographs as his work is highly autobiographical. He photographs other men but he never photographs “the other”, instead he is interested in revealing himself, his humanity and his vision of the world around him. His photographs are loving and honest, brimming with sexual desire. Many of his subjects look directly at the camera, all of them are aware that they are being looked at and gladly present themselves for that purpose.
The consistent theme throughout Fredrickson’s images continues to be a longing for human connection, either by sexual interaction or through the act of photographing and being photographed. He makes himself vulnerable and in turn his subjects reveal themselves for his camera and the viewer’s gaze.

Fredrickson graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2003 and moved to New York City in 2010. He has been included in the Museum of Art and Design’s “New York Makers”, group exhibitions at Darkroom Gallery, La Mama Galleria in addition to collaborations with Visual AIDS. His work has been published in Apartamento, BUTT, Capricious, Dazed and Confused, and Pin-Up. He is represented by Daniel Cooney Fine Art.

Image: Benjamin Fredrickson, Dog, 10 x 8″. Gelatin silver print.

The Bureau will host a conversation between Benjamin Fredrickson and Hunter O’Hanian, Director of the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, on Thursday, February 18, at 7 PM.

Benjamin Fredrickson
Born: 1980 Minneapolis, MN
Lives and Works: New York, NY
Solo Exhibitions:

Benjamin Fredrickson, Daniel Cooney Fine Art, New York, NY, January 8 – February 28th, 2015
Selected Group Exhibitions:
Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY, NYC Makers: the MAD Biennial, July 1-October 12, 2014
The Darkroom Gallery, Vermont Junction, VT, XY; Masculinity in Photography, July 17- August 10, 2014
La MaMa Galleria, New York, NY, Ephemera as Evidence – Visual AIDS Exhibition, June 5-29, 2014
Daniel Cooney Fine Art, New York, NY, All the World’s a Stage, group exhibition with Bear Kirkpatrick and Rachel Stern. April 3-May 22, 2014
Luhrig Augustine Gallery, New York, NY, 16th Annual Postcards from the Edge, January 25-26, 2014
Sikkema Jenkins & Co., 15th Annual Postcards from the Edge, January 25-27, 2013
David Louis Fierman Projects, Brooklyn, NY, His and Hers: Lucas Michael and Benjamin Fredrickson,Two person exhibition of drawings and photographs. October 1-November 15, 2010
Lectures & Performances:
Rush Arts Gallery, New York, NY, Play Smart Together: Artist Talk and Launch, February 20, 2014
Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY, Benjamin Fredrickson, Artist, December 2011
Special Projects:
Play Smart IV Trading Cards, Visual AIDS, 2014
Education:
BFA, Photography. Minneapolis College of Art and Design, 2003
Advanced Studies, Photography. Paris College of Art, 2001

Union Square Slam presents Shira E. and the Say Their Name Slam!
2016-01-18 19:00 - 21:30 | NY
The incomparable SHIRA E. will be gracing us all with her magnificence!
(Please note: the Bureau is closed on Mondays. We open at 6 PM on Mondays for the Union Square Slam.)
6 pm: Free Writing Workshop
7 pm: Sign-ups for Open Mic and Slam
7:15 pm: Open Mic
7:35 pm: Feature
8:00pm: Open Slam
Bureau of General Services-Queer Division
(located in the LGBT Center, 208 W 13th St, #210)
$5 // ALL AGES // 18 and under FREE
About Our Feature:
Shira Erlichman is a multidisciplinary artist who was born in Israel and immigrated to the US when she was six. A three-time Pushcart Prize nominee, her work can be found in The Huffington Post, Psychology Tomorrow, BuzzFeed, NPR, Bust Magazine, The Massachusetts Review, and Winter Tangerine Review, among others. She received her BA from Hampshire College & a James Merrill Fellowship from the Vermont Studio Center. As a musician she’s shared stages with Tune-Yards, Mirah, Andrea Gibson, & Coco Rosie. Learn more at www.shirae.com
About Our Slam:
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday, poems read tonight are in tribute to those murdered by police or vigilantes and the ongoing work towards justice, equality, and freedom.
We have a variety of Theme Slams, meant to introduce different artistic elements, challenges, and inspiration to our work. Points will be recorded for the sake of naming a “winner”, however, these points do not count towards your total score for the quarter. Your participation in one Theme Slam meets your requirement for Final Stage Participation. All theme slams will take up to 8 competitors, and will be ranked in an 8,5,3 cumulative fashion. Each round has a 3 minute time limit unless otherwise stated.

TELL 20: The Dead
2016-01-16 19:00 - 22:00 | 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.
The Dead is the theme of the twentieth installment of TELL. Featuring Heather M. Ács, Susana Cook, Melissa Febos, and Svetlana Kitto.

$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

Photo by Alison Picard

HEATHER M. ÁCS is a Brooklyn-based, multi-media theatre performance artist, activist, curator, educator and high-femme troublemaker. Her work has been featured in festivals, theatres, and galleries across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, including Vauxhall Tavern in London, Les Complices Gallery in Zurich, W2 Gallery in Vancouver, B.C., and the Public Theater, HERE Arts Center, the Kitchen, Dixon Place, the Culture Project, and the International Fringe Festival in New York City.
She performs and facilitates workshops at community spaces, colleges and conferences, past engagements include: Duke University, multiple Femme Conferences, and volunteer projects with LGBTQ youth at the Hetrick-Martin Institute in New York City.

Heather has worked with Mx. Justin Vivian Bond, Nao Bustamante, Karen Finley, Lois Weaver, Claude Michelle-Wampler, and J. Ed Araiza of the SITI Company. She has also collaborated on projects with the Pop-Up Museum of Queer History, the Department of Transformation, and MIX NYC Queer Experimental Film Festival. Heather is the Co-Producer of the Heels on Wheels Glitter Roadshow, now in its fourth year.

Film credits include Building No. 7, dir. Steven Soderbergh; blink, dir. Silas Howard, co-starring Ben Foster; Valencia (the movies): Chapter 9 based on the novel by Michelle Tea; and most recently,Sunset Stories, an official 2012 South by Southwest Selection.

Heather is also a dedicated teaching artist. She uses theatre as a tool for social change with low-income youth in cities across the country and has studied with Cornerstone Theatre Company, Sojourn Theatre, the Living Theatre, and Augusto Boal. Heather can be contacted via email at acs.heather@gmail.com.

Born in Argentina, Susana Cook is a New York based playwright, director and performer who has been presenting original work for over 30 years. Her work is bold and funny, sometimes surrealistic and poetic, cleverly tackling issues of social justice. She approaches her theater as a ritualistic transformative force. Her most recent work focuses on the fluidity of presence and absence, life and death.
Her work has been presented in numerous performance spaces in New York City, including Dixon Place, W.O.W Cafe Theater and The Kitchen. She also teaches and performs internationally in Spain, France, India, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Canada.
Some of her latest shows are : Conversations with Humans, We Are Caligula, The Funeral of the Cow, The Homophobes, The Fury of the Gods, Homeland Insecurities, The idiot King, The Values Horror Show, 100 Years of Attitude, Dykenstein, Hamletango, Prince of Butches, Gross National Product, Hot Tamale, Conga Guerrilla Forest, The Fraud, Butch Fashion Show in the Femme Auto Body Shop, Rats: The Fantasy of Extermination and Tango Lesbiango.
Her work is archived at the Digital Video Library of The Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics of New York University.

Melissa Febos is the author of the memoir, Whip Smart (St. Martin’s Press 2010), and the forthcoming essay collection, Abandon Me (Bloomsbury 2017). Her work has appeared in venues including The Kenyon Review, Prairie Schooner, Glamour, Post Road, Salon, New York Times, Guernica, Hunger Mountain,Portland Review, Electric Literature, Dissent, Poets & Writers, The Chronicle of Higher Education Review, Bitch Magazine, and Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York, and she has been featured on NPR’s Fresh Air, Anderson Cooper Live, CNN’s Dr. Drew, and elsewhere. Her essays have won prizes from Prairie Schooner, Story Quarterly, and The Center for Women Writers, and she is the recipient of fellowships from the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Vermont Studio Center, The Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and The MacDowell Colony. The recipient of an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College, she is currently Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Monmouth University and MFA faculty at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). She serves on the Board of Directors for VIDA: Women in Literary Arts, and co-curated the Manhattan reading and music series, Mixer, for eight years. The daughter of a sea captain and a psychotherapist, she was raised on Cape Cod and lives in Brooklyn.

Svetlana Kitto is a writer and oral historian in New York City. Her fiction, journalism and essays have appeared in Salon, VICE, the New York Observer, the Huffington Post, ART21, OutHistory, Plenitude and the book Occupy (Verso, 2012) among other publications and anthologies. She has contributed oral histories to the Brooklyn Historical Society, the Mashantucket Pequot Museum, and the Museum of Arts and Design. She is currently at work on a novel called Purvs, which means “swamp” in Latvian, and is the name of that country’s first gay club.

Tongues Untied
2016-01-15 19:00 - 21:30 | NY
“Black men loving Black men is the revolutionary act” ~Marlon Riggs
Please join us for a special screening of Marlon Riggs’ groundbreaking semi-documentary film Tongues Untied. Mixing poetry, music and performance art, Marlon grants us a glimpse into the complex lives of black gay men. As they navigate racism, homophobia, marginalization and create culture. The lives of black gay men as told by black gay men with all their style and fierceness. It’s time you learned how to snap like a diva.
After the film, please join us for a conversation with Pamela Sneed, Stephen Winter, and Bill Coleman, moderated by Sean Apparicio and Jim Fouratt.
This event is organized by Sean Apparicio and presented by the Bureau in conjunction with the Bureau’s exhibition The Uses of Anger.
Suggested donation of $5 to benefit the Bureau. No one turned away for lack of funds.

Sean Apparicio is the founder of One+Love. One+Love is a geo-local mobile LGBT community center—connecting users to local events, supportive online community, entertainment, lifestyle and news that reflect and celebrate diverse sexual and gender identities.
Before forming One+Love, Sean was multidisciplinary creative director specializing in digital media, commercial direction, Branding and Marketing Strategy. He has over 17 years of award winning industry experience. He’s re-launched multiple brands, strengthened their visual identity and introduced current trends in technology to develop solutions for his clients. Most notably, under his direction, the BET Redesign won 11 Tellys and a Promax/BDA Diverse Voices Award.
Sean has worked for over 26 years as an advocate and activist for LGBTQ issues. He’s done outreach and community organizing with the Audre Lorde Project, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, and TransJustice. He has worked as a life coach at the Ali Forney Center; raised hell with ACT UP to raise HIV/AIDS awareness; mentored LGBTQ youth and lectured at UC Berkeley regarding coming out in the age of AIDS; provided safer sex education via the National AIDS Treatment Advocacy Project; served in a harm reduction center for at-risk clients; and has worked to become a griot of U.S. LGBTQ history.

BILL COLEMAN [Peace Bisquit]
Multi-faceted DJ, producer, remixer, music supervisor, performer, recording artist, writer and influential tastemaker Bill Coleman is renowned for his eclectic taste, acute ear and diverse musical expertise.
The tireless “renaissance man” has enjoyed success as a revered music journalist (Dance and Singles Reviews Editor for Billboard Magazine ’87 -’90), has written a music column for NYC style rag PAPER, sat on the initial editorial board for OUT Magazine and freelanced for numerous international media outlets such as the BBC and BET.
As the owner of Peace Bisquit, Coleman celebrates 25 years heading up the popular Brooklyn-based entertainment company representing an array of genre-defying artists and producers including: Ultra Naté, Amanda Lepore, French Horn Rebellion, Cazwell, Jill Jones and Cazwell. Peace Bisquit are also often recognized for their part in discovering and developing the influential, platinum-selling trio Deee-lite (“Groove Is In The Heart”).
Throughout the years, the much in-demand maestro has music supervised / sound designed for various films (“Party Girl,” “Beyond The Steps: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater”, “Inside Deep Throat”, “Party Monster”), fashion shows (Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, Marc Bouwer, DIFFA), Broadway premieres (Evita, The Color Purple, After Midnight), art installations (Deitch), nightclubs (Cielo, CBGB’s, Limelight, APT, Santos Party House, Ministry of Sound, SOB’s, Sound Factory, The Tunnel, Save The Robots, Pyramid, The Shelter) and special events (Lady Gaga’s inaugural Fame Ball, amFAR’s Inspiration Gala, Bowie Ball, Silent Disco at Lincoln Center).
Bill has lent he and his company’s talents, A&R and consultancy services to such esteemed clients as Bette Midler, Tom Tom Club, A&E Network, Beyoncé, Radiohead, The Kennedy Center, Sinead O’Connor, PETA, World of Wonder, Neneh Cherry, Swing Out Sister and Lenny Kravitz.
On top of that…Bill has found morsels of time over the years to spearhead late night performances by electropunk dance renegades, Daisy Spurs; has been a member of NY club art denizens The Dazzle Dancers; was inducted into Next Magazine’s Nightlife Hall Of Fame (Class of 2013) and is an occasional member of Grammy Award winner Jody Watley’s touring band!

https://www.youtube.com/user/peacebisquit
https://www.facebook.com/PeaceBisquit/
https://soundcloud.com/peace-bisquit
https://instagram.com/peacebisquit/

https://twitter.com/peacebisquit

https://www.peacebisquit.com/

The DJ Bill Coleman Podcasts:
https://peacebisquit.podomatic.com
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dj-bill-coleman-podcast/id291115649?mt=2

Jim Fouratt has been a political and cultural activist all his life . Broadway, Pacifica , Mercury Records, nightlife instigator (Hurrah, Danceteria, Pepperlitz, Studio 54 etc) featured guest Colbert Report , Charlie Rose, Stonewall Rebellion participant, Gay Liberation Front, Heal/Wipe Out AIds, pub SPIN, Rolling Stone, Village Voice etc etc, Founding Editor New Times.

Pamela Sneed is a New York based poet and actress, featured in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Time Out, Bomb, VIBE, and on the cover of New York Magazine. She is author of Imagine Being More Afraid of Freedom Than Slavery, published by Henry Holt in April 1998 andKONG and other works published by Vintage Entity Press 2009. She has performed original works for sold out houses at Lincoln Center, P.S. 122, Ex-Teresa in Mexico City, The ICA London, The CCA in Glasgow Scotland, The Green Room in Manchester England, and BAM cafe. She has headlined the New Work Now festival at Joe’s Pub/Public Theater. In 2013, she performed at Central Park Summer Stage, The Whitney Museum of Art, Columbia University’s, “Geographies of Mass Incarceration.” In 2011, she performed in South Africa, in collaboration with the women’s organization FEW. She is a guest faculty member at Sarah Lawrence teachingWriting for Solo Performance and Solo Performance in Production. Her work is included in The 100 Best African American Poems edited by Nikki Giovanni. Her recent publications include work in Best Monologues from Best American Short Plays, Future Perfect, and LIU Teaching Narratives.

STEPHEN WINTER is an award winning filmmaker who has worked with Steve Harvey, Lee Daniels, John Cameron Mitchell, Xan Cassavetes, John Krokidas, David France, Gus Van Sant and Jonathan Caouette. Stephen’s new film as writer/director “Jason and Shirley” (2015) a fictionalized imagining of the 1966 Chelsea Hotel filming of “Portrait of Jason” with Sarah Schulman as Shirley Clarke and Jack Waters as Jason Holliday was called “One of the year’s finest” by Richard Brody in The New Yorker and played for two sold out weeks at the Museum of Modern Art.

Bi Book Club discusses Static, by L.A. Witt
2016-01-14 18:30 - 20:00 | NY
The Bi Book Club meets on the second Thursday of each month to discuss bi-themed books and the issues they raise.
Dinner after nearby (so far, we always go to Village Den.)
Our book for January: Static, by L.A. Witt. (We suggest you buy or order your copy from our host, BGSQD.)
After two years together, Alex has been dreading the inevitable moment when Damon learns the truth: that Alex is a shifter, part of a small percentage of the population able to switch genders at will. Thanks to a forced implant, though, Alex is suddenly static—unable to shift—and male. Overnight, he’s out to a world that neither understands nor tolerates shifters . . . and to his heterosexual boyfriend.
Damon is stunned to discover his girlfriend is a shifter, and scared to death of the dangers the implant poses to Alex’s health. He refuses to abandon Alex, but what about their relationship? Damon is straight, and with the implant both costly and dangerous to remove, Alex is stuck as a man.
Stripped of half his identity and facing serious physical and social ramifications, Alex needs Damon more than ever, but he doesn’t see how they can get through this.
Especially if he’s static forever.
Pick out some phrases, paragraphs or scenes that you’d like to discuss, give us your critique of the book: what worked, what didn’t, how was bisexuality represented? If you haven’t had the chance to read the book, come anyway because we read passages aloud for discussion. As usual, we’ll also be using the text as a jumping off point to further discussion of bisexual issues and personal experiences.

RSVP on meetup.com (not required)

Fundamental Awareness: Source of Mind and Matter
2016-01-13 19:00 - 21:30 | NY
A Bureau Fundraising Event!
Does mind make the world? In his lively, conversational way, Dr. Neil Theise explores the nature of consciousness and its relationship to us and to the cosmos through the three lenses of contemporary science, Western philosophy, and diverse metaphysical systems.
From this, he will lead us to an integrative model called Fundamental Awareness as the substratum from which the world emanates, providing a set of concepts to potentiate cross-talk between these varied world-views.
Videos of Dr. Theise engaging these topics can be viewed at:
https://vimeo.com/44013533
https://www.closertotruth.com/contributor/neil-theise/profile

Suggested donation of $20 to benefit the Bureau (no one turned away for lack of funds).

Neil Theise is a physician-scientist, complexity theorist, contemplative (senior student of Roshi Enkyo O’hara, Village Zendo), and now (apparently!) philosopher. He is a diagnostic liver pathologist at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center in NYC. He is considered a pioneer of adult stem cell plasticity with publications in the highest level scientific journals such as Science, Nature, and Cell. Those studies have taken him further and deeper into the nature of existence, a journey which he will be exploring in this talk.
Videos of Dr. Theise engaging many of these topics can be viewed at:
https://vimeo.com/44013533
https://www.closertotruth.com/contributor/neil-theise/profile

Union Square Slam presents EIREAN BRADLEY and Open Slam 2.3
2016-01-11 19:00 - 21:30 | NY
All the way from Denver, Eirean Bradley will be leading us in a night of pure revelry!
6:00pm: Free Writing Workshop with Sara Emily Kuntz
7:00pm: Sign Ups
7:30pm: Open Mic
8:00pm: Feature
8:30pm: Slam
ALL AGES // $5

(Please note: the Bureau is closed on Mondays. We open at 6 PM on Mondays for the Union Square Slam.)

About our Feature:
Eirean Bradley is the multiple time pushcart award nominated author of two full length books of poetry the I in team and the little BIG book of go kill yourself on acclaimed independent press University of Hell. He is also the poetry curator for the online literary magazine Drunk in a Midnight Choir as well as being an editor for pop culture poetry stalwarts FreezeRay. He has been published in numerous journals and anthologies all over the place.
He is a decorated Slam Poetry veteran as well, having placed in the finals of the National Poetry Slam twice. He competed at nine national poetry slams and has only failed to make at least the semi finals once. He has toured all over the country and has featured in all 48 continuous states (yes, even North Dakota). He is well known for having a distinctly kinetic performance style and crowd pleasing approach which lends a frenetic energy to his humorous poems about really not humorous subject matter and has had numerous videos published online by well known websites Button Poetry and Poetry Slam International.

About our Slam:
In order to represent Union Square Slam at any National Competition, you must meet the following requirements:
Be 18 years old or older (if you are under 18, you can still slam! We just can’t take you to national events)
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 BOTH one New Shit Slam AND one Theme Slam during the current season (those going for IWPS may complete this requirement during the summer quarter)
::Union Square Slam National Team Competition::
There are 3 quarters of competitive poetry slam, each culminating in a Semifinal. Each quarter consists of six open slams (one or more of which is a New Shit slam — competition in New Shit slams counts towards your total points!)
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.
At the end of each quarter, the poets with the 8 highest cumulative scores FOR THE QUARTER, are invited to compete in Semifinals. If a qualified poet opts out, then the next highest ranking poet qualifies. Semifinals are run using the same rules as the Open Slams. The top two highest ranked poets in each Semifinals bout will advance to Finals Stage, along with the top two winners of the Last Chance slam.

'We Are The Gentle Angry People': Emotional Legacies of South African LGBT Activism
2016-01-07 19:00 - 21:30 | NY
Activist Kyle Bella writes:
“In November and December, I traveled to South Africa to explore LGBTQ activism around HIV/AIDS. I focused most of my work on Simon Nkoli, born in one of the townships outside of Johannesburg, who would later become the country’s first recognizable Black and gay activist. I would like to talk about his legacy, what it means for a younger generation of activists to access this material today, and explore what these emotionally charged histories can mean for us in the United States.”
Suggested donation of $5 to benefit the Bureau.
No one turned away for lack of funds.
This event is presented by the Bureau in conjunction with the Bureau’s exhibition The Uses of Anger.

Kyle Bella currently resides in Bushwick. He’s the founder of Our Viral Lives, an online archive of stories related to HIV and sexuality for an under 35 LGBTQ audience. He also writes for various publications, and is working on a book project about queer archiving in 2016.

Union Square Slam presents MWENDE "FREEQUENCY" KATWIWA and Open Slam 2.2 (NEW SHIT SLAM)
2016-01-04 19:00 - 21:30 | NY
Union Square Slam is starting off this New Year right and a NEW SHIT SLAM, featuring the New Orleans powerhouse Mwende “FreeQuency” Katwiwa!!
(Please note: the Bureau is closed on Mondays. We open at 6 PM on Mondays for the Union Square Slam.)

6:00pm: Free Writing Workshop with Sara Emily Kuntz
7:00pm: Sign Ups
7:30pm: Open Mic
8:00pm: Feature
8:30pm: Slam
ALL AGES // $5
About our Feature:
Born in Kenya, Mwende “FreeQuency” Katwiwa is a 24 yo Black, Immigrant, Queer, Womyn poet based in New Orleans, LA where she is the 2015 Grand Slam Champion. An award-winning spoken word and slam poet, FreeQuency is also an Anti-Racist and Reproductive Justice organizer who has spent most of her life living and writing at the intersection of art, serive, education, and activism.

About our Slam:
All slammers who are competing to represent Union Square Slam nationally in 2016 and beyond, at either IWPS, WOWPS, or as part of the Union Square Slam Nationals Team, MUST participate in BOTH a New Shit Slam and a Theme Slam at any point during the slam season. (9/14/15 – 4/28/15). You may compete in any or all of these slams, whether or not you intend to go out for the team, however, preference may be given to competitors that have qualified for Semis or Finals.
::NEW SHIT SLAMS::
New Shit is defined as:
– any piece of work that has not been heard on the USS mic.
– any work that has been on the USS mic that has been overhauled/edited (at least 50% new material)
We will take up to 8 poets in each New Shit Slam. The points you earn will be added to your total in the quarter (1,2 or 3) and help you in qualifying for that semifinal. Your participation in one New Shit slam, regardless of placement/score, meets your requirement for Final Stage Participation.

Closed for New Year's Day
2016-01-01 | NY

Closed for New Year's Eve
2015-12-31 | NY

Union Square Slam presents MCKENDY FILS-AIME and the HOLIDAY WHAT? Theme Slam
2015-12-28 19:00 - 21:30 | NY
Union Square Slam presents MCKENDY FILS-AIME and the HOLIDAY WHAT? Theme Slam.
Need a break from all that Holiday Cheer? Got some choice words for the streetcorner Santa incessently ringing that tinny bell? Come on down to Union Square Slam for our Holiday What? theme slam, with none other than the brilliant boss McKendy Fils-Aime, hosted by Joanna Hoffman!!
(Please note: the Bureau is closed on Mondays. We open at 6 PM on Mondays for the Union Square Slam.)
6pm: Free Writing Workshop with Sara Emily Kuntz
7:00: Sign-ups
7:30: Open Mic
8:00pm: Feature
8:30pm: Slam

Bureau of General Services-Queer Division
(located in the LGBT Center, 208 W 13th St, #210)
$5 // ALL AGES // 18 and under FREE

About our Feature:
Mckendy Fils-Aime hails from Manchester, NH. He is the author of three self-published books of poetry and is currently working on a fourth. He is one of the organizers behind Slam Free or Die, NH’s most popular poetry open mic. The only thing Mckendy likes as much as poetry is his sneaker collection.

About our Slam:
For many of us, holiday season make us have ALL THE FEELINGS. Here’s a mic: let’s hear it!!! Dust off all your praise poems, odes, rants, gripes, celebrations, durges, toasts and bones to pick with the holidays, and bring them all to us! Or write some new ones! Or make them up on the spot!
All slammers who are competing to represent Union Square Slam nationally in 2016 and beyond, at either IWPS, WOWPS, or as part of the Union Square Slam Nationals Team, MUST participate in BOTH a New Shit Slam and a Theme Slam at any point during the slam season. (9/14/15 – 4/28/15). You may compete in any or all of these slams, whether or not you intend to go out for the team, however, preference may be given to competitors that have qualified for Semis or Finals.

::THEME SLAMS::
We have a variety of Theme Slams, meant to introduce different artistic elements, challenges, and inspiration to our work. Points will be recorded for the sake of naming a “winner”, however, these points do not count towards your total score for the quarter. Your participation in one Theme slam meets your requirement for Final Stage Participation. All theme slams will take up to 8 competitors, and will be ranked in an 8-5-3 cumulative fashion. Each round has a 3 min time limit unless otherwise stated.
