BGSQD

Boyslut Book Launch with author Zachary Zane and Jordyn Taylor (in person & live-streaming)
2023-06-14 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
Join sex expert and Men’s Health magazine columnist Zachary Zane in celebration of his new book Boyslut: A Memoir and Manifesto at the Bureau on Wednesday, June 14th at 7pm ET! Zach will be in conversation with Jordyn Taylor, executive digital editor at Men’s Health and co-author with Zach of Men’s Health Best. Sex. Ever.: 200 Frank, Funny & Friendly Answers About Getting It On.
Named one of Buzzfeed’s Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Books of 2023, Boyslut is a series of personal and tantalizing essays that articulate how our society still shames people for the sex that they have and the sexualities that they inhabit. Through the lens of his bisexuality and much self-described sluttiness, Zane breaks down exactly how this sexual shame negatively impacts the sex and relationships in our lives and, through personal experience, shares how we can unlearn the harmful, entrenched messages that society imparts to us.
From stories of drug-fueled threesomes and risqué Grindr hookups to insights on dealing with rejection and living with his boyfriend and his boyfriend’s wife, Boyslut is reassuring and often painfully funny—but most potently a testimony that we can all learn to live healthier lives unburdened by stigma.
Copies of Boyslut will be available at the Bureau. To reserve a copy, please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com.
Thank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us!
This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.
Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.
Also live-streaming at YouTube.com/@bgsqd
Suggested donation $10 to benefit the Bureau’s work.
All are welcome to attend, with or without donation.
We will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @bgsqd.

Zachary Zane is a Brooklyn-based columnist, sex expert, and activist whose work focuses on sexuality, culture, and the LGBTQ community. He’s the co-author of Men’s Health: Best. Sex. Ever. He currently has two columns: “Sexplain It” the sex and relationship advice column at Men’s Health, and “Navigating Non-Monogamy” at Cosmo, where he shares all the mistakes he’s made in his polyamory journey, so you don’t have to. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of Boyslut zine, which publishes real sex stories from kinksters worldwide. His work on sexuality and relationships has been published in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, GQ, OUT, and many others.

Jordyn Taylor is the executive digital editor at Men’s Health magazine and the co-author of Men’s Health Best. Sex. Ever.: 200 Frank, Funny & Friendly Answers About Getting It On.

Book Launch for GENDER WITHOUT IDENTITY, by Avgi Saketopoulou and Ann Pellegrini (in person & live-streaming)
2023-06-15 19:00 - 20:30 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
Join authors Avgi Saketopoulou and Ann Pellegrini as they discuss their new book, GENDER WITHOUT IDENTITY. They will be in conversation with psychoanalyst Griffin Hansbury. The event will consist of a reading, discussion, Q&A, and signing, followed by a short reception with food and drink.
About GENDER WITHOUT IDENTITY: At a time of unprecedented legislative attacks on LGBTQ+ people, with gender-affirmative care for trans youth being outright banned in a growing number of states, Saketopoulou and Pellegrini offer an innovative and at times unsettling theory of gender formation. Arguing for abandoning the fiction of “core gender identity” and the fantasy that there is something true or authentic about any gender, Saketopoulou and Pellegrini instead propose that gender is something all subjects (not just trans and queer subjects) acquire. Trauma, they daringly argue, sometimes has a share in that acquisition.
Rooted in the work of French psychoanalyst Jean Laplanche and in conversation with bold work in queer and trans studies, GENDER WITHOUT IDENTITY argues for the ethical urgency of recognizing that wounding experiences and traumatic legacies may be spun into gender. Such “spinning” involves self-theorizations that do not proceed from a centered self, but are nevertheless critical to psychic autonomy.
Saketopoulou and Pellegrini, who are both practicing psychoanalysts, offer theoretical and clinical resources for working with gender complexity and for complexifying (what is seen as) gender normativity. But, above all, GENDER WITHOUT IDENTITY is an impassioned defense of queer and trans life and flourishing.
Copies of GENDER WITHOUT IDENTITY will be available at the Bureau. To reserve a copy, please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com.
Thank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us!
This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.
Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.
Also live-streaming at YouTube.com/@bgsqd
Suggested donation $10 to benefit the Bureau’s work.
All are welcome to attend, with or without donation.
We will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @bgsqd.

Avgi Saketopoulou (she/her) is a Cypriot and Greek immigrant and a psychoanalyst based in New York City. She is on faculty at the NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, and works extensively with trans children and their families. She is also the author of Sexuality Beyond Consent: Risk, Race, Traumatophilia, which was published earlier this year by New York University Press.

Ann Pellegrini (all pronouns) is Professor of Performance Studies & Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University, and a psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City. Their books include “You Can Tell Just By Looking” and 20 Other Myths about LGBT Life and People, coauthored with Michael Bronski and Michael Amico (Beacon Press, 2013). Pellegrini is the founding coeditor of the “Sexual Cultures” series at New York University Press.

Saketopoulou and Pellegrini are the recipients of the first Tiresias Paper Award, from the Sexual and Gender Diversity Studies Committee of the International Psychoanalytical Association.

Griffin Hansbury (he/him) is a psychoanalyst in New York City. Under the pen name Jeremiah Moss, he is the author of Feral City and Vanishing New York. His writing on the city has appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and the New York Review of Books.

Deep Moon, Pluto (in person and live-streaming)
2023-06-16 18:00 - 18:30 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
Kuba Falk + Zbigniew Bzymek present: Deep Moon, Pluto
A body performance with video monitor working with themes of gay masculinity and superimposition and submission to image.
The Bureau is hosting the performance Deep Moon, Pluto in conjunction with the exhibition The Romance of Entanglement (in the era of the Observer’s Paradox), an exhibition of new work by eleven queer artists curated by participating artists Courtney Webster and Natalie Woodlock. The exhibition opens June 8 and runs through September 10.
Bio
Kuba Falk and Z Bzymek make up the queer art duo INTERHUMAN – making art that explores the diverging needs of individual spiritual growth and community interconnectedness.

@interhuman_interform
@kuba_falk
@zbi_bzym

Book Launch: Drew Pisarra's Periodic Boyfriends (in person & live-streaming)
2023-06-18 17:00 - 18:00 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
Join author Drew Pisarra for the launch of Periodic Boyfriends, his new poetry collection inspired by the Periodic Table of Elements and his personal catalog of one- night-stands. A discussion between the author and Capturing Fire Publisher and Nuyorican Poets Café Slam Legend Regie Cabico will follow the reading.
Copies of Periodic Boyfriends ($20) will be available for purchase at the event. We strongly encourage you to reserve a copy in advance so that we can be sure to have enough on hand. Please email us at contact@bgsqd.com with “Reserve Periodic Boyfriends” in the subject line.
Thank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us!
This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.
Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.
Also live-streaming at YouTube.com/@bgsqd
Suggested donation $10 to benefit the Bureau’s work.
All are welcome to attend, with or without donation.
We will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @bgsqd.
Drew Pisarra is a grantee of Café Royal Cultural Foundation, Curious Elixirs: Curious Creators, and LMCC as well as the author of the poetry collections Periodic Boyfriends (2023) and Infinity Standing Up (2019) [lauded as “brazen and lusty and often amusing” by The Washington Post] and the short story collections You’re Pretty Gay (2021) [excerpted by Ms. magazine] and Publick Spanking (1996).
Regie Cabico is a spoken word pioneer having won The Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam and later taken top prizes in three National Poetry Slams. TV credits include TEDx, two seasons of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, and NPR’s Snap Judgement. His new collection of poetry, A Rabbit in Search of a Rolex will be released Sep. 2023 by Day Eight Press. He is the publisher/producer of Capturing Fire Press and resides in DC.

JesusDevil: New York Launch with Alexis De Veaux and J. Wortham (in person & live-streaming)
2023-06-21 18:00 - 20:00 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
JesusDevil: The Parables, synthesizes a lifetime of Alexis’s movement through genre, resulting in her boldest statement on form, alternate worldmaking, and black queer life to date. For this New York launch event, Alexis will read from JesusDevil, and then join a discussion with writer J. Wortham about the book and its expansive, black queer imaginings.
Evocative and experimental, JesusDevil: The Parables is a nonlinear tale of black life and spiritual expression. Writing in a style she calls “afiction,” author Alexis De Veaux expands and moves beyond traditional narrative, following the adventures of Fhill, a black, queer spirit who has taken human form. Neither male nor female, Fhill moves fluidly and disruptively across concepts of identity, passing through the nine “parables” that comprise this text. Examining aspects of what it means to be black and human—from a nonhuman perspective—Fhill’s liminal nature redefines social and literary categories, exploring social constructions of blackness as well as themes of desire, memory, sex, revenge, and more.
Copies of JesusDevil: The Parables will be available for purchase at the event. We strongly encourage you to reserve a copy in advance so that we can be sure to have enough on hand. Please email us at contact@bgsqd.com with “Reserve JesusDevil” in the subject line.
Thank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us!
This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.
Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.
Also live-streaming at YouTube.com/@bgsqd
Suggested donation $10 to benefit the Bureau’s work.
All are welcome to attend, with or without donation.
We will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @bgsqd.
Alexis De Veaux is a black queer feminist independent scholar whose internationally known work is published in six languages. She has been publishing fiction, poetry, plays, memoirs, and children’s literature since 1973, and her work is anthologized in numerous collections. De Veaux is the author of Yabo and Warrior Poet: A Biography of Audre Lorde; and was tenured faculty at the University at Buffalo, Department of Women’s Studies, for more than twenty years, mentoring a new generation of interdisciplinary scholars of black, feminist, and queer studies.
J Wortham (they/them) is a sound healer, reiki practitioner, herbalist, and community care worker oriented towards healing justice and liberation. They are also a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, and co-host of the podcast ‘Still Processing,’ With Kimberly Drew, they co-edited Black Futures, a visual anthology and compendium of radical, imaginative, and provocative art by contemporary Black creators.

KNOWSGAY No. 8 Launch Party
2023-06-22 19:00 - 21:00 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
KNOWSGAY is back to celebrate it’s 10 year anniversary. Please join us to celebrate and pick up a copy of our latest issue.
KNOWSGAY was created for the Los Angeles Art Book Fair in 2013. An unconventional approach to zine making, KNOWSGAY exists as a lovingly assembled collection of art/ephemera that memorializes fleeting thoughts, queer emotions, and iconic and esoteric queer icons. KNOWSGAY is created by Charlie Welch and Paul Moreno. Charlie and Paul are also the founders of the New York Queer Zine Fair.
KNOWSGAY 8 will be an edition of 50 and will be for sale exclusively at the Bureau.
A portion of all sales will benefit the Bureau.

We Made It: The Testimony of Black Queer Writers with David Santos Donaldson & Robert Jones, Jr. (in person & live-streaming)
2023-06-28 19:30 - 21:00 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
“We Made It: The Testimony of Black Queer Writers”
A conversation with novelists Robert Jones, Jr. & David Santos Donaldson about their journeys being Black and queer in the world of publishing, activism, and following the legacies of Black queer artists.
Copies of The Prophets & Greenland will be available for purchase at the event. We strongly encourage you to reserve a copy in advance so that we can be sure to have enough on hand. Please email us at contact@bgsqd.com.
Thank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us!
This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.
Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.
Also live-streaming at YouTube.com/@bgsqd
Suggested donation $10 to benefit the Bureau’s work.
All are welcome to attend, with or without donation.
We will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @bgsqd.
Robert Jones, Jr. (formerly known as “Son of Baldwin”) is the author of The New York Times bestselling novel, The Prophets, which won the 2022 Publishing Triangle Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction, and was a finalist for the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Essence, Variety, and The Paris Review, as well as in the critically acclaimed anthologies Four Hundred Souls and The 1619 Project. You can subscribe for free to his newsletter, Witness, on Substack.
David Santos Donaldson is the author of the novel Greenland, a finalist for the 2023 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the 2023 Publishing Triangle Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction. He was raised in Nassau, Bahamas, and has lived in India, Spain, and the United States. Donaldson attended Wesleyan University and the Drama Division of the Juilliard School, and his plays have been commissioned by the Public Theater. His writing has appeared in various magazines including Poets & Writers, Literary Hub, Electric Literature, The Rumpus, and the German literary magazine Geistesblüten.

SEX WORKER STORY HOUR (in person only)
2023-06-29 19:00 - 20:30 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
Scratch the surface of any sizeable gathering of gay men and you will find a number of guys who have engaged in one form of sex work or another at some time in their lives: erotic massage, escorting, sacred intimacy, go-go dancing, stripping, camming for cash, appearing in adult videos (porn), OnlyFans/JustForFans, hosting sex parties, selling used underwear online, etc. And we all have stories to tell. What circumstances brought you into sex work, and what made you cycle out of it? What did you learn about yourself in the process? What were memorable triumphs or debacles for you?
Bring a story to tell, or let yourself be interviewed by Tomik Dash, founder and publisher of Fag Rag magazine, and Don Shewey, author of the just-published memoir Daddy Lover God: a sacred intimate journey (Joybody Books). Connoisseurs of sex workers also welcome to share.
Copies of Daddy Lover God will be available for purchase and signing. Copies of Fag Rag NYC will be available free of charge.
Reserve a copy of Daddy Lover God by writing to us at contact@bgsqd.com
Thank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us!

This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.
Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.

Suggested donation $10 to benefit the Bureau’s work.
All are welcome to attend, with or without donation.

We will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @bgsqd.

Biographies of participants:
Tomik Dash is a Black, gay, left-handed, near-sighted, outspoken entrepreneur, writer, activist, and sex worker. At least three of those attributes got him scholarships into college. He publishes a regional brand of fine art, LGBTQ magazines called Fag Rag that currently have editions in NYC, Fire Island, and Provincetown. He is also the President of a nonprofit called the Black and Brown Equity Coalition that advocates for Black and transgender equity on Fire Island.
www.tomik2point0.com
Instagram: @tomik2point0

Don Shewey is a writer, therapist, and pleasure activist in New York City. As a journalist and critic, he has published three books about theater and hundreds of articles for the New York Times, the Village Voice, and other publications. He has chronicled his psycho-sexual-spiritual adventures in essays for numerous anthologies as well as the book-length The Paradox of Porn: Notes on Gay Male Sexual Culture. An archive of his writing is available online at donshewey.com.
Instagram: @donsheweynyc

Images:
Cover of Daddy Lover God
Don Shewey headshot: Liam Cunningham Photography
Cover of Fag Rag NYC, featuring art work by Gio Black Peter
Tomik Dash headshot: Erik Carter

VIRTUE, NYC REVIVAL OF LANDMARK QUEER FILM
2023-07-27 18:30 - 21:00 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
Join us for a screening of VIRTUE (1999), the historical experimental queer film, followed by Q&A with director Camera Obscura, moderated by August Bernadicou (The LGBTQ History Project).
A quarter-century after its release, Virtue reflects the historical moment during the 1990s in S.F. when the two worlds of tech and queer/punk collided. As a result, Virtue was received as a perplexing anomaly. On the one hand, it was a campy, polymorphously perverse satire with music. On the other hand, it was a scathing critique (exceedingly rare at the time) of Silicon Valley’s techno-utopian vision. Neither fish nor fowl, the film defied genre.
The story, reminiscent in tone of a Twilight Zone allegory, involves a strange woman with an odd accent (Hundée) who loses her husband in a graphically depicted scene of auto-erotic asphyxiation. To cope with her loss, she seeks a virtual-reality substitute (a “man chip” as she calls it). This pursuit leads her into the prurient world of tech addicts who rely on chip pushers (the drug metaphor is obvious).
The film is chock full of cameos by bohemian icons of the day, including The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Jello Biafra, Elvis Herselvis, Phillip R. Ford, and Miss X. Also included are interviews with futurists Timothy Leary, William Gibson, R.U. Sirius, and John Perry Barlow.
Director Q/A to follow moderated by August Bernadicou (The LGBTQ History Project)
This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.
Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.
Suggested donation $10 to benefit the Bureau’s work.
All are welcome to attend, with or without donation.
We will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @bgsqd.

Words & Music: an evening of queer poetry & song with Gregg Shapiro & Jim Andralis (in person & live-streaming)
2023-08-16 19:00 - 21:00 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
Queer poet Gregg Shapiro reads from his new book Refrain In Light (Souvenir Spoon Book, 2023). Shapiro will be sharing the stage with queer musician Jim Andralis who will be performing songs from his most recent album I Can’t Stop Trying.
Copies of both Gregg’s Refrain In Light and Jim’s I Can’t Stop Trying will be available for purchase at the event!
This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.
Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.
Also live-streaming at YouTube.com/@bgsqd
Suggested donation $10 to benefit the Bureau’s work.
All are welcome to attend, with or without donation.
We will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @bgsqd.

Gregg Shapiro is the author of nine books including Refrain in Light (Souvenir Spoon Books, 2023). Recent/forthcoming lit-mag publications include San Pedro River Review, BarBar, Otherwise Engaged Literature and Arts Journal, The Penn Review, RFD, Gargoyle, Limp Wrist, Mollyhouse, Impossible Archetype, confetti, BP Review, and Panoplyzine, as well as the anthology Let Me Say This: A Dolly Parton Poetry Anthology (Madville, 2023). An entertainment journalist, whose interviews and reviews run in a variety of regional LGBTQ+ and mainstream publications and websites, Shapiro lives in South Florida with his husband Rick, and their dog Coco.

Originally born and raised in Pennsylvania, New York City-based Jim Andralis has proudly entrenched himself within the New York music community. He went from member of queer NYC punk band The Isotoners to featured performer in Joe’s Pub monthly variety show, Our Hit Parade. His 2016 solo debut, Your Dying Wish Come True, garnered critical acclaim with The Miami Herald christening it, “One of the best solo debut discs of the year.” Shut Up Shut Up [2018] and My Beautiful Enemy [2020] integrated lush harmonies courtesy of the Syntonics, adding layers of humanity and beauty to his tender and (and occasionally rauncy) songs. They had the pleasure of opening for Bikini Kill at Irving Plaza last summer. Among various collaborations, Andralis teamed up with Bridget Everett [Somebody Somewhere, Love You More, Patti Cake$] on “Hit The Ground Fuckin’” and lent his voice to Champagne Jerry’s The Champagne Room alongside the likes of Adam “Ad Rock” Horovitz [The Beastie Boys], Erin Markey, and Murray Hill. In addition, he works as a trauma-focused psychotherapist in private practice and co-hosts country music variety show Grand Ole Pubry at Joe’s Pub. Andralis is releasing a stripped EP this September, and with the Syntonics is currently recording Ghosts, an LP to be released in 2024.

OLNY Poly Movie Night: A Home at the End of the World (in person event)
2023-09-06 18:30 - 21:30 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
Open Love NY presents Poly Movie Night, a FREE series of feature films that focus on the portrayal of consensual / ethical non-monogamy in cinema. This month we’ll be in person at our regular venue, the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division.

Please join us for A Home at the End of the World (2004), based on the novel by Michael Cunningham and starring Colin Farrell, Dallas Roberts, Robin Wright, and Sissy Spacek.

Wednesday, September 6 – 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Bureau of General Services—Queer Division
208 W 13th St, Rm 210
New York, NY 10011

We’ll meet at 6:30 pm at the Bureau (in room 210 of The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center at 208 West 13th Street) for pre-screening socializing and start the movie at 7 pm. The event is free, although a $10 suggested donation to help fund future events is much appreciated.

Synopsis: Tragedy leads to a complex and intimate relationship between childhood friends Bobby and Jonathan in 1960’s Cleveland. Their history follows them into adulthood when they reconnect in New York City. Running time: 1 hour 37 minutes.

Yasi Alipour & Meg Turner - A talk about photography, queer collaborations, and Meg’s new book WET (in person)
2023-09-07 19:00 - 20:30 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
Yasi Alipour & Meg Turner – A conversation about photography, queer collaborations, and Meg’s first photo book WET.
Editor, writer and artist Yasi Alipour and long time friend and queer photographer Meg Turner talk about the creation of WET, published in march 2023 by Burn Barrel Press. Intimitely involved in the creation of WET, Yasi and Meg discuss collaboration, publishing and photographic practices.

Copies of Meg Turner’s photo book WET will be available for purchase at the event. Meg is one part of the duo PATRICIDE with Courtney Webster currently featured in The Romance Of Entanglement, on view at the Bureau and closing Sept 10th.

This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.

Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.

Suggested donation to benefit the Bureau: $10.
All are welcome to attend, with or without a donation.

Also live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel:
youtube.com/@bgsqd

Bios:
Meg Turner (b.1985) is a multi-disciplinary visual artist based in New Orleans Louisiana. Her work employs printmaking, photography, sign making, and installation in a style she refers to as Queer Maximalism. Combining intimate portraiture, analog printing and a study of economic systems and propaganda, Meg is focused on confronting/celebrating our expectations of utopia. Meg’s first solo museum show Here & Now opened in New Orleans at The Contemporary Art Center in 2019. Her work has also been exhibited at Arthur Rogers Gallery in New Orleans, HERE arts center (NYC) the Orkiestra Sinfonia Varsovia in Poland, The Center for Contemporary Printmaking in Norwalk Ct, The Museum of The Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, RI), and The Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans and other venues.

Meg’s collaborative photographic project with Courtney Webster PATRICIDE received the Robert Giard grant in 2021 and has been shown in New York at The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, BRIC, and WildProject.

Meg received her MFA from Columbia University and her BFA from The Rhode Island School of Design. She has been faculty at Parsons School of Design, Columbia University in New York City, and Tulane University in New Orleans.

Yasi Alipour is an Iranian artist/writer based in Brooklyn. Her tactile works on paper uses folding to explore mathematics as a language, with all the historical, social, political, mortal, and embodied ramifications any language holds. In her writing, research, and pedagogical approach, Alipour focuses on intergenerational conversations that happen through and within histories of erasure. Alipour currently lives in Brooklyn and wonders about paper, counting, and silence. She is a recipient of the Luis Comfort Tiffany Grant (2022), Sharpe Walentas Studio Program Award (2019/2021), Rema Hort Foundation Emerging Artist Nominee (2018/2019), and the Triple Canopy Publication Intensive (2018). Her work has been exhibited in the United States and internationally, spaces including solo exhibitions at Schlomer Haus (2023/SF), Bavan Gallery (2022, Iran), 12 Gates Gallery (2022, PHL) the Geary Contemporary (2021), Secca (2020), Venice Biennale (2019, IT), Hercules Program (2019, NY), 17 Essex (2019, NY), Limiditi-Temporary Art Project (2018, MR), Practice (2018, NY), Museum of Contemporary Art Vijdovina (2018, SR), Art in Odd Places (2017, NY), and PPOW (2017, NY).

Her writing has appeared at the Brooklyn Rail, Spot Magazine, Asia Contemporary Art Week, Photograph Magazine, Volume One/Triple Canopy, and the Dear Dave. She has been the recipient of MHZ Foundation’s Critics of Color (Curationist) and awarded the Guest Editor of the Brooklyn Rail’s Critic’s Page (November 2021). Her recent featured interviews include Julie Mehretu, Dorothea Rockburne, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Okwui Okpokwasili, Sanford Biggers, Yto Barrada, Hans Haacke, Mark Dion, Aliza Nisenbaum, Jane Benson, and Kevin Beasley.
Alipour holds an MFA from Columbia University and has been a Faculty at Parsons, New School, RISD, and SVA.

Where We Belong: New Gay Fiction (in person event)
2023-09-09 15:00 - 16:30 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
Join us for an afternoon literary reading featuring authors Brian Alessandro, Gerard Cabrera, Tom Cardamone, and Jonathan Harper. A Q&A will follow.

Books by all four authors will be available for purchase at the event. To reserve a copy of any of these books, please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com
This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.
Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.
Suggested donation $10 to benefit the Bureau’s work.
All are welcome to attend, with or without donation.
We will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @bgsqd.

Brian Alessandro has written for Interview Magazine, Newsday, PANK, Huffington Post, Lambda Literary, The Gay & Lesbian Review, and has recently co-adapted Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story into a graphic novel for Top Shelf Productions. His new novel, Performer Non Grata, was released in April by Rebel Satori Press.

Gerard Cabrera’s debut novel, Homo Novus, was published in October 2022, by Rattling Good Yarns Press, and was supported by the Bread Loaf Writers Conference and a Bread Loaf Bakeless Foundation fellowship at The Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France. Other writing has appeared in Gay Community News, Acentos Review, Angel Rust, Apricity, JONATHAN, Kweli, and Digging Press.

Tom Cardamone is the editor of Crashing Cathedrals: Edmund White by the Book, and the author of the Lambda Literary Award-winning speculative novella Green Thumb as well as the erotic fantasy The Lurid Sea and other works of fiction, including two short story collections. Additionally, he has edited The Lost Library: Gay Fiction Rediscovered and co-edited Fever Spores: The Queer Reclamation of William S. Burroughs.

Jonathan Harper is the author of the novel You Don’t Belong Here and the short story collection Daydreamers (a Kirkus Indie Book of the Year for 2015). He received his MFA in Creative Writing from American University and his writing can be found in such places like The Rumpus, The Rappahannock Review, Chelsea Station, and in the Best Gay Stories series.

Second Tuesday at the Bureau: Disorderly Men by Edward Cahill, with Charles Kaiser
2023-09-12 18:30 - 20:00 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
Please join The Center for the kick off of the 2023 – 2024 season of The Center’s long running Second Tuesday lecture series. This month features a conversation with Ed Cahill in conversation with Charles Kaiser at the Bureau.
To RSVP please email rmorales@gaycenter.org
Copies of Disorderly Men (Fordham University Press, 2023, hardcover, $28.95) are available for purchase at the Bureau and can be purchased at the event.
To reserve a copy of Disorderly Men, please write to the Bureau at contact@bgsqd.com with “Please reserve Disorderly Men” in the subject line.
Thank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us!

ABOUT DISORDERLY MEN
Roger Moorhouse is a Wall Street banker and Westchester family man with a preciously guarded secret. As the shouting begins and flashlights blaze in his face, the life he’s carefully curated over the years—a fancy new office overlooking lower Broadway, a house in Beechmont Woods, his wife and children—is about to come crashing down around him.
Columbia literature professor Julian Prince lives a comparatively uncloseted life when he finds his first committed relationship tested to its limits. How could he explain to Gus, a fearless young artist, that he couldn’t stay with him that weekend because the woman who was still technically Julian’s fiancée would be visiting? But when Gus is struck unconscious by a police baton, Julian comes out of hiding to protect him, even if exposure means losing everything.
For Danny Duffy, an Irish kid from the Bronx with a sassy mouth and diverse group of friends, the raid is a galvanizing, Spartacus moment. Danny doesn’t have too much left to lose; his family has just disowned him. But once his name appears in the newspaper, he’ll be fired from his job at Sloan’s Supermarket, where he’s risen to assistant manager of produce, and begin a journey that veers between political enlightenment and violent revenge.
The three men find themselves in a police wagon together, their hidden lives threatened to be revealed to the world. Blackmail, a private investigator, Gus’s disappearance, and Danny’s quest for retribution propel Disorderly Men to its piercing conclusion, as each man meets the boundaries of his own fear, love, and shame. The stakes for each are different, but all of them confront a fundamental question: how much happiness is he allowed to have … and what share of it will he lay claim to?

Bios
Edward Cahill is a Professor of English at Fordham University, where he’s taught since 2005. He earned a Ph.D. from Rutgers University, specializing in the literature of British America and the early US republic. He has published numerous articles in such journals as American Literature, Early American Literature, Early American Studies, and ELH. His monograph, Liberty of the Imagination: Aesthetic Theory, Literary Form, and Politics in the Early United States, was published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2012. More recently, Cahill has been teaching modern and contemporary fiction and writing novels. Some of his favorite authors to teach are Jane Austen, Henry James, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Alan Hollinghurst, Jennifer Egan, Ben Lerner, Tommy Orange, Ocean Vuong, Patricia Lockwood, and Rachel Kushner. His debut novel, Disorderly Men, will be published by Empire State Editions for Fordham University Press in September 2023. It will be the press’s first original literary fiction release. Cahill lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Charles Kaiser is the author of three books including the New York Times Notable Book of the Year and Lamba Literary Award-winner The Gay Metropolis: The Landmark History of Gay Life in America. He has been a reporter for the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and a press critic at Newsweek. He has also written for Vanity Fair, New York, Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post. He was a founder and former president of the New York chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, and has taught journalism at Columbia and Princeton. He lives in New York City.

Further From Heaven book launch (in person only)
2023-09-13 19:00 - 21:00 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
New York City book launch at the Bureau for Candystore’s nonfiction debut, Further From Heaven (Smutburger Editions)—“the smart and smutty journey of a budding genderfuck.”
Further From Heaven is a confrontational, autobiographical work tracing a decade’s worth of profile photos, anecdotes, chat histories, screenshots, dick pics, and poems shared by way of gay hookup apps. In juxtaposing the hyperreal invention of self in the digital world with the formation of the author’s fluctuating gender and erotic identifications, Further From Heaven incites a queer ethos toward sex, love, play, and desire on and offline.
Also on display, 647-723-CNDY, an infomercial-inspired erotic video (dir. Mike Feswick) and sexy dial-up hotline. Call now, operators are standing by!
Reception begins at 7:00 PM with DJ Gay Panic.
At 7:30 PM, Candystore will be in conversation with writer and artist Savannah Knoop with book signing to follow.

This event will take place in person (no live-stream) at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.

Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.

Suggested donation $10 to benefit the Bureau’s work.
All are welcome to attend, with or without donation.

We will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo@bgsqd.

I Cannot Begin to Tell You How Angry I’ve Been: Ryan Wilks, Opening Reception
2023-09-14 18:00 - 20:00 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
The Bureau is pleased to present I Cannot Begin to Tell You How Angry I’ve Been, a solo exhibition of work by Ryan Wilks.
Opening reception: September 14, 2023, 6-8 PM
Exhibition dates: September 14 – November 19, 2023
Ryan Wilks is an artist working out of Kansas City. They delight in the dirty-schoolboy-like quality of drawing crude and beautifully executed illustrations of their deepest perversions. Though much of their work contains phallic imagery, the execution and delicacy used to construct the human figure leads way to pause after a quick laugh. But the themes of Wilks’ work are much more thoughtful than a dick and fart joke. Their bodies of work weave in and out from themes of sexual celebration to the rampant Christian opposition to queer existence in America, from prayer to, most recently, rage.
This body of work titled, I Cannot Begin to Tell You How Angry I’ve Been, is a visual meandering of ire. As we all approach the collapsing ecology of the world, what does it mean to be heartbroken or to grieve the loss of a planned future? How do we hold and pursue our ambition while holding the prognosis of climate change, warnings of global crop failure, and no clean water by 2040? It feels trivial to hope for artistic success during a struggle for survival, and yet here they are, striving. This work is a space holder for both realities. Hope and Despair.

Queer Ecologies: Writers on science, nature, queerness, and the spaces in between (in person and live-streaming)
2023-09-15 19:00 - 20:30 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
How many animal species are actually gay? What can whale falls teach us about relationships and rebirth? How can queer communities find and create safe spaces in the outdoors? How can queerness help us adapt to a changing climate?
Join us at the Bureau for Queer Ecologies, an evening of readings by authors writing about queerness, science, and nature. Molly Adams, Sabrina Imbler, Eliot Schrefer, and Elizabeth Weinberg will read from new and recent work.
Copies of Adams’ Birding for a Better World, Imbler’s How Far the Light Reaches, Schrefer’s Queer Ducks (and Other Animals), and Weinberg’s Unsettling will be available for purchase. To reserve a copy of any of these titles please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “reserve book for Sept. 15th event” in the subject line.

PLEASE WEAR A MASK FOR THIS EVENT. WE WILL HAVE SOME AVAILABLE AT THE REGISTER. THANKS!
This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.

Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.

Suggested donation to benefit the Bureau: $10.
All are welcome to attend, with or without a donation.

Also live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel:
youtube.com/@bgsqd

MOLLY ADAMS is the founder of the Feminist Bird Club and co-author of the upcoming book Birding For A Better World: A Guide to Finding Joy and Community in Nature. She has an M.A. in Marine Conservation and Policy from Stony Brook University and lives in the Catskill Mountains with her spouse, their cat Rocky, and their dog Shelly.

SABRINA IMBLER is a writer for Defector, a sports and culture site, where they write about creatures and the natural world. Their first full-length book, How Far the Light Reaches, won a 2022 LA Times Book Prize. Their chapbook Dyke (geology) was selected for the National Book Foundation’s Science + Literature program. Sabrina lives in Brooklyn with their partner, a school of fish, and their two cats, Sesame and Melon.

ELIOT SCHREFER is a New York Times-bestselling author, has twice been a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, received the Stonewall Honor for best LGBTQIA+ teen book, and received the Printz Honor for best young adult book from the ALA. In naming him an Editor’s Choice, the New York Times has called his work “dazzling… big-hearted.” His science writing has appeared in Discover, Sierra, USAToday, Nautilus, and The Washington Post Magazine. He has an M.A. in Animal Studies from NYU, is on the faculty of the Fairleigh Dickinson and Hamline MFAs for creative writing, and lives with his husband in New York City.

ELIZABETH WEINBERG is a queer essayist, science communicator, and nature nerd, and the author of Unsettling: Surviving Extinction Together. Her writing has appeared in Identity Theory, The Rumpus, The Toast, American Wild Magazine, SEVENSEAS, and other publications, and she holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Washington. She has supported science communication efforts for scientific organizations, U.S. federal agencies, and nonprofits. She lives in Portland with her spouse and their dog Pigeon.

It's All A Mystery To Me: H.N. Hirsch in conversation with J.M. Redman (virtual event)
2023-09-20 19:00 - 20:30 | Online event, New York, NY, United States
Join author H.N. Hirsch discussing Fault Line, the sequel to Shade, of his Bob and Marcus Mystery series along with award-winning author J.M. Redmann, who is celebrating the release of her eleventh Mickey Knight mystery, Transitory. They will each read from their books, discuss their lives as mystery writers and what it is like to write a mystery series.
This event will take place online only.
In order to join the event on Zoom, please register on the event page on Eventbrite:
Click here to register
Also live-streaming at YouTube.com/@bgsqd
Suggested donation of $5 to benefit the Bureau.
You can make a donation when you register on Eventbrite.
Thank you for your support!
All are welcome to join, with or without a donation.

H.N. Hirsch grew up in Chicago and graduated with highest honors from the University of Michigan in 1974. He received a PhD in politics from Princeton in 1978 and then was appointed an assistant professor at Harvard, where he published his first book, The Enigma of Felix Frankfurter, which the New York Times called “brilliant” and which received widespread critical attention. In 1986 he moved to a tenured appointment at the University of California at San Diego, where he served a board member of the ACLU and a board member and president of Diversionary Theatre, one of the oldest and most highly acclaimed LGBT theaters in the country.
In 2000, he moved to an endowed chair at Macalester College in Minnesota, and in 2005 was appointed Dean of the Faculty at Oberlin College in Ohio, where he continued to teach until his retirement in 2021. In 2016, he published a memoir about his academic life and his life as a gay men, Office Hours, which one critic called “wistful and well crafted.”
A voracious reader of fiction, he realized a life-long ambition to publish his own mystery novel, Shade, in 2022, and then his current work, Fault Line, both featuring a gay couple as the main characters.

J.M. Redmann has published ten novels featuring New Orleans PI Micky Knight. Her first book was published in 1990, one of the early hard-boiled lesbian detectives. Her books have won three Lambda Literary awards. THE INTERSECTION OF LAW & DESIRE was an Editor’s Choice of the San Francisco Chronicle and a recommended book by Maureen Corrigan of NPR’s Fresh Air. Two books were selected for the American Library Association GLBT Roundtable’s Over the Rainbow list and WATER MARK won a ForeWord Gold First Place mystery award. She is the co-editor with Greg Herren of three anthologies, one of which, NIGHT SHADOWS: QUEER HORROR, was shortlisted for a Shirley Jackson award. Her books have been translated into German, Spanish, Dutch, Hebrew and Norwegian. She lives in New Orleans.

My Purpose For Dying / A Reading with Author Clyde Jeanette Shore (in person & live-streaming)
2023-09-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
North Carolina author, Clyde Jeanette Shore, has published My Purpose For Dying. Her work of non-fiction has been years in completing and much awaited by many in the LGBTQ+ community, friends, and family. The Bureau of General Services—Queer Division will host a book reading on Thursday, September 21, 2023, beginning at 7:30 pm. The evening will include a meet-and-greet with Clyde Jeanette Shore at 7 PM, a reading at 7:30 PM, Q&A to follow, with a book signing.
In My Purpose For Dying, Jeanette opens a heart-felt door by honoring a promise made to her youngest brother, Ricky Frederick Shore, to write his life story. A LGBTQ work of non-fiction, it’s the story of Ricky’s fierce life spirit since birth, his journey coming to terms with being gay, and eventually contracting AIDS during the height of the 1980’s pandemic.
Jeanette found inner peace, forgiveness, and the strength to write Ricky’s story by penning an unedited manuscript titled, Chicken Bridge Road. Here, she focused on her mother’s tragic story taking place in the early to mid-twentieth century. Her first attempt at writing proved a powerful cathartic journey for Jeanette in-light-of disclosing her mother’s battle with lifelong hardships brought on by domestic abuse, and the society steeped for centuries in rampant misogyny. It also brought to the forefront the complete lack of justice for Women’s Rights. Chicken Bridge Road is soon to be Jeanette’s second book.
It can be said that Jeanette has spent over twenty-five years on the production in writing these two, prominent family stories, and is thrilled to finally share her achievements. She credits her family, who have been instrumental in supporting her healing and writing over the past years.
“I couldn’t have accomplished My Purpose For Dying without the tremendous love and support from my daughter, Angela, and friends,” Shore said. Also, to Anthony Dronchi for signing on as my creative editor. “I value the good work of GMHC, that they continue to provide those living with HIV/AIDS today in the community.”
The event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, the independent, all-volunteer queer bookstore and cultural center located in room 210 of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St. New York City. Reading begins at 7:30 PM.
Also live-streaming at 7:30 PM on the Bureau’s YouTube channel: youtube.com/@bgsqd
The Bureau is open Wed-Sat, 1pm-7pm. You may purchase My Purpose For Dying directly from the Bureau, and we will have plenty of copies available at this event.
To reserve a copy, please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “please reserve My Purpose for Dying” in the subject line. Thank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us!
The Bureau is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Please consider donating online. For more information, please visit: bgsqd.com/donate.

More About the Author
Clyde Jeanette Shore, named after her father and paternal grandmother, grew up on a tobacco farm situated on Chicken Bridge Road, located in Chatham County, Pittsboro, N.C. Jeanette is well traveled, appreciates innovative cuisine, enjoys rock n’ roll, gospel, folk and blues music. You can find Jeanette writing in the early morning hours. Shore, a native of North Carolina, resides in Greensboro, N.C.
Media Contact:
Angela Shore
(646) 298-7234 angela@clydejeanetteshore.com

Author Donald Mengay reading and in conversation with photographer Hrvoje Slovenc (in person & livestreaming)
2023-09-30 15:00 - 16:30 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
Join author Donald Mengay and photographer Hrvoje Slovenc for a reading and conversation about Mengay’s debut novel, The Lede to Our Undoing. The work explores the challenges of being queer in the American Midwest or Rust Belt––so-called flyover America. The narrative is set in the 1970s, but it speaks to the broad retrenchment of rights occurring today: It presents the challenges for queer people in MAGA America, though before it got the name. It also explores the stifling effects of evangelical religion on queer identity, relationships, and culture. After a short reading, conversation, and Q&A, the author will sign copies for purchase at the event.
Copies of The Lede to Our Undoing (Saddle Road Press, 2023, paperback, $25) will be available for purchase at the event. To reserve a copy, please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “reserve a copy of The Lede to Our Undoing” in the subject line.
Thank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us!

This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.
Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.
Also live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel: youtube.com/@bgsqd

Suggested donation $10 to benefit the Bureau’s work.
All are welcome to attend, with or without donation.
We will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @bgsqd.

Donald Mengay grew up in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked in a factory for a time and managed a bookstore. He began writing fiction in his early twenties while pursuing a degree in Psychology at Metropolitan State University in Denver. He earned a Masters in English Lit at the University of Denver and a Ph.D. in Comparative Lit from NYU. He taught Queer and Post-Humanist Lit at the City University of New York for over thirty years, as well as English at the University of Paris, Nanterre. During his years teaching he published several articles of queer criticism in academic journals that include among others Genders, Genre, and Minnesota University Press. He has also published a book entitled Dis/Inheritance: New Croatian Photography, from Ikon Press. The Lede to Our Undoing is his debut novel, the first in a trilogy. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Hrvoje Slovenc (b. Zagreb, Croatia, 1976) is a Croatian/American photographer based in New York. He holds MFA in Photography from Yale University School of Art (2010) and MS in Biochemistry from University of Zagreb, Croatia (2000). Selected exhibitions include Traversing the Past, Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago; Biennial, the Bronx Museum of the Arts; Past is Now, Munchner Stadtmuseum in Munich, Germany; Marble Hill, Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb, Croatia; New Media, Sex, and Culture in the 21st Century, Museum of New Art in Detroit; New Acquisitions 2003-2013, Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb, Croatia; and Young Artists’ Biennial in Bucharest, Romania. His work is in the permanent collections of Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, as well as Museum of Contemporary Art and Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb, Croatia.

Exploring the New Frontier: Author and Activist Dennis Altman Arriving from Australia Live in NYC (in person & live-streaming)
2023-10-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
Join the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division and The LGBTQ History Project for a dialogue between Dennis Altman, the pioneering gay liberationist and author who played a vital role in the first wave of the Gay Liberation movement, and August Bernadicou (Executive Director, The LGBTQ History Project). Dennis was a member of the Gay Liberation Front, the revolutionary activist group that kick-started gay liberation around the world, and his insightful contributions to the cause will be at the heart of our discussion, focusing on the pressing issue of eroding gay rights and the necessity of drawing lessons from our past to prepare for the future.
This one-time-only and urgent dialogue aims to highlight the significance of preserving the legacy of the first wave of gay liberationists and providing a platform for their radical perspectives. Understanding struggles and achievements is crucial as we confront the challenges that threaten to undermine the progress made in LGBTQ+ rights. Together, we can forge a stronger path ahead and foster an environment where diverse voices can freely express their viewpoints, shaping a more inclusive and empowered future for the LGBTQ+ community. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to engage in an enlightening dialogue that will inspire and empower us all.

This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.

Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.

Also live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel:
youtube.com/@bgsqd

Suggested donation to benefit the Bureau AND The LGBTQ History Project: $10.
All are welcome to attend, with or without a donation.

Since he wrote Homosexual:Oppression and Liberation in 1972, Dennis Altman has written 15 books including Global Sex, Unrequited Love: Diary of an Accidental Activist, and Death in the Sauna. He was President of the AIDS society of Asia and the Pacific (2001-4) and is a Professorial Fellow at LaTrobe University in Melbourne, Australia.

August Bernadicou is the Executive Director of The LGBTQ History Project, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the lives and legacies of LGBTQ activists from the first wave of gay liberation. His career began in 2008 at the age of 13 when he started interviewing alternative counterculture figures for various online and in-print publications. His work primarily appeared in the punk music magazine Punk Globe. At 18, August began publishing his own “zines” (Teenage News #1, Teenage News #2, and August Nation). In 2020, he co-founded The LGBTQ History Project to archive and share his thousands of recorded interviews and conversations. Through The LGBTQ History Project, August produces a podcast featuring archival interviews, hosts LGBTQ history events, and publishes excerpts from his archive online, in newsletters, and on social media. August is driven by his mission to counteract the erasure of history and provide a platform for individuals seeking to reclaim their legacies, firmly believing that the lessons of the past can pave the way for a better-informed future.

Office Hours presents: Virtual Craft Class & Reading with Omotara James
2023-10-05 18:30 - 20:30 | online class
Postponed to Thursday, October 5, 2023

Join us for a Virtual Craft Class & Reading with Omotara James on Thursday, October 5, 2023. Craft Class will run from 6:30PM-8:30 PM EST. Followed by a reading from 8:30 PM-8:45 PM.

DESPERATELY SEEKING EROS: Edna St. Vincent Millay famously wrote “life is a quest and love is a quarrel.” What are your poems arguing against or toward? This workshop will eschew the traditional examinations of love and desire for poems that insist on exploring the existence of love in the less conventional or expected places. We will delve into the intractable relationship between eros and pathos (love and suffering). How can you shape the container of the poem to best articulate experience? What poetry forms most effectively carry the poetics of joy and despair? What does the modern discourse on desire leave out? Come ready to write yourself into the cannon. This experience will be more of a writing lab than a workshop, so arrive ready to connect, experiment, and play!

Registration on Eventbrite is required in order to access the Zoom link for the class. All donations go to the instructor.
Office Hours Poetry Workshop is a community-based writing workshop for poets who show a demonstrated commitment to writing. The workshop fellowship culminates in a public reading each fall and spring to showcase sizzling new work. We welcome all poets, especially people of color, LGBTQ+, and those who are womxn-identified. Our Craft Classes are free and open to the public with RSVP. All “tip jar” donations go directly to the author.

This event is funded in part by Poets & Writers through public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

Assotto Saint Sacred Spells Collected Works Publication Party (in person & livestreaming)
2023-10-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
ALL SEATS FOR THIS EVENT HAVE ALREADY BEEN RESERVED. PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME TO THE WAITLIST BY CLICKING ON “GET TICKETS” ON THE EVENTBRITE PAGE FOR THIS EVENT.
Click on “Get Tickets” and you’ll see the option to “join waitlist” at bottom right.
AT 7 PM ON THE NIGHT OF THE EVENT, ANY UNCLAIMED SEATS WILL BE OFFERED TO PEOPLE ON THE WAITLIST IN THE ORDER THEY WERE RECEIVED.
Join Walter Holland, Michele Karlsberg, Jewelle Gomez, Reginald Harris, Pamela Sneed, Gary Paul Wright, Allen Luther Wright and Guy Mark Foster in an evening of poetry, essays, video, plays and music as we celebrate the collected life-work of the interdisciplinary writer, performer, and central figure in the Black Gay cultural arts and AIDS movements.
In this timely collection of poetry, plays, fiction, and performance texts, Assotto Saint draws upon music and incantation, his Haitian heritage and a politics of liberation, to weave together a tapestry of literature that celebrates life in the face of death. Influential to contemporary writers such as Essex Hemphill, Marlon Riggs, and Melvin Dixon, Sacred Spells is Saint’s crucial legacy–five hundred incandescent pages of painful, lyric writing that exemplifies the visceral, spiritual dimensions of an artistic practice that’s integral to Black and LGBTQ activist movements worldwide, both historic and present.
This event is co-sponsored by Other Countries
This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED TO ATTEND IN PERSON (ALL SEATS HAVE BEEN RESERVED)
CLICK HERE TO ADD YOUR NAME TO THE WAITLIST ON EVENTBRITE.
Click on “Get Tickets” and you’ll see the option to “join waitlist” at bottom right.
RESERVED SPOTS MUST BE CLAIMED BY 7 PM–AT THAT POINT WE WILL OPEN UNCLAIMED SPOTS TO THOSE ON THE WAITLIST.
Also live-streaming at YouTube.com/@bgsqd
PLEASE ALLOW A FEW MINUTES FOR THE LIVESTREAM TO START ON YOUTUBE. WE USUALLY BEGIN ABOUT 10 MINUTES AFTER THE LISTED TIME.
Suggested donation $10 to benefit the Bureau’s work.
All are welcome to attend, with or without donation.
We will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @bgsqd.

Copies of Assotto Saint’s Sacred Spells: Collected Works, edited by Michele Karlsberg (Nightboat Books, 2023, paperback, $22.95), are available at the Bureau.
To reserve a copy to be purchased at the event, please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “reserve a copy of Sacred Spells” in the subject line.
To have a copy shipped to you, see below:

Thank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us!

Yves François Lubin (aka Assotto Saint) was a Haitian-born American writer, performer, publisher, and AIDS activist. He heavily contributed to increasing the visibility of contemporary Black queerness in the cultural arts movement of the ’80s and early ’90s. Saint drew upon his Haitian heritage, music, incantations, and radical politics to weave together a tapestry of literature that celebrates life in the face of death, and embraces politics as a way to change the world. He served as a mentor to an entire generation of up-and-coming gay Black community members. As publisher of Galiens Press, Saint published two volumes of his own poetry, Stations and Wishing For Wings, and edited two seminal anthologies of gay Black writing: the 1991 Lambda Literary Award–winning The Road Before Us: 100 Gay Black Poets and Here To Dare: 10 Gay Black Poets. His chapbook Triple Trouble was published in Tongues Untied (GMP, London). He was also the author of such plays as Risin’ To The Love We Need, New Love Song, Black Fag, and Nuclear Lovers. In 1990, he was awarded both the Fellowship in Poetry from the New York Foundation for the Arts and the James Baldwin Award from the Black Gay Leadership Forum. He lived in New York City with Jan Urban Holmgren, his life partner and co-founder of Metamorphosis Theater and the techno-pop band Xotika. Lubin died June 29, 1994 of AIDS-related complications.

QUEER COLLAGE WORKSHOP: A New York Queer Zine Fair Program (in person only)
2023-10-07 12:00 - 14:00 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
Join us for another queer collage workshop with Charlie Welch in conjunction with the New York Queer Zine Fair. All participants will create one collage that will be turned into a zine, and everyone will receive a copy. No experience necessary! All are welcome to join! Some materials (magazines, printed matter, glue, cardboard) and tools (scissors) available, but we encourage you to bring materials and tools to share. Thank you!
Facilitator – Charlie Welch
Please note:
Space is limited to the first 16 people

QUEER FIGURE DRAWING WITH DOABLE GUYS: A New York Queer Zine Fair Program (in person only)
2023-10-07 15:00 - 16:00 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
Join Kyle Anderson of Doable Guys as he leads a one hour figure drawing session with nude models in conjunction with the New York Queer Zine Fair.
This event is open to experienced artists as well as beginners. Please bring your own art supplies. Chairs will be provided.
Facilitator – Kyle Anderson
Please note: space is limited to 20 participants
First come, first served!

Notes: Past, Present and Time (in person & live-streaming)
2023-10-08 15:00 - 16:30 | NY
Writers Quenton Baker (Ballast), Anastacia-Renee (Side Notes From The Archivist) and Marcus Scott (Damn Near Might Still Be Is What It Is) share a night of onion peeling notes from the past, present and time as they use poetry and prose to be in conversation with moderator Naa Akua, each other and the audience.

This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.

Also live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel: youtube.com/@bgsqd
Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.

Books by Quenton Baker (Ballast), Anastacia-Renee (Side Notes From The Archivist) and Marcus Scott (Damn Near Might Still Be Is What It Is) will be available for purchase at the event. To reserve a copy/copies please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com

Thank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us!

Suggested donation to benefit the Bureau: $10.
All are welcome to attend, with or without a donation.

Quenton Baker is a poet, educator, and Cave Canem fellow. Their current focus is black interiority and the afterlife of slavery. Their work has appeared in The Offing, Jubilat, Prairie Schooner, The Rumpus and elsewhere. They are a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, and the recipient of the 2018 Arts Innovator Award from Artist Trust. They were a 2019 Robert Rauschenberg Artist in Residence and a 2021 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow. They are the author of we pilot the blood (The 3rd Thing, 2021) and ballast (Haymarket Books, 2023).

Anastacia-Renee is an award-winning multi-genre writer, educator, interdisciplinary artist, playwright and Speaker. Renee’ is the author of Side Notes from the Archivist, (v.), and Forget It. Here in the (Middle) of Nowhere forthcoming from HarperCollins Amistad March 2024.
https://www.anastacia-renee.com/home

Marcus Scott Williams is a writer and artist whose other works includes Sparse Black Whimsy: A Memoir (2fast2house 2017). He loves and appreciates you.

Naa Akua, is a New York born poet, actor, educator, and sound-word practitioner who is Ghanaian/Bajan and queer. Akua uses the vibratory energy of sound and the intent of word as a vehicle towards healing.

The Publishing Triangle OUTspoken Reading Series
2023-10-12 19:00 - 21:00 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
The Publishing Triangle launches its monthly OUTspoken Reading Series at the Bureau!
OUTspoken was presented last June as a joint program with the East Midtown Partnership as part of that organization’s Pride celebration, but now we’re making it monthly and moving it to the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division.
This edition will feature:
Jeffery Berg
‘Nathan Burgoine (joining us remotely from Ottawa, Ontario)
Dale Corvino
Allen Ellenzweig
Michael Thomas Ford (joining us remotely from Ohio)
Robyn Gigl (joining us remotely from New Jersey)
Nina Kennedy
William Christy Smith

This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.

Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.

Also live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel:
youtube.com/@bgsqd
Suggested donation to benefit the Bureau: $10.
All are welcome to attend, with or without a donation.

AiOP 2023: DRESS "Walk & Talk" (in person & live-streaming)
2023-10-13 18:00 - 19:30 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
“Walk & Talk” is an intimate runway presentation of six projects from Art in Odd Places (AiOP) 2023: DRESS festival curated by Gretchen Vitamvas. The selected artists will walk the runway and discuss their work.
AiOP 2023: DRESS is the eighteenth edition of the iconic public visual and performance art festival taking place along 14th Street in Manhattan, October 13-15. The 35 participating artists’ projects explore the many facets of ‘dress’ with projects examining clothing production and colonialism, fast fashion and waste, transformation and gender identity (and intolerance), cultural identity, work and labor, censorship, the passage of time and its traces, beauty, disability, status, armor, joy and grief.
Featured artists:
Vanessa Fairfax Woods presenting The F Word
Molly Jae Vaughan presenting Project 42
Reid Arowood presenting NeXXXa
Clare Charnley & Farah Naz Moon presenting Ever Given Neelkuthi
Daniela Fabrizi presenting Garbagia
Juliet Johnson presenting Styling Sick
Photo credit: Gretchen Vitamvas, Camouflage Promenade, AiOP 2008: Pedestrian (photo by Jonathan Bumble)
This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.

Also live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel: youtube.com/@bgsqd
Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.
This event is free and open to all!
But donations to support the Bureau’s work are welcome!

AiOP is an annual festival that presents visual and performance art in public spaces along 14th Street in Manhattan, NYC from Avenue C to the Hudson River each October. Active in New York City since 2005, founded and led by NYC artist Ed Woodham, AiOP aims to stretch the boundaries of communication in the public realm by presenting artworks in all disciplines outside the confines of traditional public space regulations. AiOP reminds us that public spaces function as the epicenter for diverse social interactions and the unfettered exchange of ideas. Using 14th Street as a laboratory, this project continues AiOP’s work to locate cracks in public space policies and to inspire the popular imagination for new possibilities and engagement with civic space.

TRANSPOETHICALBODY: A Sensory Invitation (hybrid in-person & virtual event)
2023-10-14 15:00 - 16:30 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
Welcome to an extraordinary literary gathering, TRANSPOETHICALBODY: A Sensory Invitation. This remarkable event offers an immersive experience where literature, translation, and LGBTQ+ issues converge. Prepare to embark on a captivating journey as you connect with the esteemed author and publisher, delve into the intricacies of translation politics, and indulge in a mesmerizing recitation of tantalizing poetry in both English and Portuguese.
Immerse yourself in profound conversations with the author, exploring the poetic realm while gaining insights into their lived experience as a Transman in Brazil. Engage in thought-provoking discussions that shed light on the current political and cultural climate surrounding trans* and LGBTQ+ issues in Brazil, expanding your awareness and fostering empathy.
At this event, you will bear witness to the unveiling of a groundbreaking literary work—the first, if not one of the few, books of translated Trans* erotic poetry, and translated Black erotic poetry. Discover the delicate dance of translation politics and celebrate the power of artistic expression across borders.
TRANSPOETHICALBODY: A Sensory Invitation beckons you to an evening of intellectual stimulation, cultural exploration, and a celebration of diverse voices. Join us on this unforgettable odyssey that will ignite your senses and provoke profound contemplation.
Join us in person for this event at the Bureau,
room 210 of The LGBT Community Center,
OR
watch the live-stream at youtube.com/@bgsqd
Tiely, the author of TRANSPOETHICALBODY, will join us virtually.
Dr. Tanya L. Saunders, the founder and editor-in-chief of Améfrica Press, will join us in person at the Bureau.
Copies of TRANSPOETHICALBODY (Améfrica Press, 2023, paperback, $14.99) are available for purchase at the Bureau and can be purchased at the event.
To reserve a copy, please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “reserve a copy of TRANSPOETHICALBODY” in the subject line.
Thank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us!
Suggested donation $10 to benefit the Bureau’s work.
All are welcome to attend, with or without donation.
We will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @bgsqd.

Tiely is a pioneering Transman rapper, writer, and activist from São Paulo, Brazil. With a career spanning over three decades, he has made significant contributions to the arts and LGBTQIAP+ advocacy, challenging societal norms through his work. Tiely’s thought-provoking poetry and unwavering commitment to social justice continue to inspire and empower audiences worldwide.
Tiely is a multi-talented artist and activist from São Paulo, Brazil, with a career spanning over 38 years. He began his artistic journey as an actor, dancer, and photographer, eventually venturing into music as a rapper in renowned rap groups. Tiely has made significant contributions to Brazilian rap as the country’s first Transman rapper. In addition to his achievements in music, Tiely has also explored various artistic disciplines, including literature, filmmaking, theater, and television.
Throughout his career, Tiely has been actively involved in cultural, social, and sports projects, advocating for LGBTQIAP+ rights, women’s rights, and diverse identities. He uses his artistic platform to address and raise awareness about societal issues and promote inclusivity. Tiely’s commitment to creating meaningful change extends beyond his solo work, as he collaborates with other artists and organizations to amplify his message and fight for respect and acceptance of differences.
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Tiely has continued to engage with audiences through virtual and hybrid performances, participating in festivals, seminars, and debates. In 2021, he published his collection of Trans Black erotic poetry, titled “TransCorpoÉtico,” showcasing his literary talents. Tiely’s recent accomplishments also include coordinating the “Território Hip Hop” program and working on his upcoming novel, “Deusa Pagã.” Through his artistic endeavors and activism, Tiely remains dedicated to creating a more inclusive and accepting society.

Dr. Tanya L. Saunders is a sociologist interested in the ways in which the African Diaspora throughout the Americas uses the arts as a tool for social change. As a 2011-2012 Fulbright scholar in Brazil, Dr. Saunders began work on their current project about Black Queer Artivism in Brazil. Dr. Saunders is the founder and editor-in-chief of Améfrica Press.

The Gay Liberation Front: Making History (in person & live-streaming)
2023-10-15 15:00 - 16:30 | Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States
Many myths have been spawned about Stonewall and the rise of the modern LGBTQ movement. This afternoon a few of the surviving founders of the Gay Liberation Front, first and most radical LGBTQ organization directly after Stonewall, will present a true history as they witnessed it. First Martha Shelley will read from her memoir, WE SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE. She’ll talk about the pre-Stonewall days, when she was one of a handful of lesbians out in public, then about the Gay Liberation Front where she and others of her sisters and brothers worked and succeeded in changing US society and the world. A panel discussion will follow, after which the audience will be invited to participate.
Martha Shelley will be joined in conversation by fellow Gay Liberation Front Founders Perry Brass, Mark Segal, Dr. Flavia Rando, Mark Horn, & John Knoebel.

To reserve a copy of Martha Shelley’s We Set the Night on Fire: Igniting the Gay Revolution (Chicago Review Press, 2023, hardcover, $28.99) please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com
Thank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us!

This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.

Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.

Also live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel:
youtube.com/@bgsqd
Suggested donation to benefit the Bureau: $10.
All are welcome to attend, with or without a donation.

Martha Shelley organized the first gay protest march after Stonewall and was a co-founder of the Gay Liberation Front. In addition to her work on radical newspapers and feminist presses, she produced the world’s first lesbian radio program at WBAI-FM. She is the author of four books of poetry, three novels and, most recently, the memoir We Set the Night on Fire.
Perry Brass joined the Gay Liberation Front in 1969 and co-founded the Gay Men’s Health Project Clinic. He is the author of 13 books as well as a journalist, playwright, poet, and essayist.
Mark Segal was a participant at Stonewall and one of the founding members of the Gay Liberation Front. He is the author of And Then I Danced, and the publisher of the award-winning newspaper, Philadelphia Gay News.
Dr. Flavia Rando joined the Gay Liberation Front in 1969. She is an art historian and editor, teaches Lesbian, Women’s and Gender Studies, and serves as a curator of the Lesbian Herstory Archives.
Mark Horn joined both the Gay Liberation Front and Gay Activists Alliance in 1970. A lifelong gay activist, he is author of Tarot and the Gates of Light and has taught at both the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Readers’ Studio International Tarot Conference.
John Knoebel participated in GLF men’s living collectives, the Weinstein Hall sit-in, the 1970 Village Riot, GLF’s outreach to the Black Panthers and many other GLF actions. He subsequently pursued a 35-year career as a senior executive with The Advocate and OUT magazines.
