The Writers that Inspired Pussy Riot
Author: Paige Cohen
August 23, 2012
Over the past few months, protesters have taken to the streets all over the globe—Hamburg, New York, Barcelona, Paris, Liverpool—all in support of Russian feminist punk-rock band, Pussy Riot’s right to freedom. Last Friday, Pussy Riot was sentenced to two years in prison by a Russian court.
A participant in the Liverpool protest, said:
Women being silenced by the state is nothing new but the current clampdown on women’s rights, gay rights and human rights generally in Russia is seriously worrying. Pussy Riot have helped to shine a spotlight on the current state of Russian society under Putin, but sadly they have had to sacrifice their own freedom in doing so.
[The Guardian]
While the two-year sentence was not the news many had hoped for, Pussy Riot continues to inspire. By standing by the cause they believe in, they have sparked a tremendous reaction throughout the world and motivated others to do the same—read more about Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, their final statements, and the authors who inspired them here.
An English-to-English Translation of Emily Dickinson’s Poetry
Paul Legault, a finalist for this year’s Lambda Literary Award in gay male poetry, “translated” over a thousand Dickinson’s poems into “pithy, irreverent, and often insightful modern missives” in his new book, The Emily Dickinson Reader: An English-to-English Translation of Emily Dickinson’s Complete Poems, released by McSweeney’s last week.
A few examples:
Love has really big hands.
Hope is kind of like birds. In that I don’t have any.
The sun is why we can see the sun.
Read more (with links to the original poems included) here.
Ezra Miller, Star Of ‘Perks Of Being A Wallflower,’ Comes Out As Queer In ‘Out’ Magazine
Ezra Miller, star of We Need to Talk About Kevin—the 2011 adaptation of Lionel Shriver’s book—came out as queer in an interview with Out Magazine. Miller will be starring as a gay character in the film adaptation of author Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower which will be released in theaters September 2012. [HuffingtonPost]
Dear Mr. Akin, I Want You to Imagine…
In response to Rep. Todd Atkin’s recent controversial statements on abortion, Eve Ensler—Tony Award-winning queer playwright, performer, and activist—published this amazing, informative letter in the HuffingtonPost.
