Jennifer Benka Named the Executive Director of the Academy of American Poets
Author: Vanesa Evers
June 29, 2012
What’s new in literature in the LGBT community?
On June 11, 2012, Jennifer Benka, was announced as the new Executive Director for the Academy of American Poets after years of dedication to varies sectors in nonprofit organizations. Alongside her many achievements working with nonprofit organizations, Benka has written two collections of poetry, Pinko and A Box of Longing With Fifty Drawers. Check this link out if you’d like to read more about Jennifer Benka and her new role as the Executive Director the Academy of American Poets.
Who said there were enough poems about coming out? Well, not me. Check out a new poem by acclaimed poet, Frank Bidart, “Queer”
On a heavier topic, Christopher Bram’s article, “From this Day Forward: Marriage in Gay and Lesbian Fiction,” in The New York Times, June 22, 2012, attempts to answer a question that has been rearing its head every since same sex marriage has become legalized in certain states; now that gay people can marry, will that mean it’s the end of gay and lesbian fiction? Bram’s answer to a rhetoric question is given through a brief overview of literature in the LGBT community. He points out how many authors chose to write about same sex marriage before it was legalized. He strongly feels that the question in itself is a minor slap in gay and lesbian fiction’s faces because it assumes that gay and lesbian people can’t see themselves in straight fiction, which is far from the truth; even if the view is skewed, the LGBT community never had a problem seeing themselves in straight fiction, both communities obviously have more in common than what is assumed. Read the article for yourself and see what you think.
Poet and writer, Charlie Vazquez, is not only using June as a month of pride in the LGBT community but also as a time to reflect on his own personal pride. Vazquez, a native New Yorker, is happy that his writings about the issues in the LGBT community are read world-wide. He writes contemporary Latino literature and views himself as a Latino and a gay man. He sees this combination as a celebration of his sexuality and his roots. Celebrate your own personal pride with Vazquez.
