Kalyani Magazine is a new literary magazine publishing work by women of color. They are making the most of the new publishing environment, using CreateSpace to publish the journal as a "print-on-demand" book. Check out their website and order a copy: http://kalyanimagazine.com/

Gazing Grain Press, an inclusive feminist press, is hosting its second annual chapbook contest, sponsored by the Fall for the Book literary festival in Washington, D.C. The contest is judged this year by poet Cathy Park Hong and open to submissions until June 1.

This contest promotes feminist poetry to and by writers of all genders and sexualities. We are interested in work that explores ideas of identities as connected to gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity, culture, and ability. We have no one "definition" of feminism and are open to anything.

The winner of the contest receives publication, contributor copies, and an invitation to read at Fall for the Book (including accommodation and continental U.S. travel). Full guidelines and more details about the press are here at the Gazing Grain Press website, http://gazinggrainpress.wordpress.com/.

Sinister Wisdom contributor, Sandra Langer, is fundraising for her new book on Romaine Brooks, All or Nothing: The Many Faces of Romaine Brooks. The book is an exciting new reading of the oh-so glamorous life of one of the most transgressive sublimely opinionated gay figures of the 20th century. Think K.D. Lang meets I Kissed A Girl. Sandra reexamines Brooks’ hot gender-bender romances with Winnaretta Singer, Renée Vivien, Gabriele D’Annunzio, Ida Rubenstein, and Natalie Barney.

Sandra is raising money to include 24 black and white photos in the book which will be published by University of Wisconsin Press. If you would like to learn more about the book and the fundraising campaign, click over to:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1225145609/join-team-romaine-brooks-...

Congratulations, Sandra! All of us at Sinister Wisdom are looking forward to reading the book!

A contributor to Sinister Wisdom, E. F. Schraeder, wrote to us:

A number of years ago, Sinister Wisdom was home to one of my first published poems (it was quite a while ago . . . early 90's!).

I'm thrilled to announce that my first poetry chapbook, The Hunger Tree, was selected by Finishing Line Press as a semifinalist in the New Women's Voices series. Please see the attachment for a look at what authors and activists are saying about the collection.

The Hunger Tree can be ordered online, visit http://www.facebook.com/l/kAQFRLpoOAQFXyjjrFlEvnpgHPd7EIdzqoszKycPWXbDaz... and click on pre-order forthcoming titles.

Or go directly to the webpage here: https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product_info.php?cPath=4&products_id=...

EF ended saying,
Thank you so much for keeping space for lesbian writers and artists!

All of us at Sinister Wisdom are excited about your book and looking forward to its publication day!

April 13, 2013
The current changing media scene leaves many questioning the relevance of books and even the written word in the 21st century. One annual, national event proves again that that question is essentially, on its face, irrelevant.

This year, the Rainbow Book Fair will be held on Saturday, April 13, 2013 and take place from 12:00Noon-6:00PM at the Holiday Inn New York City-Midtown-57th Street, located at 440 West 57th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues. There is a $3 suggested donation.

National in its reach and scope, over 100 exhibitors, authors, poets and publishers will share one floor in one enormous exhibition ballroom. Appearances, panels, and readings will be held a short flight up from the exhibition hall in a suite of meeting rooms. All areas are wheel chair accessible. Some events will have ASL interpretation.

Although over 1000 attendees will come to see and sample thousands of printed works, including, book, plays, poetry, periodicals, comic books, graphic novels, and photography books, the hallmarks of the Rainbow Book Fair are the panels, appearances and readings featured every year, throughout the day of the event.

The Rainbow Book Fair has never shied away from news-makers and controversy and this year is no different. Lesléa Newman, the author of Heather Has Two Mommies is used to being at the center of a firestorm and is appearing at the book fair to meet readers of all ages, sign books and answer questions about her latest adult title, October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard. Sarah Schulman, an activist in all media: film (UNITED IN ANGER: A History of ACT UP), theater at PS 122 and La Mama and prose (The Gentrification of the Mind: Witness to a Lost Imagination) brings her wit and candor to discuss her newest work, Israel/Palestine and the Queer International. Any triumphs that LGBT people experiences today is built on the blood, sweat and tears of those that walked the walk before them. Reminding us of this is novelist Julian Earl Farris, author of The Sin Warriors, a story of what Florida academics do when they must face anti-gay witch hunts in the 1950's. Also joining this group of literary luminaries is David Leddick, author, cultural observer, photography expert, (The Male Nude) and playwright (Rent Boy, the Musical) to sign his new book, The Beauty of Men Never Dies and meet the people who love books, culture and the male form.

The Rainbow Book Fair prides itself on its deep commitment to diversity and the real examination of current topics and themes. This year's panels entitled, "From Poetry to Prose & Back", "Queer Sleuths", "New Trans Fiction: New Work from America's Transgender Underground", "Queer Asian-American Writers" place RBF5 on the front line of any discussion about the present and future of the LGBT zeitgeist.

Many attendees come to the Rainbow Book Fair for only one reason: The Poetry Salon. This year the Salon will be curated by Nathaniel Siegel and Regie Cabico and over 75 poets will be reading nonstop.

With a full day of literary offerings of this range of scope, it is clear that this years Fair will be another event for the history books.

The Rainbow Book Fair is presented under the aegis of The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies and headed by a steering committee and sponsored by publishers, writers and local businesses.

For complete panel and exhibitor information, please go to the website: www.RainbowBookFair.com

Sinister Wisdom will be sharing a table with A Midsummer Night's Press at the Rainbow Book Fair in New York City on Saturday, 12 April 2013 from 12 noon until 6 p.m. If you are in the New York area, please make plans to attend the Rainbow Book Fair and say hi to Julie and Merry. We will be selling subscriptions to the journal, peddling deeply discounted back issues of Sinister Wisdom, and talking to readers and writers about the journal. We would love to meet you and talk with you about Sinister Wisdom, and the day is filled with great readings, workshops, as well as tables and tables of interesting and exciting LGBT books. Check it out!

At last! The interview by Merry Gangemi, host/producer of Woman-Stirred Radio Goddard College WGDR with Jeri Hilderley is up for listening on youtube. Jeri discusses her musical roots in sculpture and 60s street theater, the 70s Women's Music Movement, lgbtq sensibilities, details of The SeaWaves' work in making their newly releasedCD, Talking Truth and much more. The interview, interspersed with poignant songs from the CD, is 1 hr 14 minutes and 22 seconds long.
It should stream without a pause - - If not, click into it again. Enjoy. And please give us feed back after listening to it by commenting on the blog.

For interview go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVREK1DKlzQ&feature=youtu.be

more info
www.seawaverecordings.com
www.cdbaby.com/cd/theseawaves

Sinister Wisdom will be at the AWP (Association of Writing Programs) Conference in Boston next week. Come visit us at our table and meet us at the lesbian and LGBT events featured at the conference!

I admire Bryan Borland and his Sibling Rivalry Press. In just a few short years, Sibling Rivalry Press has become a powerhouse of LGBT publishing--and I should say that I am excited to work with Bryan as he publishes my second collection of poetry, Sisterhood, this fall. Recently, Bryan read Sinister Wisdom 87--Tribute to Adrienne Rich. He was so inspired, not only by the issue but by the tradition of the magazine, the he decided to provide free copies of Assaracus, the gay male poetry journal that he edits and publishes, free to prisoners. I was tickled to learn about this from Facebook and his blog. Bryan wrote,

Inspired by the long-running journal Sinister Wisdom, we are also proud to offer a special hardship subscription price of $20.00, which includes four issues of Assaracus shipped anywhere in the world. We ask that you pay full price should you have the ability to do so, but one’s degree of good fortune should never impede access to poetry. Likewise, we will provide free copies of Assaracus to LGBTIQ support groups, mental health facilities, or correctional facilities by request. To request a free copy or subscription, please email us.

Lesbian-feminism lives--and continues to inspire new, righteous actions.

Julie

A new exhibit at the University of Oregon's Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, “West of Center: Art and the Counterculture Experiment in America,” includes work by Ruth Mountaingrove and Tee Corinne. Ruth is a current contributor to Sinister Wisdom, sending in regular book reviews and other dispatches. Tee is beloved to the Sinister Wisdom Community for her iconic photograph that graced the cover of Sinister Wisdom in the 1970s and was printed as a poster and was a staple for many lesbian feminists throughout the 1980s. Tee, who passed away in 2006, and Ruth are an important part of Sinister Wisdom.

The exhibit runs from February 9 through April 28. One part of the exhibit is about the Oregon lesbian land communities. Photographs from Ruth Mountaingrove’s collection and Tee Corinne’s collection are featured. On Wednesday, April 24, 5:30 p.m., Billie Miracle and Carol Newhouse will participate in a discussion about the lesbian lands with one of the curators, Elissa Auther.

Here is more information about the exhibit:

http://jsma.uoregon.edu/westofcenter

http://jsma.uoregon.edu/westofcenterprograms

Prof. Timothy Miller of the University of Kansas, a preeminent scholar of intentional communities in the U.S., will give a talk (one of the programs associated with the West of Center exhibit) on Friday February 22 in the Knight Library Browsing Room (this is the room where we had the Tee Corinne symposium in 2008). Part of his talk will be about the lesbian communities in Oregon.

Thanks to Ruth for passing this information along to us!