Queer Border Crossings July 14, 2011

Even as New York becomes the largest state to legalize same sex marriage, the queer body remains a point of contention in public policy and literature. In writing the queer body, the borders that separate pertain not just to gender and sexuality, but also race and voice, form and genre. In this multi-genre reading,Ronaldo Wilson, Rahul Mehta, Kit Yan, and Ching-In Chencross borders of both gender and genre. Avant-garde poet Ronaldo Wilson reads from Poems of the Black Object, winner of the Asian American Literary Award--detailing the nitty-gritty of bodily fluids, illicit subcultures, and dream states to critique the objectification of the black queer body. Short story writer Rahul Mehta will take you across continents, uncomfortable family gatherings, and bitter generational rifts to reveal the growing pains of being gay and Indian American in Quarantine. Multi-genre poet Ching-In Chen plays with form and theatrical jazz aesthetics in her latest work. A Hawaiian spoken word artist lost in New York, Kit Yan’s love poems, dirty sex stories, and comedic tales of his childhood are raw, real, heart-wrenching, and unforgettable.