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WomonWrites 1988 -10 Years and Growing
"Street Theater" Marks Stonewall's 19th
Unusual for more Ilian just its longevity,
WomonWritcs-a Southeastern Lesbian
Writers' Conference-celebrated her 10th year
June 1-5,1988. From the beginning in 1978,
the original planners were committed to
"being out" with their conference. Today
WomanWritcs is one of the few lesbian
writers' conferences in the country and
perhaps the oldest.
A distinction of this conference stems from
its "no star" philosophy. The attending
lesbians teach the workshops and read their
work to oilier participants. You get critique
on your work only if you ask for it The idea
is to create a community of lesbian writers
ranging from beginners to nationally known,
who provide each other a place to write and to
be heard. Each year the current planners ask
for women to organize the conference for the
next year. This passing on of the
responsibility of the conference from year to
year, very often to first-time attendees, helps
keep new energy in the planning.
During the ending circle each woman has
the opportunity to speak about her experience
at WomonWrites. Difficult issues often
emerge. Written evaluations bring up
concerns that the next year's planners will
address in their fall organizing meeting.
One concern throughout the years has been
the lack of racial diversity at the conference.
An ongoing effort and commitment has been
to make the conference a safe place for
lesbians of color which has included outreach
and antiracism workshops at the conference.
In many ways the problems of our society are
Writing during free-time
on Radclyffe Hall porch.
Georgia, just down the road from a barbeque
pit and who knows how many Free-Will
Baptist churches, as a southeastern lesbian
writers conference that has existed every
summer for ten years. We aren’t supposed to
exist, and we don’t exist in the eyes of much
of mainstream society. But goddamn it we
do exist and that in itself is revolutionary I
think. For five days we are like a clan come
home and like any homecoming it’s never
perfect, never what I expect and always so
mirrored in the conference. The conference
remains predominately white and middle
class.
The conference is diverse in age range.
Women from early twenties to their seventies
bring a richness to the conference as we learn
about our lesbian culture and past, and look
forward toward the future.
As I write this piece I am wearing my
WomanWritcs T-shirt (designed by Feral
Willcox). Below the name appears an outline
of the Southeastern United States-complcte
with flamingos, palm trees, mountains, cows,
alligators, armadillos, peaches, thunderclouds,
birds and a labryis—a lesbian tourist map of
sorts. The map is open at the top, a vessel to
be filled with ideas, words, and actions.
WomonWrites is such a vessel, bringing
lesbian writers together to share our work.
Celeste T. writes the foilwing about her
WomonWrites ’88 experience:
"As I sal in the closing circle waiting for
my turn to take the shell and talk, I just kept
thinking how remarkable it was that we even
existcd-120 women writers, 120 lesbian
writers, silting in a dining hall in middle
much more than 1 can every imagine
beforehand. For five days sharing work in the
workshops, getting to hear lesbians read their
writing out loud, no matter what level of
writing they are at, no matter if I like or agree
with everything I hear, feeds me, and has
come to feel like the beginning and end of
each year; a point in my own life and writing
by which I mark the other 360 days."
WomonWrites happens around the same
lime every year (the first weekend in June).
Look for flyers in Charts Books and More
beginning in March. The sliding scale fee
which includes a complete waiver option
peaks around S60 or $70 for the full
conference.
- Amanda Gable
"Street Theatre," an outlandish comedy
commemorating the 19th anniversary of the
Stonewall riots in New York City's Greenwich
Village, opens in Atlanta June 27th at the
Georgia-Pacific Auditorium.
"Street
Theatre"
recreates June 27,
1969 when gays
barricaded
themselves inside
Greenwich
Village's
Stonewall Inn
and for two
nights rioted
against police
harassment.
While the play
entertains as a
comedy, it also
displays the
resolve and
courage of the
leather types,
drag queens and
assorted other
"misfits" who
sparked the
modem-day
lesbian and gay
rights movement..
This , . «;;
production of the * ^ 01
Doric Wilson play represents the debut of The
Company We Keep, a company committed to
gay theatre in Atlanta.
"The Company We Keep was formed to tap
acting and production talent from the gay and
lesbian community and those sympathetic to its
concerns," says Lee Harrington, general
manager and founder, "while offering positive
and honestly presented images to thousands of
lesbians and gays."
Produced and directed by Harrington,
"Street Theatre" stars Aaron Bowie and
Timothy Kevin as Ceil and Boom Boom, two
hilarious street quccas. Kevin has starred in the
Atlanta productions of Rebecca Ranson's "For
Love and For
Life" and Jim
Grimsley's
"Mister
Universe."
The June 27th
performance will
also be a benefit
for LEGAL
(Legislate
Equality for
Gays and
Lesbians). .
The play
opens at the Poor
Man's Gallery on
June 30th, the
second
anniversary of
theU.S.
Supreme Court
decision in
Hardwick v.
Bowers which
left Georgia as
one of 26 states
with sodomy
srrppt Thpatpr" legislation still
Street ineater on the books
The opening performance at the Georgia-
Pacific Auditorium will begin at 8 P.M. and
tickets are Si 0.00. Other performances are at
the Poor Man's Gallery, 1055 Peachtree Street,
June 30-July 9 and July 16-23 at 8 P.M. and on
July 15th at 7:00 P.M. Tickets for these
performances are $8.00. Call 875-7500 for
reservations.
Higher
Ground;
Voices
of
AIDS
A Play by
Rebecca
Ranson
June 21-25
8:30 pm j
Horizon
Theatre in t
the L5P
Community
Center |
1083 J
Austin Ave. |
CaD I
874-7926
for
preservations
'* (tickets $ 15)
Proceeds benefit Atlanta FiAPWA, (Atlanta Association of People
With AIDS) and SAME, (Southeastern Arts, Media St Education Project)
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