GAYLETTER

My own personal mantra is: language does everything. It will heal, it will inspire, it can hurt, it can mold.  Poet Claudia Rankine writes, “[S]omeone asked the philosopher Judith Butler what made language hurtful. I could feel everyone lean forward. Our very being exposes us to the address of another, she said. We suffer from the condition of being addressable, by which she meant, I believe, there is no avoiding the word-filled sticks and stones of others.” This addressability is at the center of each of us, and though we are so physically different, our ability to assess and feel language, which can delineate any space, is what helps, in times like these, spread empathy and compassion throughout communities. Words, be they spoken in French, Spanish, Creole, Mandarin or English, carry weight that must be respected. Our ability to understand language will never go away. Language in any form will always be able to bring people together in times of need. Words mean things.

Today, when the LGBTQIA+ community’s collective heart is tender to the touch, it’s essential that we come together as one; to remember, uplift, soothe, and above all else, love each other. Today in the lovely Sheep’s Meadow, poets from all over the world are coming together to bring the magic of a nightclub into their vigil space for our brothers and sisters lost in Orlando. Including some of our GAYLETTER friends, Erin Markey, Slava Mogutin, Justin Syre, Joseph Keckler, Geraldine Visco, Xena Stanislavovna Semjonová, Stephen Boyer and many more hope to share their words with you. Go listen, be with friends, remember that none of us are ever alone. I’ll leave you with some Anne Carson, “Words, if you let them, will do what they want to do and what they have to do…”

Jun 14, 6:00PM-8:00PM, Central Park, Sheep’s Meadow, NYC.