Queer Slam

This episode was recorded live on September 28th, 2020 on Zoom. We begin our two year anniversary show with two open micers before getting into our two headliners. First, Adam Swanson. He is a writer and works as an advocate specializing in public health equity. His writing has appeared in O, The Oprah Magazine, the Lambda Literary Review, the Washington Post, and elsewhere. He works full-time at the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, and is a master's student in the Creative Writing Program at Emerson College in Boston. Then, we have Bobby Miller. He is a performance poet, writer, actor and photographer. He is the author of 23 books of photography and poetry and all books are available at Blurb.com. He has performed his original material at Lincoln Center, The Smithsonian Institute, New York University, and was also a winner in The National Poetry Slam as a member of The Nuyorican Poets. He has been seen on television on the PBS program City Arts and the BBC/PBS produced program The Clive James Hour. Mr. Miller also curated and hosted Verbal Abuse, a spoken word evening, the first Sunday of each month at Jackie 60 & Mother Nightclub in New York City.

This episode was recorded live on August 24th, 2020 on Zoom. We begin with a moving and personal open and then get right to our headliners. First, is Summer Doles Warner, the author of the poetry collection, “Dancing to Songs About Death.” She is an actress, a freelance writer, and a teacher. Her essays have appeared on sites like Scary Mommy and The Mighty. She is also a foster mom and provides child care for foster and adoptive parent support groups. Then we hear from Cornelius Lee-- an advocate for those who reside on the margins of society without their consent; a proud Black gay man; a conscientious objector; a work in progress; and a leader and learner of concepts related to diversity, inclusion, and equity. His passion projects include teaching people about wine through an equity lens and writing about issues related to race, class, and power.

This episode was recorded live on July 27th, 2020 on Zoom. We start with a lively open mic full of new and familiar faces before getting into our headliners. First, is Ever Mainard a non-binary comedian and actor that can be seen on Netflix as well as in the Conan O'Brian series, "Meet the Staff." You can follow them on IG & Twitter @evermainard . Then we hear from Arlo Weierhauser, a stand up comedian, actor, and all around pretty fun person. They can be seen in the Disney plus movie, Timmy Failure and on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

This episode was recorded live on June 22nd, 2020 on ZOOM. We start with a short and sweet open mic before getting to our two wonderful headliners. First, is Tyler Curth a queer poet and violist from Louisville, KY. He received his MFA from North Carolina State University in 2018. He recently took a position with the National Captioning Institute in Lexington, KY as a Live Voice Writer. Then, we have Isiah Fish-- a poet and performer also from Louisville, KY who wants you to be kinder to yourself. He holds an MFA in Poetry from Southern Illinois University - Carbondale, where he worked as editor for Crab Orchard Review. His poems have appeared in Blood Orange Review, Miracle Monocle, & Foglifter.

This week's show was recorded live on Zoom on May 25th, 2020. We start with a word from host, Tony Soto, then we get into an open mic that is filled with familiar voices, before our headliners: First, is Alexis P. Bevels. She's a Chicago drag queen, winner of season 1 of camp wannakiki, and head intern for the hit YouTube network IMHO. Then, Jesus Valles, a queer Mexican immigrant, educator, storyteller, and performer from Cd. Juarez/El Paso. Their work has been published in The Shade Journal, The Texas Review, The New Republic, Palabritas, The Acentos Review. As an actor, they are the recipient of four B. Iden Payne Awards, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama and Outstanding Original Script. They were nominated for the Mark David Cohen New Play Award for their play, (Un)Documents.

Resources:

The Trevor Project - 1-866-488-7386

The Trans Lifeline - 1-877-565-8860

Suicide Prevention Hotline - 1-800-273-8255

Today's episode is very special because it is our first Digital Slam. We opened the floor up to the entire world and recorded it live on Zoom on April 27th, 2020. We have a wonderful open mic that includes a few familiar voices and some new ones. Then we hop right into our headliners. First, is Adam Swanson, he is a writer and health equity advocate specializing in suicide prevention. He's a 2020 Writing by Writers fellow and a former Lambda Literary fellow. Adam works as the Senior Prevention Specialist at the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. Then we hear from Boots McCann-- who is the woman she has always wanted to be. Her queer origin story involves a farm, a bug collection, ass shaking, international travel disasters, and becoming a bicyclist at age 40. Boots lives in Chicago with the woman of her dreams and wants to be on an NBA Senior Dance Team when she grows up.

This week is a very special edition of Queer Slam. Due to the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 we were not able to record a new episode in March. So, we decided to do an episode we have been wanting to do for a while. Gordon Blitz is one our favorite and most consistent open micers-- he's attended nearly every slam. His humorous and heartfelt stories delight listeners and attendees every month and we thought this was a perfect opportunity to celebrate a writer that feels like part of the Queer Slam family.

This week’s episode was recorded live on February 24th, 2020 at Akbar in Silverlake, Los Angeles. We begin with our open mic before hearing two unbelievable stories from our headliners-- first is Oscar Montoya, his credits include the Spanish Aqui Presents Podcast, Inside The Disney Vault Podcast, and the FOX animated series Bless The Harts. Then we hear from Todd Masterson who runs the popular Instagram account Gay Fat Friend.

This week’s episode was recorded live on January 27th, 2020 at Akbar in Silverlake, Los Angeles. First on today’s episode, you'll hear from our lovely host Tony Soto, then we get right into it because this month we had a stacked open mic! Finally, we hear from headliner Jared Goldstein. He’s been seen on ABC’s Modern Family, is one of the New York Comedy Festival’s Comics to watch, and just performed in the CBS Showcase 2020.

Happy New Year from Queer Slam! This month we celebrate the very best of 2019 with some of our favorite pieces and performers. Thank you to every single person who shared their story with us last year-- we can’t wait for all 2020 has in store. We are back at Akbar in Silverlake, Los Angeles for our live show on January 26th at 8PM!