DATE: MARCH 24TH, 2019 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
LOCATION: HISTORY MIAMI MUSEUM @ 101 W FLAGLER ST, MIAMI, FL 33130. MAP here
COST: ALWAYS FREE. Donations appreciated. Donate here
Queer individuals have always had to build their own havens and teach their own history, in remedying a society where division and erasure are the norm to every marginalized group. A symptom of oppression is the lack of knowledge to a demographic’s history by the absence of institutionalized education. In this workshop, poet Richard Blanco’s famous line, “There should be nothing here I don’t remember…” will be brought to life as attendees interact with an exhibit that can enrich their understanding of themselves, and those who’ve fought for all of us to live self-determined lives. Join Reading Queer in partnership with the HistoryMiami Museum, and poet Freesia McKee as we write about our past, present, future, and the spaces we interact with.
DESCRIPTION: Have there always been queer people in Miami? Who set the stage so that we could come out? In this workshop, we will write poetic responses to “Queer Miami: A History of LGBTQ Communities” at HistoryMiami. Using this archival photo exhibit as a creative prompt, we’ll write about our visible and invisible lineages.
We will also ask what it means for our own bodies to inhabit the queer space the exhibit has created and think about what it might mean to “queer-ify” a space on and off the page. Whether you’re LGBTQ+ or an ally, a local or a visitor, or a long-time writer or simply “poetry-curious,” this workshop is designed with everyone in mind.
Please bring your own writing utensils.
RSVP HERE:
FREESIA MCKEE is author of the chapbook How Distant the City (Headmistress Press, 2017). Her words have appeared in cream city review, The Feminist Wire, Painted Bride Quarterly, CALYX, Gertrude, So to Speak, Nimrod International Journal, and the Ms. Magazine Blog. Freesia’s poetry is forthcoming in The Hollins Critic, Bone Bouquet, The Antigonish Review, The Grabbed Anthology,and Flyway. Her book reviews have appeared in South Florida Poetry Journal, Gulf Stream, and The Drunken Odyssey. Freesia is the winner of CutBank Literary Journal’s 2018 Patricia Goedicke Prize in Poetry, chosen by Sarah Vap.
