Time to play catch-up!

Whoa. Almost THREE months has gone by without my dropping a single line on here?!? Time to play catch-up!

It's been a crazy, busy, and amazing summer so far. I've fallen in love with a wonderful guy, and he was sweet enough to alert me to our third-month anniversary recently. (I can imagine you going, "Awwww.") And I've just finished the fourth draft of a new novel that I've been working on and off for a year and half.

But seriously, a few things about yours truly have popped up online in the last few months. Marion Gomez wrote a strong piece about accessibility and the literary community ("Who Has the Key?") for A VIEW FROM THE LOFT. Check out this link!

Then the writer Kathi Wolfe quoted yours truly in her opinion piece ("Two Minority Groups with a Lot in Common") for THE WASHINGTON BLADE. Read this link and ponder.

In the September 2011 issue of SCENE, the Twin Cities LGBT guide, I wrote about why I chose Minneapolis. Unfortunately the link doesn't take you to the actual page, so you'll have to flip through the pages at this link. (At least I've made it to the front cover in the lower right-hand corner! Yayyy.)

I will also appear in a few new anthologies this fall, but I'll write about those when I return from a little getaway with my handsome boyfriend ...

Toodles!

The Same Difference: Writers with Disabilities Reading

This reading features some of Minnesota's most accomplished writers with disabilities. Featured artists are John Lee Clark, Tara Arlene Innmon, Raymond Luczak, and Lynne Nerenberg. ASL and voice interpreting, open captioning, assistive listening devices, and Braille will be provided, as well as a Q & A and art show featuring members of People Incorporated’s Artability program. Reception to follow.

June 3, 2011 @ 7 p.m.
The Loft Literary Center
1011 Washington Avenue South
Minneapolis MN 55415
http://www.loft.org/
612-215-2575

John Lee Clark was born deaf and became blind in adolescence. His poetry has appeared in many publications, including the Hollins Critic, Pif, Poetry, and the Seneca Review. His chapbook of poems is Suddenly Slow (Handtype Press, 2008) and he edited the anthology Deaf American Poetry (Gallaudet University Press, 2009). He is married to the deaf cartoonist Adrean Clark; they run a small press called Clerc Scar that publishes signing community literature. They live in Minnesota with their three sons.

As a young person, Tara Arlene Innmon loved writing almost as much as she loved drawing. She kept an extensive diary. When she started going blind she asked herself, "What will I do when I can't draw anymore?" The answer came down like a bolt of lightning. "You will write." She could have guessed. In 2000, she was a finalist for the SASE Jerome Foundation Fellowship grant. She went to Hamline University, graduating with an MFA in creative writing in 2008. She has published poetry and short prose pieces in numerous literary journals, including Verve, River Image, and Wordgathering. She is writing a childhood memoir.

Raymond Luczak is the author and editor of more than ten books, including Road Work Ahead: Poems (Sibling Rivalry Press) and Mute: Poems (A Midsummer Night's Press). His website is www.raymondluczak.com.

Lynne Nerenberg is a Saint Paul native, holds an MA in media studies from the New School of Social Research, and is a former journalist. She won first place for her creative nonfiction at Artability's 2010 Art Show and attends People Incorporated's Apollo program for people with mental illness and/or brain injury.

Again, the entire event will be VOICE- and ASL-INTERPRETED along with Braille and open captioning for those who need information accessibility!

Gotta shout this out loud! MUTE is on YouTube ...

Hello:

I've been very busy with a lot of projects these days, but at least I was able to finish one in particular: My book MUTE has a new trailer in which I talk about why I wrote it. :) You can check it out on YouTube. It's all subtitled in English for the signing-impaired, of course.

Have lots of exciting news in store, but I will share it as soon as details are confirmed!

Have a great week, all!

Raymond

My twelfth book just came out today!

NOTES OF A DEAF GAY WRITER: 20 YEARS LATER (published by Hot Off The, as in www.hotoffthe.net) came out earlier tonight. I'm very happy with the way the chapbook (a chapter-length book; in this case, it's 50 pages long) has turned out. It was published as an extremely limited print edition of only TEN copies. These precious few editions are unfortunately sold out already, but I do plan to have it put out as an ebook in the near future. [Noted on 11/26/10: It is now available as an ebook at this link.] (Thanks again, Kevin, for taking a quick snapshot of moi!)

This essay holds a very special place in my heart. As I've said elsewhere before, the piece was written during a very difficult summer of my life—added job responsibilities and stress, lousy love life, doubts about my abilities as a writer, and uncertainties about staying on in New York. I managed to piece together a string of short observations about being a deaf gay writer. After whittling down some 60 pages to a manageable 28 pages, I sent "Notes of a Deaf Gay Writer" off to the magazine CHRISTOPHER STREET. The rest, as one might say, is history, and it eventually inspired my eighth book ASSEMBLY REQUIRED: NOTES FROM A DEAF GAY LIFE some nineteen years later. This time I revisit the original essay with a 20-year hindsight and offer a running commentary on whether things have changed since its initial publication in December 1990.

I'm just very pleased with seeing this back in print, even if for a very short time. Be on the lookout for the ebook edition! Enjoy the rest of your summer, everyone!

OMG! I've got a new video clip about my new book!

As promised, here's my new clip about my new book Assembly Required: Notes from a Deaf Gay Life! Please enjoy.



Thanks!