Islanders are invited to hear members of a local writing group read from their work on Monday evening in a special Zoom event called Queer Voices: Unmuted.
Wendy Judith Cutler has led the Queer Writing Circle for almost two years, providing prompts for the writers and other support and guidance.
“We write together, read what we’ve written aloud, witness and inspire one another,” she explains in press material. “We are queer writers, artists and activists, critical thinkers, dreamers, cultural boundary interrupters, change makers, hope givers.”
Cutler said group members explore the queer focus of their lives through various writing genres. For the April 12 event they will each present work that speaks to them in some way.
“It should be a pretty full hour,” she said.
The group has been meeting via Zoom due to COVID-19 restrictions, which Cutler said is definitely better than nothing and functional, but she does miss meeting in person.
“Coming together with other people in a circle, there is something really important about that.”
Group members besides Cutler are Corrie Hope Furst, Daniel Leonard, Jean Burgess, Larkin Schmiedl, Laura Mervyn, Ren Ferguson, Rowan Percy and Shellyse Szakacs.
For the April 12 presentation, former Salt Spring resident and circle member Taryn Muldoon, who is now living in Nova Scotia, will also present a poem.
The event is sponsored by Diverse and Inclusive Salt Spring Island and the library.
Queer Voices: Unmuted begins at 7 p.m.
To register and get the link, send an email to programs@saltspringlibrary.com.
Cutler gives special thanks to DAISSI for both sponsoring the event and the group when it was first formed, and to the library for both sponsorship and the rich offerings in its collection on LGBTQ2S+ subjects.