Ariel Gore

Queer as Portland

2009-07-01T19:14:00.000-07:00

Review in Portland Mercury

Diversity on Display in Portland Queer
(published on my birthday!)

The submission guidelines were simple, Ariel Gore explains in her introduction to the anthology Portland Queer: Tales of the Rose City. "First-person narratives by queer writers about queer characters in Portland, Oregon." The guidelines are so simple, in fact, that they function as a sort of creative litmus test.

Some writers take the obvious route: There are the predictable I-was-such-a-freak-in-high-school coming-of age stories, and the the-word-queer-is-so-empowering coming-out stories. In some of the best stories in the book, though, the narrator's sexual identity is part of the story's background, rather than its focus. Local musician sts, for example, writes of her friendship with a neighbor boy, a troubled, parentless kid who's living unhappily with his sick aunt. It's a fine piece of writing, conveying subtle volumes in its scant seven pages.

Another standout comes from Michael Sage Ricci, whose "The Strange and Highly Selective Mating Patterns of the Human Male Animal" has the best premise in the collection: A videogame addicted gay man adopts a female avatar when playing online role-playing games. Pretending to be a woman, he develops a flirtation with another gamer, a straight man, letting the man believe he's a woman. When the two arrange to meet in real life, a curious revenge fantasy unfolds.

One story that does effectively foreground queer issues is Christa Orth's "Not Following the Rules." Orth's story begins with an account of her efforts to convince the University of Oregon to extend non-discrimination protections to transgendered workers. The difficulty in persuading the university that there was a need for such protections inspired her to begin investigating the history of queers in the workplace. She provides two local case studies, of a lesbian working at Tektronix in the mid-'90s advocating for benefits for same-sex partners, and an openly gay switchboard operator in the 1970s. It's fascinating stuff. Orth could get a book of her own out of material like this, and I hope that she does.

Gore's editing here deserves a nod: The characters in Portland Queer are fittingly varied, ranging from angsty young lesbians to middle-aged evangelical gays; from kids still figuring out what pronoun they want to use to HIV-positive men remembering long-dead lovers. It's a collection as diverse as the community it represents.

On the fly

2009-06-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

Very cool - the writers from my winter online class have put together a great collection of their best "quick writes"--fiction and creative non-fiction stories written in eight minutes or less.

You can get a copy of On the Fly from Lulu.

Tonight & tomorrow

2009-06-23T10:17:00.000-07:00

Don't forget - Portland Queer reading TONIGHT 6/23 at In Other Words in NE Portland. Tomorrow night 6/24 at Bluestocking on the lower east side NYC. Both at 7 pm!

Thanks, Yolanda

2009-06-19T14:05:00.000-07:00

I got yummy mail art!

Weird Monologues for a Rainy Life

2009-06-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

Yay! Student o' mine and all-around creative genius Lorette C. Luzajic has a new book out from Handymaiden Editions...

Weird Monologues for a Rainy Life is a collection of art manifestos, book reviews, short stories, blogs, pop culture essays and a surprising number of requiems.

You’ll meet monks, drug addicts, men in dresses, and Dad; Captain Stardust and Nancy Drew, a cat named Knerpie and a chap named The John Bennett. Her Royal Highness Diana makes an appearance, as does The Hermit, Scarlett O’Hara, Sayuri the geisha, and me!

Lorette says, “The whole idea of this book was to combine a range of my stories, blogs, musings, reviews, and so on, from all over the map, in a way that spanned my wild mood swings, the ups and downs, the embarrassing and the brilliant... That I often feel vulnerable, naked, over-revealed kept me from writing for too long- there’s always an element of self-censorship and it just doesn’t get to the heart. The minute I stopped fearing this exposure was the moment I started to grow as a writer. Symbolically, this is me naked, messy, crazy, everybody’s sister.”

Check it out here!

Upcoming Portland Queer & Portland Noir events...

2009-06-16T06:42:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing reading at Broadway Books June 8 & another at Reading Frenzy June 16... Read all about the Broadway Books one here.

And come to all the upcoming dates in Portland, Oregon & New York, New York

In Other Words – NE Portland – Tuesday, June 23, 7 p.m.
Featuring: sts, Jacob Anderson-Minshall, Jacqueline Raphael, J.T. Neel, Megan Kruse, & me

PORTLAND NOIR event - June 18 at Looking Glass Bookstore, 7983 S.E. 13th Ave. in Sellwood - 7 p.m. - featuring Ariel Gore, Kevin Sampsell, Floyd Skloot & Megan Kruse...

Bluestockings – New York, lower east side – Wednesday, June 24, 7 p.m.
Featuring: Christa Orth, Gabrielle Rivera, David Ciminello & Stevie Anntonym

Powell’s City of Books on Burnside – Downtown Portland – Tuesday, June 30, 7:30 p.m.
Featuring: Lois Leveen, Wayne Gregory, Dexter Flowers, Donal Mosher, & me

Q Literati! – Q Center – N Portland – Wednesday, July 8, 7 p.m.
Featuring: Nicole Vaicunas, Jacob Anderson-Minshall, David Oates, Lois Leveen

Portland Queer

2009-05-22T11:00:00.001-07:00

The new anthology Portland Queer: Tales of the Rose City is here!

As rough-hewn and gorgeous as the city that inspired it, this anthology breaks queer ground as it shows us that everywhere is Portland — but Portland is its own special place, home to queers seeking and finding home, from the city itself to each others’ arms.
—Daphne Gottlieb, author of Kissing Dead Girls

Get your copy! I think you'll like it...

EVENTS
In Portland, Oregon & New York, New York
Most events hosted by Ariel Gore

Broadway Books - NE Portland - Monday, June 8, 7 p.m.
Featuring:
Tom Spanbauer
Michael Sage Ricci
Colleen Siviter
Dexter Flowers

Reading Frenzy – Downtown Portland – Tuesday June 16, 7 p.m.
Featuring:
Lois Leveen
Michael Sage Ricci
Jacqueline Raphael
Nicole Vaicunas

In Other Words – NE Portland – Tuesday, June 23, 7 p.m.
Featuring:
sts
Jacob Anderson-Minshall
J.T. Neel
Megan Kruse

Bluestockings – New York, lower east side – Wednesday, June 24, 7 p.m.
Featuring:
Christa Orth
Gabrielle Rivera
David Ciminello
Stevie Anntonym

Powell’s City of Books on Burnside – Downtown Portland – Tuesday, June 30, 7:30 p.m.
Featuring:
Wayne Gregory
Dexter Flowers
Donal Mosher

Q Literati! – Q Center – SE Portland – Wednesday, July 8, 7 p.m.
Featuring:
Nicole Vaicunas
Jacob Anderson-Minshall
David Oates
Lois Leveen

New Online Class Starts in June - CLASS FULL

2009-05-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

This is best writing class I have ever taken! Almost painlessly you got us to write, write, write. And for me got at some new great material.

--Kitty Torres

June 24 - August 20
LIT STAR TRAINING
Taught by Ariel Gore

The creative jolt we all need -- for writers wanting to work on either memoir or fiction -- we'll make time to write, create new material with weekly deadlines, and improve out craft with practice and critique. In the beginning of the workshop, you'll choose an organizing theme that will allow you to produce seven new stories--either thematically-related short pieces or parts of a longer project. And you'll be off! You won't even have time to worry about creative blocks. Class combines online discussion/critique, email, and telephone coaching. Class size is limited.

CLASS FULL E-MAIL ARIEL IF YOU WANT TO GET ON THE WAITING LIST
$275

$90 deposit saves your spot - balance due when class starts

I have a voice that I have been working on, mining you might say. I have always had a deep longing to unearth the missing parts of myself that have been buried. In order to survive growing up, I had to bury myself along the way.

--Karin Marsh

a sketch of pregnant ariel

2009-05-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

reading at the richmond zine fest...

hip mama mother's day party

2009-04-30T08:22:00.001-07:00

Hip Mama's annual Mother Day's party is May 10th at the watershed in Portland.
Get all the info at hipmamazine.com . . .

modern love

2009-04-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess I was out of the loop / at Mt. Shasta when it happened, but my memoir writing student Margaret Gunther got her story in The New York Times. Belated congratulations!

viking

2009-04-27T14:49:00.000-07:00

Katherina finds that it's not easy being a Viking in a modern world.

wanderlust wonderland circus

2009-04-26T20:35:00.001-07:00

We were treated to the Wonderland Circus show last night--a mad tea party & Alice-themed extravaganza put on by the Wanderslust Circus. The show is totally worthwhile--Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum were especially delightful. We dug the Trashcan Joe Orchestra, too. Leapin' Louie is always a joy, and Cherry is pure-hearted & wild. Sadie LaGuerre made an inspired Red Queen and the Cheshire Cat might even make you want to take up yoga...

It's all at the Bossanova Ballroom on E. Burnside in Portland--and there are more shows next weekend. You might like it!

The show actually started at 8 pm (doors open at 7) and there was some grumpy-making confusion about that. (Why say a show goes from 7 pm to 11 pm when it goes from 8 pm to 10 pm?). The venue is 21 & up which is too bad--folks of all ages could grove with it all. AND NOTE!--the cheaper tickets are all you need. The ballroom is a small venue and the food you get with the pricey seats is awful. The "selection of entrees" started with white bread and mayonaise sandwiches and then these miniscule cupcakes you might get day-old from Costco. Then on to a second course of stuffed portobello mushrooms, but the mushrooms were totally raw and the stuffing might as well have been ranch dressing. There was abysinthe, which was good, but hardly worth the extra $30 for the food-service seats. Better to go for the $15 or $30 tickets--that's splurge enough--eat dinner at home, get a drink from the bar for $5, and enjoy the show!

free acupuncture

2009-04-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo - Saturday is Free Day at Brooklyn Community Acupuncture In Portland. 9 a.m. to noon. No appointments... you just head on over & get needled for whatever ails you.

portland noir

2009-04-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

"The kids lined the wall outside the Clinton Street Theater in the sepia-lit mist, waiting to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The girls with their big purple hair and skimpy dresses; the boys in tight black bodices or boxy leather jackets. Cold November night. They clutched their rolled-up newspapers and cups of rice, hid water guns in their pockets. I squinted at them through the drizzle—a time warp to the '90s, to the '80s, to the '70s. Bygone eras. I ducked into the dim red of Dots Café, slipped into a soft gold booth. The waitress had a tattoo of a hamburger on her shoulder. She nodded at me. "The usual?"...

—(Water Under The bridge by Ariel Gore)

Hey, I have a new story in a new book... read it all in Portland Noir edited by Kevin Sampsell

Get a haircut

2009-04-04T19:36:00.000-07:00

This here website is now accepting submissions of flash fiction and flash memoir (stories up to 350 words) as well as photos/art on the subject of HAIRCUTS.

Deadline is April 13th.

Send me something: Ariel

Hip Mama fiction contest

2009-03-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

It's time to make something up!

For all of you beautiful liars out there- Hip Mama is gonna be breaking some fresh ground and doing a Short Story Contest judged by Kerlin Richter and Ariel Gore.

First Prize is $100, your Short Story as the feature in issue 44, the Creativity issue, along with a profile and picture of your brilliant self, AND a Lifetime Subscription to Hip Mama (we don't even sell lifetime subscriptions anymore).

Ten runners up will get a four issue subscription, their names and story titles in the zine and their full stories will be published online.

Get all the info right here

$25 per story entry fee

And check out the new issue of Hip Mama on Utne.com

debt

2009-03-11T11:14:00.001-07:00

Maybe it's because I'm not getting any younger or maybe it's because of the crowd I've been running with or maybe it's just the time we're living in, but I'm hearing an awful lot of anxiety about all the debt we're in.

Credit card debt especially.

You're maxed out and they're raising your APR something crazy.

And I know credit cards. I've got some of them. And I know anxiety. I've got some of that, too. But how many nights sleep are we going to lose over it?

We don't need good credit. We don't need credit cards. We didn't used to have those things and we can live without them again.

My friend K says, "c'mon, what if your car breaks down and you need to fix it, well, you'll need a credit card then."

What I'll need is a bicycle and a bus schedule.

Good credit is nice. You should keep it if you can. But plenty of people live perfectly normal lives with really bad credit.

There are no debtor's prisons.

The worst-case scenarios:

They tell you to cut up your credit cards. They take away your car in the night. Maybe they even take your house. (That last one really sucks, I know).

But then you figure out how to get an apartment. And you get that bicycle and you get that bus pass. And you tell the collection agents to stop calling you. And you send them a letter and you "cc" the attorney general and you insist that they stop calling you. And it's OK. You have your body. You have your creative mind. You have the moon and the stars and you have every right to be here. And you have every right to a good night's sleep.

And repeat after me: There are no debtor's prisons.

love

2009-03-02T09:06:00.000-08:00

I was just email-talking with another editor woman & she was lamenting the myth of The One--and haven't we gotten past relationship as the ultimate validation?

What's up with the hysterical fear of not meeting The One?

Is it about wanting kids and the fear of single motherhood?

Or is it something else?

hungry

2009-03-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

So I went wheat-free vegan no-sugar for lent.

What should I eat?

Give me the recipe!

I'm getting hungry...

(thanks).

Sign up now for the springtime online writing class

2009-02-13T10:49:00.000-08:00

Class FULL - email Ariel if you want to get on the waiting list

It’s time to register for the Springtime Lit Star Training--the online writing class will go from April 4th through May 31st.

These classes tend to fill up pretty fast, so sign up now if you’re interested.

$275 for the 8-week class

Orleans

2009-02-03T07:05:00.000-08:00

Home from beautiful New Orleans.

We tripped into town on Friday night. Saturday, Maria and I got crystal ball readings... learned that in our past lives, I collaborated with the Mexican revolution and she was a gypsy on the Adriatic.

We wonder if the crystal ball ever reveals that someone was a fat housewife who smoked a pack a day.

I mean, Mexico and Romania are lovely. But we want to know what happened in Jersey.

We walk... So many neighborhoods... Later, Coleen tells us that things had finally started to get back to something-like-normal after the storm... but then the economy all topsy-turvy. Still so much damage and tourism stalled and there's something beautiful for sale on every block. We imagine lives in the for-sale houses; walk a long way to St. Roch cemetery...

From there, we find our way to F & F Botanica where Felix sells us some fancy oils and candles to take to St. Louis #1 cemetery. We walk more. It's hot and lovely and the baby is trying to be a good sport.

F&F

At St. Louis #1, we look and look for my ancestor's tomb. Finally we find the first wife of one of my ancestors and we search all around that spot for my actual ancestor, but she isn't there. I feel disoriented by the labyrinth of walkways. A headache coming on because I forgot to wear a hat. But we find Marie Laveau's X-marked tomb and leave a candle for her and lucky New Years trinket love we think she'll like.

The next day in the wild & beautiful Voodoo Spiritual Temple, I pick up a little book about the cemetery, open it randomly, and there's my ancestor's tomb! We walk back over to the cemetery with the peace candle we got from Felix and finally we find it--we'd been standing right in front of it, taking pictures of Max and spinning around and wondering where the ancestor could be.

Mightta been those 10-cent martinis.

mail

2009-01-23T10:39:00.000-08:00

I love getting mail! Mostly I love mail art. Today I got a great letter from Summer Pierre in Brooklyn... who I didn't know before.

And this totally inspiring zine of her one-page stories... Beautiful, illustrated stories in just one page each! You should get it, too... Go to summerpierre.com

January

2009-01-09T20:37:00.000-08:00

I didn't make any resolutions in particular this year, but I love the way that January always feels new, goal-lovely, inspired. The business news every day is dire. The end of capitalism is very inconvenient indeed. Writers and everyone else—we're all facing our "own private Detroit" as Susie Bright puts it.

And still!

I'm excited about projects the way I'm always excited in January.

And again in April for the real new year.

And in June for my birthday.

And in September because the leaves turn and school starts.

The particular months are arbitrary—or they aren't.

The equinoxes and the solstices.

The timing is energetic—and it's pure potentiality.

I am not voting for the current dire collective hallucinations.

Sure, whitey has emptied the tills for real this time and is carpet-bagging his way outta Washington. Good riddance.

I'm excited about projects big and small. And I'm looking forward to all the cheap art and creative sustenance you will send me in the mail.

Don't you know?

Spring Break Writer's Retreat March 22 - 28th

2008-12-28T08:15:00.000-08:00

Yep - it's camp for grown-ups!

Seven-day writing workshop & retreat at Stewart Mineral Springs in Northern California

Spend a week writing and attending daily writing workshop with Ariel Gore in the spectacular Trinity Mountains of Shasta National Forest.

Here's the plan:
Sunday, March 22 - Arrive at Stewart Mineral Springs in the beautiful Trinity Mountains of Shasta National Forest, get settled into your room, meet Ariel and your fellow writers for an evening quick-write, and share a vegetarian dinner.

Monday - Friday March 23rd through 27th - Writing workshops will be held each morning from 10 a.m. to Noon. We'll produce new material, workshop stories you've come with or stories you've begun to craft here in the mountains. You'll have the afternoon to write, hike, swim in the creek, and sweat in the sauna. We'll share three simple, hearty vegetarian meals each day.

Saturday, March 28. We'll have breakfast together-- and end the week by joining the sacred sweat lodge purification ceremony on the grounds of Stewart Mineral Springs at 1 p.m.

One Writer - $650 - Price includes all writing workshops, six nights lodging in a shared room (bring a friend or bunk with another writer), unlimited sauna use, vegetarian dinner on Sunday, three hearty vegetarian meals per day on the weekdays, breakfast on Saturday, and Native American sweat lodge on Saturday.

$200 deposit saves your spot

Writer's Companion - $380 - Companion rate includes six nights lodging in a shared room, unlimited sauna use, all meals, and Native American sweat lodge on Saturday. (No writing workshops).

$100 deposit saves your spot

Mineral soaks and massages cost a little extra. Stewart Mineral Springs is 350 miles south of Portland, Oregon and 280 miles north of San Francisco -- near Weed, California.