Honi soi qui mal y Pence

Take THAT Indiana! haha

Indiana's anti-gay law.

I don't see what all the fuss is about. So Indiana is giving people the right to decide not to serve gay people? Big deal. If I don't want to serve gays, I shouldn't have to. And if I don't want to serve blacks, I shouldn't have to. And if I don't want to serve women, I shouldn't have to. And if I don't want to serve Hispanics, I shouldn't have to. If I don't want to serve Jews, I shouldn't have to. And if I don't want to serve Catholics, I shouldn't have to. If I don't want to serve Mormons, I shouldn't have to. And if I don't want to serve Muslims, I shouldn't have to. And if I don't want to serve foreigners, I shouldn't have to. If I don't want to serve people with disabilities, I shouldn't have to. And if I don't want to serve the elderly, I shouldn't have to. And if I don't want to serve people who don't look good with their clothes off, I shouldn't have to. If I don't want to serve people who practice oral sex, I shouldn't have to. And if I don't want to serve people who make less than, say $100,000 a year, I shouldn't have to. If I don't want to serve people who are bald, I should have to. And if I don't want to serve people who don't believe that the USA is the greatest nation in the history of the world because it stands up for freedom and human rights, I shouldn't have to. Right?

new project: the great art of the South

I'm so proud to say I've been invited to write a book about the great American self-taught artists of the South, who, not co-incidentally, are African-American. They include Thornton Dial and the Gee's Bend quilters, whose work has recently been acquired by the Met- (the Metropolitan Museum) in New York. The Met just accepted a bequest of 57 works. This book will pull together many of my lifelong loves: great art, racial progress, the bravery of pioneers who went out on a limb and did marvelous things, and underdogs who have triumphed over a system I know only too well, having grown up in it: the Art World Establishment. Coincidentally, three generations of my family have known Bill Arnett, who championed this cause and saw it through against all the odds. So... the path unfolds and I feel honored beyond measure to apply myself to this task. For those not aware of Thornton Dial or the Gee's Bend quilts, or others who are part of this hidden culture in America, which is the untold story of the greatest art in the US of the past 50 years, I urge you to go to Google and feast your eyes.

New novel finished!

A book about the devil tempting an artist- set in Paris and ranging from the top of Notre Dame to the catacombs beneath the city. Stay tuned.

Big things, little things

Facing what I'll call a Big Bad Thing last week, I decided not to freak out. Instead, I stepped back, raised my sights, and made really major progress in another direction. The result? The potentially "bad thing" is far less important to me. And, paradoxically, the "big"- (in the Big Bad Thing), isn't so "big" at all. So I have the wonderful feeling of watching the cards play out with a sense of detachment-- whether it's called karma or inevitability. Or maybe it's just the difference between being caught up in worldly affairs vs. maintaining fidelity to my Self? Anyway, a lose/lose scenario turned into a win/win.

A wonderful chat with an old friend

Bill Arnett is the force of nature behind the discovery of the quilts of Gee's Bend and it's thanks to his championing of self-taught artists in the South that the world has become aware of Thornton Dial and others. They put the lie to a myth that African-Americans were only gifted at sports or music since their creative genius in painting and sculpture is one of the great unsung songs of 20th Century, and now 21st Century, fine art. I'm proud to know the Arnett family and glad to say that our paths have converged in the past and may do so again in the near future since I may write a book about this truly extraordinary sphere.

Countdown: two and a half months to go.

So pleased to say that my anthology from Cleis Press will be out in two and a half months. Amazing contributors include many of the brightest, and best-known, LGBT and Intersex folk in the country. The title is still embargoed because my last one (and cover image) somehow wound up on the cover of another book! Go figure. But ALL WILL BE REVEALED SOON. So... stay tuned.