Outing Edna St. Vincent Millay Friday at Chapters Bookstore

Lawrence Ferlinghetti's "Edna St. Vincent Millay 2008" oil and silkscreen on canvas, 30 x 23 in. George Krevsky Gallery.

When Peter Bergman and James Kraft talk about poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, she lives again, and you feel like you have time travelled back to a different age. Not everyone knows she had many affairs with women before marrying, and may have had affairs on the side all through her adult life. But we are talking about a time when being "out" was not common, and while Millay hid little when a young rebel, as a wife she was more circumspect. One hopes the evening will turn to whether Millay continued her affairs with women after she was married, and which of her poems are written about women rather than men.

Writer, playwright and critic Peter Bergman is a familiar face at Berkshire openings. Here a rare photo of him from Rural Intelligence.
In any event, this evening promises to be a celebration of Millay and her work. It will take place at 6:00 PM, January 22 at Chapters Bookstore, 78 North Street, Pittsfield. (413) 443-2665. Kraft is a Professor of Literature and author of several books about writers, while Peter Bergman is the director of the Edna St. Vincent Millay Society. A colleague and fellow critic, his byline is familiar to Berkshire theatre goers as the chief critic of The Advocate weekly. With Clark, he will read and discuss Millay's poetry, her life and her relationships with other women. The reading and discussion is co-sponsored by Chapters and the Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition.

In her younger days, when she discovered lesbian love, she gave herself fully to it.
Edna St. Vincent Millay was a hot poet and playwright in the twenties, and lived in the Berkshires (or more precisely, the Taconics) from 1925-1950. She made no bones about being both a homosexual and a heterosexual so if one insists on a classification, bisexual is probably most accurate. How much of her love life is incorporated into her works the upcoming evening will reveal.

"Vincent" as her friends called her was certainly her own person. She attended Vassar and her time there was some of her happiest and carefree. Despite the repressive restraints of the time at Vassar she was able to explore her sexuality with friends and classmates with few inhibitions.

Millay's life was not all love and roses. She suffered from depression, alcohol abuse and died alone.
For those who attend, the evening at Chapters will reveal more personal details about her love life than you are likely to see on the Biography channel. The speakers are not superficial reporters of pop culture on another assignment. Peter Bergman, for example, spends his days in Austerlitz, New York, home of Millay's beloved home Steepletop.. In fact, he is executive director of the Edna St. Vincent Millay Society and has spent much of his adult life immersed in her world.

Is Millay still relevant? Of course. Even today one of her poems has been inked onto a current fan's backside.
For more background on Millay's lesbian side there is an interesting entry at www.sappho.com that gives a fine overview of her life, public and private. You could also join the ESVM Society and share in a number of special events they sponsor each year to celebrate her life. The restoration of her home is an ongoing project, and contributions are always welcome.

Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson, "Gay Bigot of the Year"

Le Scandale du jour.
It is sad, though somehow satisfying to see the homophobes fall. Excoriating the LGBT community with Bible in hand, they also go to Congress and Parliament to make sure "God's Laws" become their legislative initiative. Almost invariably, they eventually fall, victims of their own hypocrisy.

So it is with Irish MP Iris Robinson who has been all over the news for having had an affair with a 19 year old boy toy. During the affair (it's been over for some time) she twisted a couple of developers arms to find him $100,000 in cash so he could open a restaurant/cafe in Belfast. And then, took out 10% of the sum for herself. To his credit, the lad has repaid almost all of the loans, her takings are another story.

Kirk McCambley is described as "scruffy and a bit shy."
Kirk McCambley, the teen Boy Toy, then claimed to have developed testicular cancer in order to end the relationship. McCambley who is a bit scruffy and shy, is now 21, and being courted by gay magazines to become their cover boy. Seems he did us a favor bringing down the MP who was notoriously homophobic. Robinson was a foe of the gay community which had had tried to defang her for years without success. Yet news of the affair discredited not only her pious preaching, but that of the Light 'n Life Pentecostal Christian Church to to which she proudly belonged. Indeed, on their billboard in the city, someone had scrawled "adulterers" in black paint on it.

Her comments about gays were particularly hurtful and divisive. She claimed that homosexuality was an "abomination" and it made her feel "sick" and "nauseous", and offered to refer homosexuals to a psychiatrist she knew. Worse of all she compared it to pedophilia, saying: "There can be no viler act, apart from homosexuality and sodomy, than sexually abusing innocent children"

The lad's coffee usiness is booming since the scandal broke.
She was 60 at the time of her affair with McCambley, he was 9 when she first met him, when she was having an affair with his father (how passed away) and her interest switched to him. Now 21, he was a teen at the time they did the deed.
And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
Jesus loves you more than you will know...
Laugh about it, shout about it
When you've got to choose
Ev'ry way you look at it, you lose
-from the Simon and Garfunkel song

One can only wonder why this God-bothering fundamentalist Christian mother of three grown-up children, known for her outrageously ignorant and offensive anti-gay views, succumb to old-fashioned lust at the age of 58. Especially since this was not her first extra-marital affair.

Her husband, Peter Robinson is Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party leader and First Minister Peter. Having learned that this is his wife's third dalliance, he has resigned his duties "to sort it all out."

In November of 2008 Robinson received The Bigot of the Year award from the UK's Stonewall supporters. The Anita Bryant of Northern Ireland, and perhaps the entire United Kingdom, she won "overwhelmingly," according to a Stonewall spokesperson.

The awards ceremony at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London was attended by celebrities from the worlds of music, politics and the arts.

Bishop Robinson provides a little irony.
Interestingly, it was another Robinson - Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire, and the only out gay bishop in the Anglican communion, who was voted Hero of the Year. Stonewall sure made some preceptive picks.

Queer Film Festival Next Weekend in Williamstown

A whole new generation is about to rediscover the fun of taking part in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
With plummeting temperatures, there is no better time to be inside with your LBGTQ friends than January. The Queer Film Festival at Images Cinema is just the ticket. Organized by the Williams College Dively Committee for Human Sexuality and Diversity with the support of the Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition and the Rainbow Times, it will provide a full weekend of fun, film and friends.

Each of the three days offers something special too. On Friday, at midnight, there will be a fun-filled audience participation midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show with the Come Again Players . If you have not been part of one of these midnight showings, a staple a decade or two ago, then you are considered a RHPS virgin. If you’re planning to be part of the fun for the first time, you should check out What every virgin should know. Friday also features two other good films Outrage and Travel Queeries. Schedule and running times are below.

Saturday's matinee has a double feature, The Aggressives and Mom's Apple Pie, to be followed by a discussion and receiption. Late afternoon will host a showing of Hannah Free and the main event in the evening is Bandaged.

Jennie Livingston broke the ground for a lot of independent film makers.
Sunday, Director Jennie Livingston will be on hand to talk about not only her groundbreaking film, but the others that have followed in a similar vei, The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela which is shown at noon, a documentary at 4 and Paris is Burning, her cult classic at 7.

Ticket prices are as follows (Williams College students have their own special)

General Admission: $9 with Matinees at $6
Members: $5
Bennington College Students: $5
Children : $5 (12 years and younger)
Other Students: $6
Seniors (62 years and older): $6

SCHEDULE AND SYNOPSIS

*Friday, January 15, 2010*

7:00 pm Outrage (90 min) Nominated for a Dorian Award as the best LGBT of the year (see previous blog entry) it stars Massachusetts own Barney Frank and former governor of New Jersey, Jim McGreevey who was outed by an ex-lover. Outrage is a searing indictment of the hypocrisy of closeted politicians with appalling gay rights voting records who actively campaign against the LGBT community they covertly belong to.


Boldly revealing the hidden lives of some of the United States' most powerful policymakers, Outrage takes a comprehensive look at the harm they've inflicted on millions of Americans, and examines the media's complicity in keeping their secrets. With analysis from prominent members of the gay community such as Congressman Barney Frank, former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey, activist Larry Kramer, radio personality Michelangelo Signorile, and openly gay congresswoman Tammy Baldwin.

9:00 pm Travel Queeries (67 min) Travel Queeries examines the culture, art and activism of radical queers in contemporary Europe. Through personal interviews and documentation of performances, festivals, multi-media visual arts and spaces, Travel Queeries puts an exciting international lens on queer fringe culture. With the aim of building bridges and awareness, Travel Queeries considers the word "queer" and explores the complexities, innovative values and spirit of queer within a progressive social change movement.

"Chatting to punk faggots in Berlin, capturing live acts in Copenhagen, quizzing the Pornflakes art collective in Italy, stopping off in Poland, Serbia and well, Leeds – there’s a whole European-wide network of dirty queers, and Travel Queeries has been on the road recording their stories."

BH- Gay Times London (April 2009)
www.gaytimes.co.uk

A properly done RHPS is a mix of film and live action.
Midnight Rocky Horror Picture Show With the Come Again Players of South Hadley, MA. A newly engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must pay a call to the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-N-Furter on the same night the doctor unveils his latest creation.


*Saturday, January 16, 2010*

2:00 (Double Feature!) The Aggressives (75 min) A documentary look at women who prefer to dress and act as men and who participate in NYC's predominantly African-American lesbian drag balls.

Also, Mom’s Apple Pie (60 min), While the beginnings of the LGBT Civil Rights movement was gaining momentum, the 1970s witnessed horrific custody battles for lesbian mothers. Mom's Apple Pie: The Heart of the Lesbian Mothers' Custody Movement revisits the early tumultuous years of the lesbian custody movement through the stories of five lesbian mothers and their four children.

Discussion and reception directly after Mom’s Apple Pie.

Hannah Free follows two lesbians as they grow from children to adults, and grow together. Until late in life, the two only need each other, but when Rachel falls ill, family jealousy keeps them apart."
5:00 Hannah Free (86 min). Hannah and Rachel grew up as little girls in the same small Midwest town, where traditional gender expectations eventually challenge their deep love for one another. Hannah becomes an adventurous, unapologetic lesbian and Rachel a strong but quiet homemaker. Weaving back and forth between past and present, the film reveals how the women maintained their love affair despite a marriage, a world war, infidelities, and family denial.

9:00 Bandaged (92 min). Since his wife's death, Arthur, a peculiar and severe surgeon, cloisters his teen daughter Lucille inside a strange mansion. Desperate, Lucille tries to commit suicide and ends up with her face completely burned and bandaged. Arthur, with the assistance of his aunt, prepares a weird skin graft in order to give back Lucille a face, a face that resembles his beloved and deceased wife. To take care of her, the father then hires Joan, an attractive nurse with a somber past. Lucille and Joan start a forbidden and passionate love affair.


*Sunday, January 17, 2010*
(an afternoon with director Jennie Livingston)

12:00 The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela (80 min).Raquela is a transsexual-or "ladyboy"-from the Philippines who dreams of escaping the streets of Cebu City for a fairy tale life in Paris. In order to make her dreams come true, she turns from prostitution toward the more lucrative business of Internet porn. Her success as a porn star brings new friends, including Valerie, a ladyboy in Iceland, and Michael, the owner of the website Raquela works for. Valerie helps Raquela get as far as Iceland. From there, Michael offers her a rendezvous in Paris. Will Paris be everything she dreamed of? And will Michael turn out to be her Prince Charming?

Who's the Top is an all too brief but insightful look at queers and movies.
4:00 Jennie Livingston, Who's the Top? short documentary; conversation with the director. WHO’S THE TOP is a fantastical S/M musical comedy, complete with Busby Berkeley-like dance sequences. One writer finds her true self by determining who’s the bottom. Premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Who knew what "voguing" was until Is Paris Burning opened our eyes?
7:00 Paris is Burningfollowed by a conversation with the director. Jennie Livingston. Livingston helped launch both the American Independent film movement and New Queer Cinema with her documentary PARIS IS BURNING, which won the 1991 Sundance Grand Jury Prize.

The film is an unblinking behind the scenes story of fashion obsessed New Yorkers who created "voguing" and drag balls , and turned these raucous celebrations into a powerful expression of personal pride. The world within a world is instantly familiar, filled with ambitions, desires and yearnings that reflect America itself. PARIS IS BURNING is an intimate portrait of one urban community, a world in which the allure of high fashion, status and wealth becomes an affirmation of love, acceptance and joy.

Tickets for these showing are available now by visiting the Images website and clicking on Calendar. If you love film, you shouldn't miss these wonderful and unusual films at the Berkshire's most welcoming and friendly cinema for not only the LGBT community, but all residents. Unlike the mall and North Adams multiplexes, or even the new Beacon, here you will find the films that speak to us, our community, and are consistently a cut above the usual Hollywood formulaic products.

Inclusive Dorian Awards Move Beyond Gay Ghetto Films and TV

Best Actor? Jeremy Renner stars as Staff Sergeant William James in Summit Entertainment's The Hurt Locker

On Monday, January 18 the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association will announce its slate of awards for the best movies and tv shows of 2009. The association of film and television critics don't limit themselves to just those that are marketed to the LGBT community. Rather than a spotlight, they shine a floodlight on quality, depth, and entertainment value, not merely the presence or non-presence of gay themes. Thus the inclusion of such fare as Mad Men and Grey Gardens on television, and the animated gem Up or the delightful Julie and Julia in film.

A look at the nominations for 2009 is fascinating:

In Bright Star, Jane Campion has crafted an enchanting tale full of lyrical imagery yet never strays from the anchor of reality.
FILM OF THE YEAR
Bright Star
(500) Days of Summer
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
A Single Man
Up (Animation)

Catalina Saavedra in The Maid
FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Mo'Nique, Precious
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Catalina Saavedra, The Maid
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

Outrage weighs in on gays in the military.
LGBT - THEMED FILM OF THE YEAR
Outrage
Precious
A Single Man

Whip It is Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut with Ellen Page.
CAMPY — INTENTIONAL OR NOT — FILM OF THE YEAR
Drag Me to Hell
Julie and Julia
Obsessed
The Orphan
Whip It

Michael C. Hall as a badass we love to death in Dexter.
TV DRAMA OF THE YEAR
Dexter
Grey Gardens
Lost
Mad Men
True Blood

Glee has all types of people, relationships: couples, triangles, rectangles, pentangles.
TV MUSICAL OR COMEDY OF THE YEAR
Glee
Modern Family
Nurse Jackie
30 Rock
Ugly Betty

Drew Barrymore, who had to wear a bald cap in her role as Little Edie in Grey Gardens. Photo Vivian Baker/HBO.
TV PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR: DRAMA
Drew Barrymore, Grey Gardens
Glenn Close, Damages
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Sigourney Weaver, Prayers for Bobby

Adam Lambert shook up the afghan-recliner set.
TV PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR: MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Adam Lambert, American Music Awards
Jane Lynch, Glee
Lea Michele, Glee
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live

Three different groups typify the Modern Family.
LGBT - THEMED TV SHOW OF THE YEAR
An Englishman in New York
Glee
Modern Family
Prayers for Bobby
True Blood

Some people find the self-absorbed nitwits in Jersey Shore hilarious, others see them as proof that America is on the decline.
CAMPY — INTENTIONAL OR NOT — TV SHOW OF THE YEAR
The Colbert Report
Glee
Grey Gardens
Jersey Shore
The Real Housewives of New Jersey


Keep an eye on the new actress, Gabourey Sidibe, who plays the title character in Precious.
THE MORE, PLEASE! BREAKOUT AWARD
Ed Helms
Anna Kendrick
Jeremy Renner
Gabourey Sidibe
Alexander Skarsgard

The insightful Rachel Maddow as herself.
SAVAGE WIT OF THE YEAR
Stephen Colbert and the writers of The Colbert Report
Kirby Dick, director of Outrage
Tina Fey and the writers of 30 Rock
Rachel Maddow
Jon Stewart and the writers of The Daily Show

THE FOREVER AGELESS AWARD
(Each year, an iconic film and/or television star AS WELL AS an indelible film or TV program is honored)

PERFORMER
Richard Gere
Cloris Leachman

FILM OR TV PROGRAM
All About Eve
The Golden Girls

Contenders for Film of the Year include the harrowing teen drama Precious; the quirky romantic comedy (500) Days of Summer; director Jane Campion's period romance Bright Star; Disney's uplifting animated tale Up; and A Single Man, designer Tom Ford's take on the Christopher Isherwood novel about a gay college professor in 1960s Los Angeles.

Matthew Goode, left, and Colin Firth are shown in a scene from A Single Man.
A Single Man's lead Colin Firth is nominated for Film Performance of the Year, along with Precious standout Mo'Nique and that film's newcomer Gabourey Sidibe; The Hurt Locker's rising star Jeremy Renner; and Catalina Saavedra, for her turn as the titular tortured soul in the Chilean drama The Maid.

TV Drama of the Year nominees include Showtime's blood-drenched serial killer series Dexter; the shimmery HBO biopic Grey Gardens (whose star, Drew Barrymore, is nominated for TV Performance of the Year, Drama); Lost; Mad Men and the rising vampire opus True Blood. Meanwhile, the tuneful freshman hit Glee; ABC's tart sitcom Modern Family; the venerable 30 Rock; Ugly Betty; and Showtime's darkly comic hospital expose Nurse Jackie vie for TV Musical or Comedy of the Year. Nurse Jackie's star Edie Falco is up for TV Performance of the Year, Musical or Comedy of the Year, alongside Adam Lambert for his raucous American Music Awards appearance, Rock's Alec Baldwin, Saturday Night Live funnywoman Kristen Wiig, and Glee ladies Jane Lynch and Lea Michele.

Drag Me to Hell is horrible.
In the more unusual categories, flicks such as the horror tales Drag Me to Hell and The Orphan, and the Fatal Attraction-esque thriller Obsessed, compete for Campy — Intentional or Not — Film, while Glee, The Colbert Report, The Real Housewives of New Jersey and others are nominated for Campy TV Show.

The "More, Please!" breakout star of the year award could go to The Daily Show veteran and Hangover/Office costar Ed Helms, Up in the AIr find Anna Kendrick, Locker's Renner, Sidibe of Precious, and True Blood's ethereal hunk Alexander Skarsgard.

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert fight for the Savage Wit award.
For the Savage Wit of the Year honor——an homage to the Dorian Awards' indirect namesake, Oscar Wilde——the members of the Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association have nominated a heady mix: Stephen Colbert and the writers of The Colbert Report; Kirby Dick, director of the searing political documentary Outrage; Tina Fey and the writers of 30 Rock; Jon Stewart and the writers of The Daily Show; and dogged MSNBC news analyst Rachel Maddow.

Mo’Nique — who plays a nasty mother in Lee Daniels‘ Precious — is by far the North American critics’ top choice for best supporting actress of 2009: 17 wins and counting, in addition to awards at both the Sundance and Stockholm film festivals. Mo’Nique has also nabbed SAG, Critics Choice, Golden Globe, and Spirit award nominations.

Most of the actors in these films have been busy promoting them for the various awards, including the Oscar noms which will be announced February 2. Of these, Mo’Nique from Precious has been been on a roll. And she is unusual for speaking her mind rather than studio babble when she is out and about. For example, on watching Precious alongside a typical festival audience of Tinseltown elite she said:

“None of those people looked like us,” Mo’Nique observes, addressing the issues of race, class and gender that adhere to the film. “And it was mind-blowing when it was over, to have white men in their 60s coming up to us, crying. It killed the myth. It killed the myth that a white man couldn’t possibly enjoy two big black women onscreen.”

The producers of Precious were consistently booted out of the major film studio offices before even finishing their presentation because "nobody wants to see two fat black women on the screen." Well, anyone who fails to see this film is missing a gem.

They are still waiting for straggler's votes (and presently there is a 3-way tie for one category) but it is expected that winners will be announced January 18, 2010, in Los Angeles. You can join the Gay Independent Films group on Facebook to get a head start on the films and tv programs that everyone will soon be talking about.

Wednesday's BSCC Potluck and Input for Year Ahead

Short notice, but the first Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition (BSCC) potluck of the year is Wednesday, January 06 2010, from 7:00pm - 9:00pm at the Unitarian-Universalist Church, 175 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield, MA. The potluck is open to the GLBTQI community and its friends. Bring a main dish, salad, veggie or dessert to share. Beverages will be provided.

The potluck is not only a welcome social gathering, but for planning the coming year. There will be a chance for you to add your input, according to a note posted on Facebook,

"We have a tentative schedule of events for the upcoming year and we would love your imput. Also, please note that there will be a board meeting preceeding the potluck that evening, and all are welcome to come and listen in. We plan on saving the last 15 minutes for community input and feedback."