Out and About
‘You Can’t Kill a Poet’ Series Celebrates Five Years Founder Boston Gordon talks Tattooed Mom and cheering as loudly as you can Interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee
of friends, and friends of friends, to read at the Wooden Shoe. In a room of maybe 25 people, we kicked things off. Since then, readings have been held almost every other month, and the community of readers and attendees has bloomed.
Boston Gordon
QVC: Does the name come from anywhere in particular? What meaning does it have for you? BG: It’s from a line in a poem by Eileen Myles called “Rotting Symbols.” When I organized the first event it felt like a good rallying cry for a series specific for queer and transgender poets. Mostly people just think we’re called “How to Kill a Poet” or some other transformation of the name that makes me laugh. It definitely is a statement of a name.
QVC: Tell us a little bit about the reading series “You Can't Kill a Poet” and why you started it. BG: You Can’t Kill a Poet is an ongoing reading series that exclusively features writers who identify as LGBTQ. I started the series when I was feeling frustrated about tokenism in writing communities, and feeling passionately that queer-specific spaces are vital to LGBTQ folks. I started the series in May 2014 by booking a couple
QVC: Tattooed Mom, a South Street institution, has been a longtime host of the event, though it has been held in other locations as well. How have they been as a host? Is the neighborhood welcoming? BG: Tattooed Mom has been very supportive. They have dedicated staff for organizing events, and Robert Perry, the owner of TMom’s, is a lovely and supportive individual. He always has a kind word
Queen Village Quarterly Crier \\ FALL 2019
to say about the series, and definitely is the backbone of what makes TMom's a special place to host an event. QVC: Do you have any favorite or proud moments from the series when you've thought to yourself, “Yes! This is why I'm doing this!” BG: All the time! We have incredible writers at the events. My favorite moments are when a poet has expressed to me that they’ve never read at a reading before, and then they get up there and share the most amazing and earnest work. They just needed a place to read! It’s not always easy to find the right series or open mic for your work, and getting on the roster at some series can be challenging if you’re new to the scene. I love having newbies up there. QVC: The series has been going now for five years. What do you see coming down the line? Will it keep going? BG: For now it will definitely keep going. As long as I have the energy to organize the event, I want it to keep going. Queer spaces are vital—and dissappearing. If I can bring together the queer community once every couple months, and give poets a space where they feel they can be au-
