I’ve been working on trying to come up with the words for what I wanted to say in this blog since I was at 35,000 feet somewhere above the mid-atlantic region (thankfully missing the snow storm) on my way home to NYC from the 2010 Creating Change conference in Dallas Texas.
I’m struggling to find the words because the conference was such an incredible experience for me, I had the pleasure of meeting and connecting with many incredible folks, and having the opportunity to nationally release Kicked Out as part of that conference was itself an incredible honor. I’m so grateful to the continued support of The Task Force, without whom last night’s event wouldn’t have been possible. I’m also so thankful for everyone at Creating Change who came out to the release event, everyone who bought books, to supporters of the anthology around the world who although not able to attend in person, whose presence and support resonated in the room, and a special thank you to UK based Kicked Out contributor Nat Roslin who participated in the release via digital recording.
I think there was part of me who thought the release would be like any other reading, and that I would feel good when it was over, but that most likely I would go back to my room, eat some dinner, and all in all be the same person. At the risk of sounding overly sentimental, I have to say that for me the world is very much a different place after this event. Kicked Out is my baby, but it’s more than that it represents years of hard work, of blood, and tears, of friendships, and the formation of kin not just for me but for each of the books contributors. This book has been a full time job for me since it went into production, and to see it here, to watch people carry away copies into the world really made it hit home that we made it!
A special thanks to Task Force fellow Jack Harrison who made everything run smoothly, and Lisa Tusay my agent and ½ of the wonderful PhinLi Bookings who was my helper for the evening.
***As an aside, I just want to mention that I’m so thrilled about the number of conversations I heard happening at Creating Change about the epidemic of LGBTQ youth homelessness. It was reassuring to see this issue being prioritized over the push for marriage by activists and organizers from all walks of life, and a variety of backgrounds.
