Essex Hemphill & Dennis Carney

Essex Hemphill (April 16, 1957 - November 4, 1995) was an American poet and activist. He was a 1993 Pew Fellowships in the Arts.

Poet, editor, and activist Essex Hemphill was born April 16, 1957, in Chicago, Illinois. He was raised in Southeast Washington, DC, and began to write poems at the age of fourteen. He was educated at the University of Maryland.

Hemphill's first books were the self-published chapbooks Earth Life (1985) and Conditions (1986). He first gained national attention when his work appeared in the anthology In the Life (1986), a seminal collection of writings by Black gay men. In 1989, his poems were featured in the award-winning documentaries Tongues Untied and Looking for Langston.

In 1991, Hemphill edited Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men, which won a Lambda Literary Award. In 1992, he released Ceremonies: Prose and Poetry, which won the National Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual New Author Award. His work also appeared in numerous anthologies including Gay and Lesbian Poetry in Our Time (1986) and Life Sentences: Writers, Artists and AIDS (1993). He was a visiting scholar at The Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities in 1993. On November 4, 1995, Hempill died from complications relating to AIDS.

He was survived by his lover Dennis Carney, Chair of Black Gay men's Advisory Group in London. Carney is currently partner of photographer Robert Taylor.

Dennis has worked with groups, over the last two decades, in a wide variety of different settings primarily as a freelance trainer, consultant and thearpeutic groupworker, focussing on Communication and Relationship Skills, Self Esteem, Diversity, Sexual Orientation, Team Building and HIV issues in the workplace.


Dennis Carney And Essex Hemphill in Brixton by Rotimi Fani-Kayodé
Essex Hemphill was an American poet and activist. He was a 1993 Pew Fellowships in the Arts. In 1991, Hemphill edited Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men, which won a Lambda Literary Award. In 1992, he released Ceremonies: Prose and Poetry, which won the National Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual New Author Award. Hempill died from complications relating to AIDS. He was survived by his lover Dennis Carney, Chair of Black Gay men's Advisory Group in London.

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Source: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/481 & http://lovingmen.org/dennis-carney.php

( Essex Hemphill, 1991, by Robert Giard  )

( Further Readings )

More Particular Voices at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Particular Voices

Keith Vaughan (August 23, 1912 – November 4, 1977)

John Keith Vaughan (23 August 1912 – 4 November 1977) was a British painter.

Born in Selsey, Vaughan attended Christ's Hospital school. He worked in an advertising agency until the war, when as a conscientious objector he joined the St John's Ambulance. In 1941 he was conscripted into the Non-Combatant Corps. Vaughan was self-taught as an artist. His first exhibitions took place during the war. In 1942 he was stationed at Ashton Gifford near Codford in Wiltshire. Paintings from this time include "The Wall at Ashton Gifford", now owned by the Manchester Art Gallery.

Also during the war Vaughan formed friendships with the painters Graham Sutherland and John Minton, with whom after demobilization in 1946 he shared premises. Through these contacts he formed part of the Neo-Romantic circle of the immediate post-war period. However, Vaughan rapidly developed an idiosyncratic style which moved him away from the Neo-Romantics. Concentrating on studies of male figures, his works became increasingly more abstract with time.

Vaughan worked as an art teacher at the Camberwell College of Arts, the Central School of Art and later at the Slade School.

Vaughan is also known for his journals, selections from which were published in 1966 and more extensively in 1989, after his death. A gay man troubled by his sexuality, much of what is known about him is through those journals. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1975 and committed suicide in 1977 in London, recording his last moments in his diary as the drugs overdose took effect.


Leaping Figure, 1951

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Vaughan

( more paintings )

( Further Readings )

More Artists at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Art

Marc Berman (1954 - November 4,1993)

Marc Berman was writer, reporter, and video columnist for Daily Variety. Also cofounder of the AIDS Action Committee.

Marc Berman, playwright, Variety columnist and AIDS activist. A native of Ohio who was educated at Boston University, Berman began his career as an actor in regional theater and went on to write such critically acclaimed plays as "The Wolf Patrol," "River Downs" and "The Day Andy Warhol Got Shot."

He moved to Los Angeles in 1986 as West Coast bureau chief for TWICE magazine, an acronym for This Week in Consumer Electronics. In 1990, he joined Video Business and then became a staff writer for Daily Variety, doing reviews and covering home video and film and AIDS in the entertainment industry. For the past year, he also wrote a column for the weekly Variety.

In 1989, Berman co-founded the fund-raising Video Industry AIDS Action Committee. He also served on the board of AIDS Project Los Angeles and was active in the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

He died on November 4, 1993, in Sherman Oaks of AIDS complications.

Source: http://articles.latimes.com/1993-11-13/news/mn-56229_1_marc-berman

( Further Readings )

Wilfred Owen (March 18, 1893 – November 4, 1918)

Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC (18 March 1893 – 4 November 1918) was an English poet and soldier, one of the leading poets of the First World War. His shocking, realistic war poetry on the horrors of trenches and gas warfare was heavily influenced by his friend Siegfried Sassoon and stood in stark contrast to both the public perception of war at the time, and to the confidently patriotic verse written earlier by war poets such as Rupert Brooke. Some of his best-known works — most of which were published posthumously — are "Dulce et Decorum Est", "Insensibility", "Anthem for Doomed Youth", "Futility" and "Strange Meeting".

Wilfred Owen was born the eldest of four children in a house near Oswestry in Shropshire called Plas Wilmot on 18 March 1893, of mixed English and Welsh ancestry. His siblings were Harold, Colin, and Mary Millard Owen. At that time, his parents, Thomas and Harriet Susan (Shaw) Owen, lived in a comfortable house owned by his grandfather but, on his death in 1897, the family was forced to move to lodgings in the back streets of Birkenhead. He was educated at the Birkenhead Institute and at Shrewsbury Technical School (now The Wakeman School), and discovered his vocation in 1903 or 1904 during a holiday spent in Cheshire. Owen was raised as an Anglican of the evangelical school, and in his youth was a devout believer, in part due to his strong relationship with his mother, which was to last throughout his life. His early influences included the 'big six' of romantic poetry, particularly John Keats, and the Bible.

Shortly after leaving school in 1911, Owen passed the matriculation exam for the University of London, but not with the first-class honours needed for a scholarship (his studies suffered as Owen mourned the loss of his uncle and role model, Edgar Hilton in a hunting accident) which in his family's circumstances was the only way he could have afforded to attend.

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfred_Owen

( Further Readings )

Davida Wills Hurwin (born 1950)

Davida Wills Hurwin is the author of A Time for Dancing (an ALA Best Book for Young Adults) and The Farther You Run.

She teaches theater at Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences and lives in Southern California with her husband and daughter.

Further Readings:

Freaks and Revelations by Davida Wills Hurwin
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (June 5, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780316049979
ISBN-13: 978-0316049979
Amazon: Freaks and Revelations
Amazon Kindle: Freaks and Revelations

This raw, moving novel follows two teenagers-one, a Mohawk-wearing 17-year-old violent misfit; the other, a gay 13-year-old cast out by his family, hustling on the streets and trying to survive. Acclaimed author Davida Wills Hurwin creates a riveting narrative told in alternating perspectives of their lives before and after the violent hate crime that changed both their futures. This tragic but ultimately inspirational journey of two polarized teens, their violent first meeting, and their peaceful reunion years later is an unforgettable story of survival and forgiveness.

This story is inspired by the real lives of Matthew Boger and Timothy Zaal, who have shared their story on The Oprah Winfrey Show and NPR.

More Spotlights at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Lists/Gay Novels

Rainbow Awards: Cover Contest (Round 4)

This is the 4th and final round for the 2013 Cover Contest. This poll will remain open until December 7.

- in round 4 there will be 2 polls, 1 for Illustration covers and 1 for Design covers.
- in parallel with the poll, a special jury will vote the covers; the jury is composed by: Ali, Anne Tenino, Brent Hartinger, Dylan Rosser, Jodie, Julie, Linda, Mitzie, Tammy, Zahra Owens.
- you have to vote 3 covers out of 15 for each poll, so 3 covers for Illustration and 3 covers for Designs. If you don't vote for 3 covers, your vote is not valid. You have to leave a comment on this post. Comments are screened.

Most voted cover for Illustration in round 3 was:


Out of the Blackness (SJL Graphics)

all covers for round 4, Illustration, are here:

http://www.elisarolle.com/rainbowawards/2013CoverContest_illustration_03.htm

Most voted cover for Design in round 3 was:


Texas Pride (Reese Dante)

all covers for round 4, Design, are here:

http://www.elisarolle.com/rainbowawards/2013CoverContest_design_03.htm

Rainbow Awards pre-party and 7th anniversary (Day 4)

November 2013 marks the 7th anniversary since I opened my first journal (and yes, I have an itch, but I will scratch it!), on LJ, and the 5th anniversary of the Rainbow Awards. So, of course I decided for a big bash party. 184 authors, all of them in the 2013 Rainbow Awards, have donated or an ebook, or a print book, and I will use them for a Treasure Hunt. Every day, for all November, I will post 6 excerpts (a random page of the book). No reference to title, or author, or publisher. You have to match it with the book ;-) comment on the blog, 1 comment for each matching (you can even try for all 6 books if you like, so 6 chances to win every day). Until the end I will not say which matching is right, so you will have ALL month to try. No limit on how many books you can win, the more you try the better chance you have to win. End of November, among the right matchings, I will draw the winners. So now? let the game start!

( The books are (Author - Title - Format of prize): )

Previous Post: http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/3915770.html

( Today excerpts are: )

New Release Ebook Giveaway: Dear Diary - Relationships 101

Today my guest is Allison Cassatta and her new release, the 3rd episode in the Dear Diary series. Even if the new release is Relationships 101, Allison will giveaway the entire series: Dear Diary, Pride, and Relationships 101. How kind of Allison! So please welcome Allison and comment on this post for the giveaway.

Relationships 101 (Dear Diary) by Allison Cassatta
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press; 1 edition (October 22, 2013)
Amazon Kindle: Relationships 101 (Dear Diary)

Dear Diary: Book Three

Chris Bishop graduated high school with Josh, the love of his life, by his side. Agreeing it's not wise to room together, the boys choose to live in the dorms—separate dorms. But their decision fails to keep them apart, and on day one they’re caught making out by Chris's devilishly handsome new roommate, Patrick—who happens to bat for the same team, athletically and sexually speaking.

As Patrick and Chris vie for the position of track team captain, Patrick unintentionally fills Chris's mind with doubts about Josh's fidelity. Young relationships are rife with painful bumps. Will Chris and Josh see it through?

About Allison: Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, big-city life was a rat race that kept her busy in her career. It took moving with her new husband to a sleepy Mississippi town to make her realize that dreams can come true, and did they ever. She found herself a published author. She found her perfect romance.

She has an eye for the visually stunning and a mind that screams to bring that beauty to life. She gives her readers something they can feel in the depth of their hearts, creates worlds they can touch, and characters who become your best friend or worst enemy.

Dear Diary by Allison Cassatta
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press; 2 edition (May 7, 2013)
Amazon Kindle: Dear Diary

Dear Diary: Book One

Chris Bishop has everything a high school senior could want—a loving family, a perfect girlfriend, and a bright, shining future. At his dad’s suggestion, he spends a summer working at a law firm to gain experience, but he never bargained on meeting Josh. Josh is handsome and green-eyed and just what Chris doesn’t want—or does he? Some things Chris has admitted only to his digital diary, but by the time prom comes around, he needs to make a decision: risk the pain of honesty about himself and his feelings for Josh, or play it safe and lose what matters most.

Pride (Dear Diary) by Allison Cassatta
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press; 2 edition (July 16, 2013)
Amazon Kindle: Pride (Dear Diary)

Dear Diary: Book Two

Prom ends with a bang of unexpected epic proportions and leaves Chris with a disheartened outlook on where he is in his life, when he should be on top of the world. He's graduating high school with honors and has the best boyfriend in the world, but things still aren't right. Bullies make him doubt his choice to accept the way he feels and come out of the closet. Those friends turned foes make him realize how much the narrow-minded masses can hate gay people.

And everyone Chris loves starts to worry about him.

To give Chris a new perspective, his parents and loving boyfriend send him to his first gay pride—but Chris doesn't see the point, and he damn sure doesn't want to go. Will pride help him see there's nothing wrong with him? Will it change his feelings and his mind?