St. Louis Pride flag signed by attendees at PrideFest in Tower Grove Park, 2012. Missouri Historical Society Collections. Courtesy of the Missouri History Museum.
St. Louis Pride flag
On June 8, That Uppity Theatre Company will showcase numerous LGBTQIA+ writers from a variety of genres at the Missouri History Museum with Queer Writes, featuring Chris Andoe, Kris Kleindienst, Joan Lipkin, Sam Moore, Aja La’Starr, Mary Maxfield, Mariah Richardson, and Maurice Tracy.
“I feel like it’s important for me to be a part of this particular endeavor because it gives me an opportunity to share my writing and share in that experience of being in the LGBTQ community.” says La’Starr.
Presentations will begin at 6:30 p.m., with happy hour at the Museum’s Grand Hall beginning at 5:30 p.m. The event will feature live music by CHARIS, a chorus of women and nonbinary singers directed by Dr. Stuart Chapman Hill, as well as resource tables hosted by local LGBTQ+ organizations, hand-on activities, tours, food, drinks, and more. Organizations tabling the event include Pride Saint Louis, PFLAG, Black Pride St. Louis, BandTogether, and many more.
“It’s necessary that we are out and being ourselves and letting people hear our words,” says Richardson.
Courtesy of Joan Lipkin.
Lipkin, who is the producing artistic director of That Uppity Theatre Company as well as the presenter and event curator for Queer Writes, says the event could not have come at a better time.
“At a time when there are state-mandated efforts to censor literature or words like ‘gay,’ it seems like a good time to amplify just a few of the talented and very diverse LGBTQ+ writers in St. Louis,” says Lipkin.
Queer Writes is sponsored in part by the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and is part of the Missouri History Museum’s ongoing Thursday Nights at the Museum series. The event is associated with the museum’s Gateway to Pride exhibit and initiative.
In addition to the June 8 event, Lipkin will hold a writing workshop titled “Queer and Allied Writes: Finding Essential Moments in Your Story” in coordination with Queer Writes. The workshop costs $15 and will take place on June 10 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Missouri Historical Society Library & Research Center. Lipkin hopes that Queer Writes will become a recurring event, giving the community more opportunities to highlight all of the amazing LGBTQ+ voices in the St. Louis community.
“I hope there’s a sufficient response and interest for it to be done again,” says Lipkin. “We have so many talented writers in the area and bringing people into a space where maybe there’s some people they know, but also people they don’t know; that is how we create community and build diversity in committed and intentional ways.”
