A Brief EMail Interview with our “Pride Night Delights” Readers
There have been a lot of changes at Twilight Tales recently, from staff to location. This year we
return an old friend to the line-up of special dates and theme nights: Pride Night is making its return to our mic on June 23rd. We’ve gathered four diverse writers to present their own brand of pride for you:
Gregg Shapiro and his Life Partner Rick Karlin are both authors and inductees of Chicago’s Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame. They both write for news print about culture or lack thereof and many forms of fiction from poetry to plays.
Sukie De la Croix, noted Historian and journalist, is a returning Twilight Tales favorite who’s humor and insight into the gay human condition have left many a viewer gasping for air with both laughter and illumination.
Jezzi Belle Stewart is a transgendered actor who is equally at home playing Miss Jezzi Belle (and others) in her one-woman comedy show, or playing President Theodere Roosevelt in his one-man show.
Following are their answers to our interview questions.
Let’s start with the basics, what is the title or titles of what you’ll be reading for us?
Gregg: I will be reading selections from my book of poetry, Protection, which was published by Gival Press (givalpress.com) in Jan. 2008
Sukie: Uh .. don’t know. Haven’t thought about it yet.
Jezzie: “The Suffragette Redemption” a transgender fiction story co-authored by my dear friend, Gwen Lavyril
Tell us about your story in a few lines, or give us a line from your favorite scene in it.
Gregg: The book is divided into three sections - one set in Chicago, one in Boston and one in Washington, DC. I will read a few poems from each.
Sukie: Another writer once described me in print thus: “Sukie de la Croix is a literary thug.” I’ll take the compliment. So my life story would be “The Autobiography of a Literary Thug.”
Jezzie: In excerpts from the diary of Emily Wentworth, a suffragette in Seneca Falls, New York cira 1903, we learn the story of Henry Wentworth, her brother, a boorish boy who thinks women should not have the vote because they are flighty creatures fit only to bring comfort and pleasure to men. Because of his anti-suffragette actions, he is first forced and later decides on his own to become Henrietta, During the course of his three day journey as Henrietta, he does a 180 degree about face learning the true strength and intelligence of woman. He goes from a thouroughly humiliated caricature of a woman (where Gwen’s part ends) to a proud trans-suffragette.
What inspired this story (or) what inspires you to write?
Gregg: Most of the work in the book is my experience as a gay man in the city.
Sukie: Instead of speaking to [jerks - ed.] one at a time, I write it down and get it published to reach as many [jerks - ed.] as possible without actually having to meet them.
Jezzie: Gwen wrote the first part of the story which ends with Henry still feeling ashamed and humiliated. I believe that femininity is something to be proud of, so I asked Gwen’s permission to add a part 2, where Henry becomes proud of being Henrietta and works for women’s suffrage.
Has writing fiction outside of what is called the mainstream posed a problem, or does it get your work noticed more?
Gregg: My short fiction publications have been in queer outlets, including Christopher Street, Blithe House Quarterly and the Alyson anthology Bar Stories, to name a few, so I don’t think I can answer that.
Sukie: I do write in the mainstream. I totally reject the word and concept of “Alternative.” I’ve never had anything rejected. No, honest … anything I’ve sent for publication has been published. What I read at Twilight Tales is usually not for publication, but I do it for fun.
Jezzie: No problems because all my non-TG activities are under my drab name.
What do you hope a reader or viewer will take away from your work?
Gregg: I hope they will find something universal in my work.
Sukie: I’d like them to go away having learned that NOT SAYING WHAT YOU THINK IS VERY BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH.
Jezzie: If you are transgendered, be proud of it - you have nothing to be ashamed of.
Is there a particular aspect of life gay or straight you try to give insight to?
Gregg: Not to lose your sense of humor.
Sukie: I don’t think of my work in those terms.
Jezzie: How wonderful it is for a male to have the gift of femininity within himself and that we live in an age where, though the battle is not by any means won, he can more and more without fear and with pleasure bring it out into the open and express of it.
Do you have any advice to your fellow writers about writing in general or in this specific niche?
Gregg: Writers of books must be readers of books.
Sukie: This will sound harsh, but if you need advice about writing you should be doing something else.
Jezzie: I can tell you what I dislike: TG stories that are simply excuses for graphic sexual descriptions or descriptions of abuse, particularly if the participants/victims are children. Don’t do it!
Anything else you’d like us to know about you or work?
Jezzie: Whether acting or writing, I have one heck of a lot of fun!
We hope you’ll join us on Monday June 23rd at The Fixx Coffee Bar (3053 N. Sheffield) to hear Gregg’s, Sukie’s, and Jezzie’s fiction and perhaps more discussion!
