LGBTQ Literature is a Readers and Book Lovers series dedicated to discussing literature that has made an impact on the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. From fiction to contemporary nonfiction to history and everything in between, any literature that touches on LGBTQ themes is welcome in this series. LGBTQ Literature posts on the last Sunday of every month at 7:30 PM EST. If you are interested in writing for the series, please send a message to Chrislove.
Good evening, faithful LGBTQ Literature readers.
I’ll cut right to the chase. As you may have noticed, this year—this miserable, nightmarish, hellish year that has brought us so much turmoil—has not been the strongest for this series. We have had some fantastic diaries this year, to be sure (and many, many thanks to our contributors), but keeping this series on the tracks every month has proven to be challenging.
There are many reasons for this—my own mental health being one of them, and maybe the largest reason. Then, of course, my professional life as a college faculty member has felt like a war zone due to the initial COVID-19 disruption, and then the seemingly never-ending series of instructional changes, contingency plans, and problems arising from said changes and plans. Add to that some personal life issues that are not worth going into in this particular diary. All of it, I have found, has left very little time to spend on LGBTQ Literature diaries that really do require a great deal of time and concentration (concentration—that’s another thing in very short supply nowadays).
First of all, don’t worry. This series isn’t going anywhere. This year might not be our best, but we will live to see another year (assuming, well, that we don’t blow up or something).
However, I have given a lot of thought to this, and I think the best thing to do right now is to take some time. I need to evaluate not only what what I want this series to be in 2021 and beyond, but what I want my contributions to this series to be going forward. Because, for better or worse, I am often the most prolific writer for LGBTQ Literature, and it is clear to me that what I am currently expecting from myself is a little too much to sustain over the long term. Beyond figuring all of that out, I will also be recruiting writers for the 2021 schedule—because, as I’ve said time and time again, I think this series is much stronger when I am not the most prolific writer.
We all have a lot on our plates between now and Election Day. I certainly hope that we come out the other side intact, at peace, and with President-Elect Biden and an overwhelmingly Democratic Congress. It is appropriate, I think, to put this series on hiatus until November. On November 29, we have Kalisiin on the schedule—and, assuming she is still up for it, that diary will post as planned. In December, we will be off again for the holidays. We will return, hopefully clear-eyed and optimistic, to our regular schedule in January.
I have no intention of giving up on this series, and I hope nobody has taken that message from this diary. To the contrary, I am very excited about what this series still has to offer. I am hopeful that these few months off will provide much-needed clarity about where we need to go and a roster of diverse writers that can breathe a little more life into the LGBTQ Literature series.
I’ll see you in November (again, assuming our writer is still up for it), and then again in the New Year. In the meantime, please see the 2021 schedule below and either comment here or send me a message if you would like to take a date.
LGBTQ Literature Schedule (2021):
January 31: OPEN
February 28: OPEN
March 28: OPEN
April 25: OPEN
May 30: OPEN
June 27: OPEN
July 25: OPEN
August 29: OPEN
September 26: OPEN
October 31: OPEN
November 28: OPEN
December 26: OPEN