It’s been a busy couple of weeks. I had a nasty bug for most of the winter (it might have been two or three bugs in a row–not sure). I suppose that’s the fate of an English teacher; grading papers is not the most germ-free activity.
Last week I was in Tucson to visit TC Tolbert and the wonderful people at the University of Arizona and Casa Libre, an amazing arts/literature organization. I spoke with TC’s queer lit class, then gave a reading at Casa Libre. So much fun! 
The students were engaged, I got to hang out with scholars and artists, and omg–they were eager to talk about the characters in my book. That is so thrilling!
On Thursday, I am off to the East Coast for readings at Swarthmore College (Friday), then at Blue Marble Bookstore, then to Washington DC at Casa Ruby’s legendary community space. We go from there to a very elegant Dixon Place Lounge in New York City, then finally to Rutgers and then up to Brattleboro, VT to read at Marlboro College!
The Swarthmore reading happens this Friday–it came out of the blue via a note from a student representative who was actually doing an APIA (Asian/Pacific Islander) month and noticed I was coming through town. This reading means a lot–I have not worked enough with API organizations, and can’t wait to share. Thanks to changing viewpoints (and a lot lot lot of hard and courageous work by queer API representatives) We seem to finally be at a place where the general API community recognizes our presence. Now we can work to share with them our experiences and insight. Swarthmore Reading goes from 7:00-8:00 ioth QA, book signing, and discussion afterward. I cannot wait!
Blue Marble Bookstore–okay, I like bookstore readings in general because they make me feel like a real writer. Plus, just being around other books…wow. It means even more when the bookstore means so much to the neighborhood as Blue Marble does to Philadelphia. It’s one thing to read at a big box bookstore like Barnes and Noble, but the existence of a place like Blue Marble shows how much bookstore can not only function as retail space, but as meeting and sharing space. The reading starts at 7:00. http://www.bigbluemarblebooks.com/
From Philadelphia, I am driving to Washington DC for reading at Casa Ruby, http://www.casaruby.org/. Casa Ruby does much needed work for the queer and trans community. “Casa Ruby is the only Bilingual Multicultural LGBT Organization providing life saving services and programs to the most vulnerable in the LGBT community.” I am not quite sure when the reading starts, but I’ll let everyone know. I’ve never been to Casa Ruby, but I feel like I’m visiting family.
After this, I am heading to NYC–but more on that in another post.
Thank you so much for reading!