Co-Coordinators:
Regie Cabico recently co-edited Flicker and Spark:A Contemporary Queer Anthology of Poetry and Spoken Word (Low Brow Press) with poet and novelist Brittany Fonte.  His work appears in over 30 anthologies including Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Café, Spoken Word Revolution, Chorus & The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry. He is a pioneer of the poetry slam having won the Nuyorican Poet Cafe’s Grand slam in 1993. He has shared the stage with Patti Smith, Allen Ginsberg and through Howard Zinn’s Portraits Project at NYU, has performed with Academy Award nominees: Stanley Tucci, Jesse Eisenberg.  He received the 2006 Writers for Writers Award from Poets & Writers for his work teaching at-risk youth at Bellevue Hospital in New York .  He is a former Artist In Residence at NYU’s Asian Pacific American Studies Program and has served as faculty at Banff ‘s Spoken Word Program. He resides in Washington , DC and performs throughout North America and the UK .

Nathaniel A. Siegel is an artist, producer and private real estate broker in NYC. He is the Executive Director of the HOWL ! Festival of the East Village Arts. A graduate of Boston University (1991) M.B.A. and UMass at North Dartmouth (1989) B.S. in Business Marketing  with Summa Cum Laude Honors, Nathaniel’s business experience includes ten years working for Bloomingdales as a buyer of men’s designer clothing. He is currently a private real estate broker in NYC for select clients who appreciate and trust his ability and discretion in navigating the city’s housing market. Nathaniel has distinguished himself as a contemporary poet whose work has been published and performs frequently at readings in New York and beyond.. Organizations he supports locally include Saint Mark’s Poetry Project, The Bowery Poetry Club, A Gathering of the Tribes, PS 122, The Living Theatre and La Mama. With poet Regie Cabico he established the LGBTQ poetry reading series COME HEAR ! curating performances at CUNY Graduate Center , The Leslie Lohman Gay Art Foundation (now a Museum), and NYC LGBTQ Community Center . As a member of the HOWL ! Festival executive team he produces a month long theatrical, musical and performance art benefit each year for East Village and Downtown artists in need. He is on the board of the HOWL ! Emergency Life Project. He works closely with the Allen Ginsberg Trust and is a valued friend of Naropa University of Disembodied Poetics. Nathaniel is a poet and documentary photographer capturing his peer’s live performances. He knows an artist when he feels their work. He has many teachers who have expanded his life.
Nathaniel A. Siegel is a GAY poet in the tradition of homoSEXual writers, thinkers, and doers throughOUT time immemorial. His chapbook “Tony” is published by Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs. He has new work forthcoming in Flicker and Spark:A Contemporary Queer Anthology of Poetry and Spoken Word (Low Brow Press).

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DIVA Readers Bios
B.C. Edwards is a producer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and attended the graduate writing program at The New School in New York . The winner of the 2011 Hudson Prize for Fiction, he is the author of the collected stories “The Aversive Clause” (spring 2013) as well as two collections of poetry “To Mend Small Children,” (february 2012) and “From the Standard Cyclopedia of Recipes” (spring 2014). He was raised in Newburyport , Massachusetts and lives in Brooklyn .

Scott Hightower, a native of Texas , is the award-winning author of five books of poetry, including “Hontanares,” an English/Spanish bi-lingual collection with Spanish translator Natalia Cabajosa. In 2008, Hightower’s translations garnered him a prestigious Barnstone Translation Prize. He lives and works in New York , and sojourns in Spain .

Michael Broder is a contributing writer on BuzzFeed LGBT and The Huffington Post. His poems have appeared in a number of journals including BLOOM, Court Green, Columbia Poetry Review, and Painted Bride Quarterly. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from NYU and a PhD in Classics from the CUNY Graduate Center .

Dean Kostos’s collections include Rivering, Last Supper of the Senses, The Sentence That Ends with a Comma, and the chapbook Celestial Rust. He co-edited Mama’s Boy: Gay Men Write about Their Mothers (a Lambda Book Award finalist) and edited Pomegranate Seeds: An Anthology of Greek-American Poetry (its debut reading was held at the United Nations). His poems have appeared in over 300 journals and anthologies, such as Boulevard, Chelsea , Cimarron Review, The Cincinnati Review, Mediterranean Poetry ( Sweden ), Southwest Review, Stand Magazine (UK), Stranger at Home, Token Entry, Vanitas, Western Humanities Review, and on Oprah Winfrey’s Web site Oxygen.com. His choral text, Dialogue: Angel of War, Angel of Peace, was set to music by James Bassi and performed by Voices of Ascension. His literary criticism has appeared on the Harvard UP Web site, in Talisman, and elsewhere. He has taught at Wesleyan, The Gallatin School of NYU, The City University of New York, and he has served as literary judge for Columbia University ’s Gold Crown Awards. A recipient of a Yaddo fellowship, he also serves on the editorial board of Journal of the Hellenic Diaspora. His poem “Subway Silk” was recently translated into a film by Canadian filmmaker Jill Clark.

Billy Merrell is the author of Talking in the Dark, a poetry memoir (Scholastic, 2003), and a co-editor for The Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing About LGBTQ and Other Identities (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2006), which received a 2006 Lambda Literary Award. Most recently, he is co-author of Go Ahead, Ask Me (Simon Pulse, 2009). He received his M.F.A. in Poetry from Columbia University and serves as Content Strategist for Poets.org, the website of the Academy of American Poets . Visit him online at www.billymerrell.com.

Douglas A. Martin Bio To Come

Michael Montlack is the author of the book of poems Cool Limbo (NYQ Books, 2011) and the editor of the Lambda Finalist essay anthology My Diva (University of Wisconsin, 2009) and its sister poetry anthology Divining Divas (Lethe, 2012). He splits his time between NYC (where he teaches at Berkeley College ) and Portland , OR .  His work has been published in journals and anthologies including Cimarron Review, Court Green, Bloom, Poet Lore, New York Quarterly, The Huffington Post and others. Recently he was awarded a Squaw Valley scholarship and residencies at VCCA and Schwandorf in Germany . He can be reached at mikemont17@hotmail.com and Facebook.

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Austin Alexis‘s chapbooks are Lovers and Drag Queens and For Lincoln & Other Poems, both from Poets Wear Prada http://pwpbooks.blogspot.com. His fiction, poetry and nonfiction pieces have appeared in The Writer, Paterson Literary Review, Connecticut River Review, The Pedestal Magazine, The Arts Cure, Writ ( Canada ) and the anthologies American Society: What Poets See, Off the Cuffs: Poetry by and about the Police and others.  His plays have been performed at the Samuel French Short Plays Festival, The Vineyard Theater, P.S. 122 and elsewhere.  He has been employed by the American Museum of Natural History , The College of New Rochelle ( Co-op City Campus) and the Lincoln Center Library.

Joel Allegretti is the author of four collections, the most recent being Europa/Nippon/ New York : Poems/Not-Poems (Poets Wear Prada, 2012). His second book, Father Silicon (The Poet’s Press), was selected by The Kansas City Star as one of 100 Noteworthy Books of 2006. His poetry has appeared in many national journals, including Smartish Pace, The New York Quarterly, Fulcrum and PANK, as well as in journals published in Canada , the United Kingdom and India . He wrote the texts for three song cycles by Frank Ezra Levy, whose work is released on Naxos American Classics. Allegretti is a member of the Academy of American Poets and ASCAP. EUROPA/NIPPON/ NEW YORK :
POEMS/NOT-POEMS A new collection from Poets Wear Prada, available on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/0615600204/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dp_ldKCpb13K9NXB

Corrina Bain is a gender nonconforming writer-performer, with an extensive background in poetry slam. He has been nominated for two Pushcart Prizes. He lives in Brooklyn and is a staff member at the louderARTS project. More information at www.corrinabain.com

Jen Benka is the author of the poetry collections Pinko (Hanging Loose) and A Box of Longing With Fifty Drawers (Soft Skull Press). She was recently named the executive director of the Academy of American Poets .

Jeffery Berg received an MFA from New York University .  His poems have appeared in Court Green, Swink, and the Gay & Lesbian Review.

David Bergman is the author of Cracking the Code, Heroic Measures and Fortunate Light, which has just been published by Midsummer Night’s Press.

Charlie Bondhus has published two books of poetry—What We Have Learned to Love, which won Brickhouse Books’s 2008-2009 Stonewall Competition, and How the Boy Might See It (Pecan Grove Press, 2009) which was a finalist for the 2007 Blue Light Press First Book Award. He has also published a novella, Monsters and Victims (Gothic Press, 2010). His poetry appears or is set to appear in numerous periodicals, including The Hawai’i Review, The Wisconsin Review, The Alabama Literary Review, The Sierra Nevada Review, Cold Mountain Review, The Baltimore Review and Assaracus. He teaches at Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey .

Stephen Boyer is the author of “Parasite” (Publication Studios), “GHOSTS” (Bent Boy Books), “The Form of Things” (2^nd Floor Projects), they curate the blog www.minorprogression.com with the help of countless others they spearheaded the compiling of the Occupy Wall Street Poetry Anthology and recently they showed an installation at The Center for Book Arts (Jan-March 2013) involving both the Occupy Wall Street Poetry Anthology and the Peoples Free Library, which Stephen was a member.  Stephen loves performing and is currently working on a play and looking for cash and a space to mount an otherworldly extravaganza.

Donald Britton published his poetry in one collection, Italy (Little Caesar Press, 1981) and in a variety of magazines, including The Paris Review and Sun and Moon.  He died from AIDS in 1994.
Donald Britton’s poetry will be read by Philip Clark, see Philip Clark.

Brian Butterick: NYC born poet, actor, musician, producer and pilgrim for 40 years.

Guillermo Filice Castro was a finalist for the Andrés Montoya prize in 2012. His poems appear in Assaracus, Barrow St ,  The Bellevue Literary Review, The Brooklyn Rail, Court Green, Fogged Clarity, Quarterly West, among many others, and the anthologies My Diva, Divining Divas, Saints of Hysteria, and more. He’s the author of two chapbooks, “Cry Me a Lorca” and “Toy Storm.” He resides in NYC.

Lonely Christopher is a poet and filmmaker. He is the author of several books, including the short story collection The Mechanics of Homosexual Intercourse, which was a 2011 selection of Dennis Cooper’s Little House on the Bowery imprint of Akashic Books. He also wrote and directed the feature length film MOM (Cavazos Films, 2013). He lives in Brooklyn where he is writing his second novel.

Philip Clark co-edited the anthology Persistent Voices: Poetry by Writers Lost to AIDS and is currently looking for a publisher for A Kind of Endlessness: The Selected Poems of Donald Britton (a project begun by the late Reginald Shepherd).  He can be reached at philipclark@hotmail.com

Jaime Shearn Coan lives in Brooklyn and teaches creative writing and literature at The City College of New York. His poems have appeared in journals including the Mississippi Review, Drunken Boat, The Portland Review and Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics. His artist book, dear someone, the product of a collaborative queer letter-writing project, is distributed through Printed Matter. Jaime currently creates work with the choreographer Mariangela Lopez and has been awarded fellowships at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Saltonstall Arts Colony, Lambda Literary Foundation, Tin House Writers Workshop, and Poets House.

Steven Cordova is the 2012 first-place winner of the International Reginald Sheperd Memorial Poetry Prize. His first full-length collection of poems, Long Distance, was published by Bilingual Review Press in 2010. He has a short story in Ambientes: New Queer Latino Writing ( University of Wisconsin Press ) and an essay in The Other Latino: Writing Against a Singular Identity ( University of Arizona Press ). He lives in Brooklyn , New York .

EC Crandall‘s poems and essays have been published or are forthcoming
in PANK, Jupiter 88, Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and
Poetics, Gay Shame, and The Trans Literary Reader. Crandall is co-author of the novel Executive Privilege and teaches in
the University Writing Program at Columbia University . www.executiveprivilegebook.com

Amanda Davidson is the author of Apprenticeship, a chapbook published by New Herring Press. She blogs, makes performances, and teaches in Brooklyn. Visit partedinthemiddle.wordpress.com.

Seren Divine is a performance poet, visual artist, producer, & queer feminist radical educator. She has toured and competed across the country, with over ten years of involvement in the National Poetry Slams; from competition to volunteering, organizing and hosting. Seren earns a living as a Professional Performance Poet & Arts Educator, leading Performance & Writing Workshops for youth from Queens to Brooklyn , and in Colleges and Universities along the east coast. She is currently affiliated with Urban Word NYC, Urban Arts Partnership & El Puente Leaders for Peace & Justice. She has five collections in print, two recordings & is widely anthologized. seren.divine@facebook.com serendivine@yahoo.com

R. Erica Doyle‘s first book, proxy, was published by Belladonna* in 2013. Previously her work has appeared in Best American Poetry, Ploughshares, Callaloo,Blithe House Quarterly, Bloom, Sinister Wisdom, and Ms. Magazine. She lives and works in New York City . Her website is: rericadoyle.blogspot.com You can find her book here: http://belladonnaseries.org/proxy.html and here: http://www.spdbooks.org/Producte/9780982338797/proxy.aspx

Ron Drummond’s first collection of poems is the prize-winning Why I Kick at Night. His poetry also appears in the Penguin textbook Literature as Meaning, and in the anthologies Poetry Nation, Poetry After 9/11, This New Breed, Saints of Hysteria and the newly released Flicker and Spark from Lowbrow Press. His translations, in collaboration with the Guillermo Filice Castro, have appeared in U.S. Latino Review, Terra Incognita and Guernica . He has been awarded fellowships from Ragdale, VCCA, and Blue Mountain Center , and is a member of the Macondo Writers Workshop. A portfolio of his poems is featured in the current issue of Assaracus.

Andrew Durbin co-edits Wonder, a publisher of art books, pamphlets, ephemera, and glossies. He is the author of Reveler (Argos Books 2013). His writings have appeared or are forthcoming in the the Boston Review, the Brooklyn Rail, Fence, Maggy, and elsewhere. He curates the reading series Queer Division at the Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, a bookstore and gallery on New York ‘s Lower East Side . He is an associate editor of Conjunctions and lives in New York .

Danielle Evennou is a Washington , DC poet and open mic mistress. With her partner in poetic dalliance, Regie Cabico, Evennou hosts Sparkle: a queer driven open mic series. Evennou’s work has appeared in literary journals, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Blue Collar Review, Xenith and Objet d’Art, as well as the Washington Post and DCist. Winner of the Larry Neal Award, Evennou has performed her work in tattoo parlors, on the Gowanus Canal , distinguished universities, and even in laundromats.

Dia Felix is an interdisciplinary artist working in performance, video, and writing. Felix’s novel, Nochita, is forthcoming from City Lights/Sister Spit. She is the founder of Personality Press. Born and raised in southern California , Felix lives and works in New York City .

Brittany Fonte holds an MFA in Creative Writing, Fiction.  Her first book, Buddha in My Belly, a collection of prose poetry, was published with Hopewell Publications.  Her second book, Fighting Gravity published by Queerteen,  is a teen book focused on the dangers of the Internet when coupled with youth and insecurity.  She co-edited Flicker and Spark: A Contemporary Anthology of Queer Spoken Word and Poetry. She works as a university professor, a fiction editor, and a poetry slave.

Davidson Garrett is a member of Actors Equity and SAG/AFTRA and has worked in theater, film and television since 1973.  He is the author of the poetry collection, King Lear of the Taxi published by Advent Purple Press. Davidson has a new chapbook forthcoming from Finishing Line Press in March, 2013, titled: To Tell The Truth I Wanted To Be Kitty Carlisle and Other Poems” published by Finishing Line Press.  In August 2012, he premiered his one-man show: King Lear of the Taxi: A Poetic Monologue for the Boog City Music and Art Festival.  He has subsequently performed this work for the Red Harlem Readers and the North Jersey Literary Series.  www.adventpurplepress.com

Ariel Goldberg‘s recent publications include Picture Cameras (NoNo Press, 2010), The Photographer without a Camera (Trafficker Press, 2011), and The Estrangement Principle, selections of which appear in Aufgabe 11.

Stephanie Gray: Poet-filmmaker Stephanie Gray’s first book of poems, “Heart Stoner Bingo”, was published by Straw Gate Books in 2007. A chapbook, “I thought you said it was sound / how does that sound?” was published by Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs in 2012. As a super 8 filmmaker, her experimental films, often about the city and pop culture, have screened internationally, and queer subjects she’s explored include filmic de-(or should that be re-)construction of Kristy McNichol (uh, yes she’s out now, as if you didn’t know); Joan of Arc (you knew she was a dyke right?) and Laverne & Shirley (c’mon, don’t tell me you don’t really know what was going on in that TV show.) More queer poemz are here: http://lodestarquarterly.com/work/253/

E. Tracy Grinnell is the author of Some Clear Souvenir and Music or forgetting, both published by O Books. Helen, A Fugue by Grinnell and A Pear / Actions Are Erased / Appear by Leslie Scalapino were published in volume #1 of the Belladonna Elders Series. A conversation with Scalapino included at the end of this book is viewable online: http://lesliescalapinotribute.wikispaces.com/file/view/E+Tracy+Grinnell2.pdf. Recent writing is collected in the manuscripts Hell Figures and portrait of a lesser subject. 

Adele Hampton is a storyteller, poet, and visual journalist with roots planted in DC by way of upstate New York . She has performed at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Busboys & Poets, and the Capturing Fire Spoken Word Festival. She is a Literary Death Match finalist and was one of four poets chosen to represent Washington , DC in the Battle of the Beltway slam series.

Scott Hightower, a native of Texas , is the award-winning author of five books of poetry, including Hontanares, an English/Spanish bi-lingual collection with Spanish translator Natalia Cabajosa. In 2008, Hightower’s translations garnered him a prestigious Barnstone Translation Prize. He lives and works in New York , and sojourns in Spain .

Joanna Hoffman is a spoken word poet, teaching artist and LGBTQ advocate living in Brooklyn and at www.joannahoffman.com. Her book is coming out this Summer under Sibling Rivalry Press.

Manny Igrejas: Fiction has been anthologized in Men on Men 4 and poetry in the anthology, A New Geography of Poets. Shrinkage, an evening of three of his one-act plays about the pursuit of mental health, was produced at Manhattan Theatre Source in 2004 with sterling results. His play Kitty and Lina produced in 2008 also earned good reviews in Time Out and the NY Times. Miss Mary Dugan was presented at The Fresh Fruit Festival in 2009 and won Best Play, Best Director and Best Actor honors. It was reprised for the 10^th annual Fresh Fruit Festival in 2012 and was reviewed favorably in Backstage and Theater Reviews Limited. Hassan and Sylvia won Best Play and Best Actress Awards at the 2010 Fresh Fruit Festival and is included in the anthology Plays and Playwrights 2011. Both Hassan and Sylvia and Miss Mary Dugan are available at www.indietheaternow.com. Other plays include XYZ, Chantal, Margarita and Max and Pittsburgh! For more information and some more poems visit: www.mannyigrejas.com.

Natalie Illum is a poet, activist and storyteller living in  Washington DC .  Her writing centers around disability, identity and autobiography. Her work has appeared in the anthologies Word Warriers: 35 Women of the Spokenword Revolution and Full Moon on K Street, as well as in Feminist Studies and on NPR’s Snap Judgment. She has competed on the National Poetry Slam circuit since 2008, and has performed with many artists across the US , including Michelle Tea, Eileen Myles, Buddy Wakefield and Andrea Gibson.  She has an MFA in creative writing from American University , and teaches workshops in a variety of venues. More can be found at www.natalieillum.net.

Collin Kelley is the author of the novels Conquering Venus and Remain In Light, a 2012 finalist for the Townsend Prize for Fiction, and the short story collection, Kiss Shot. His poetry collections include Better To Travel, the spoken word album HalfLife Crisis, Slow To Burn, After the Poison and the newly-released Render from Sibling Rivalry Press. A recipient of the Georgia Author the Year Award, Deep South Festival of Writers Award and Goodreads Poetry Award, Kelley’s poetry, essays, interviews and reviews have appeared in magazines and journals around the world.

Rosamond S. King is a creative and critical writer, performer, and artist. She was named a 2013 Poets House Emerging Poet Fellow, and her poetry has been published in over a dozen journals and anthologies, including the chapbook At My Belly and My Back and the just-released Kindergarde: Experimental Poetry for Children. King has performed around the world in theatres, bookstores, and galleries.  She is an Assistant Professor in the English Department of Brooklyn College (CUNY).

Michael Klein spent the past year abroad as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow, studying how narratives of place shape urban life in Canada , Ecuador , and Australia . His work has been published in Swink Magazine, 580 Split , Radius, Philadelphia Stories and The Fiddleback, among others. He’s a proud Northwest Philadelphian by upbringing and lives in Brooklyn , New York .

David Knittle spent the past year abroad as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow, studying how narratives of place shape urban life in Canada , Ecuador , and Australia . His work has been published in Swink Magazine, 580 Split , Radius, Philadelphia Stories and The Fiddleback, among others. He’s a proud Northwest Philadelphian by upbringing and lives in Brooklyn , New York .

Jee Leong Koh is the author of four books of poems, including Seven Studies for a Self Portrait (Bench Press) and The Pillow Book (Math Paper Press). Born in Singapore , he lives in New York City , and blogs at Song of a Reformed Headhunter http://jeeleong.blogspot.com

Dean Kostos’s collections include Rivering, Last Supper of the Senses, The Sentence That Ends with a Comma, and the chapbook Celestial Rust. He co-edited Mama’s Boy: Gay Men Write about Their Mothers (a Lambda Book Award finalist) and edited Pomegranate Seeds: An Anthology of Greek-American Poetry (its debut reading was held at the United Nations). His poems have appeared in over 300 journals and anthologies, such as Boulevard, Chelsea , Cimarron Review, The Cincinnati Review, Mediterranean Poetry ( Sweden ), Southwest Review, Stand Magazine (UK), Stranger at Home, Token Entry, Vanitas, Western Humanities Review, and on Oprah Winfrey’s Web site Oxygen.com. His choral text, Dialogue: Angel of War, Angel of Peace, was set to music by James Bassi and performed by Voices of Ascension. His literary criticism has appeared on the Harvard UP Web site, in Talisman, and elsewhere. He has taught at Wesleyan, The Gallatin School of NYU, The City University of New York, and he has served as literary judge for Columbia University ’s Gold Crown Awards. A recipient of a Yaddo fellowship, he also serves on the editorial board of Journal of the Hellenic Diaspora. His poem “Subway Silk” was recently translated into a film by Canadian filmmaker Jill Clark.

Bill Kushner is just a sweet girl with a heart of gold. Bill Kushner has had 8 books of poems published. His last book, WALKING AFTER MIDNIGHT, by Spyten Duyvil Press, 2012.  He will reach the age of 82 on this May, 2013.

Joy Ladin is the author of six books of poetry, including Lambda Literary Award finalist Transmigration, Forward Fives Award winner Coming to Life, and last year’s The Definition of Joy.

Sam LaRoche Poet, Pisces and Leviathan. Born on the moon, raised in a ball park. Darts in front of traffic to avoid eye contact with strangers, will most likely sweep it all under the rug just to see later on what has accumulated. Like tops of cupcakes, bottoms of italian ices and keeps a collection of socks at the bottom of the bed. She believes all good things begin with a Michael Jackson song and can moon walk the hell out of any dance floor. Dream big or live small.

Peggy Lee is a poet and writer based in Sunset Park , Brooklyn ; she has read her work at various universities, Bluestockings Bookstore, among other venues, and served as an Asian American Writer’s Workshop Open City Creative Non-Fiction Fellow from 2010-2011. She received her Master’s in Performance Studies at New York University , and graduated with a B.A. in Women’s Studies in 2008 from University of California , Santa Barbara .

Patrick Lucy lives in Philadelphia where he’s a partner in a small advertising agency. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Gulf Coast , elimae, Revista Laboratorio (translations by Carlo s Soto-Román), NOÖ Weekly, Bright Pink Mosquito, Apiary, La Fovea and many more. Patrick keeps a blog & ephemeral press at catchconfetti.com.

Douglas A. Martin is the author of books of poetry and prose, including: Once You Go Back, Your Body Figured, In the Time of Assignments, Branwell, and They Change the Subject.  His first novel, Outline of My Lover was selected as an International Book of the Year in the TLS and adapted in part by the Forsythe Company for their multimedia production, “Kammer/Kammer.”  His work has been translated into Japanese, Portuguese, and Italian.  http://douglasarthur.blogspot.com/

David Messineo: Award-winning poet, publisher, and historian David Messineo is among the 20 longest-serving independent poetry editors and literary magazine publishers in America (via Sensations Magazine, www.sensationsmag.com), and covers the 90-year history of the American gay rights movement within his new American history/time travel-themed poetry book, Historiopticon.

Carol Mirakove is the author of Muriel’s House (Least Weasel), Mediated ( Factory School ), and Occupied (Kelsey St. Press).  She collaborates with Collective Task, and with the Dutch musician bates45 she released “temporary tattoos,” an electro-techno single.

Rajiv Mohabir is the author of three chapbooks: anandamritakarshini, the raga that brings the rain, (EOAGH, forthcoming), na bad-eye me (Pudding House Press, 2010) and na mash me bone (Finishing Line Press, 2011). Published in literary journals such as Drunken Boat, Great River Review, Assacarus, Chicago Poetry, Lantern Review, Four Way Review, Kartika Review, and Saw Palm he was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2010. Rajiv is the Editor in Chief for the Ozone Park Journal run by the MFA students at Queens College . An American Institute of Indian Studies fellow (2011-2012), he currently hosts the radio show KAVIhouse on JusRadio, a program devoted to poetries of South Asia and its Diasporas.

Michael Montlack is the author of the book of poems Cool Limbo (NYQ Books, 2011) and the editor of the Lambda Finalist essay anthology My Diva (University of Wisconsin, 2009) and its sister poetry anthology Divining Divas (Lethe, 2012). He splits his time between NYC (where he teaches at Berkeley College ) and Portland , OR .  His work has been published in journals and anthologies including Cimarron Review, Court Green, Bloom, Poet Lore, New York Quarterly, The Huffington Post and others. Recently he was awarded a Squaw Valley scholarship and residencies at VCCA and Schwandorf in Germany . He can be reached at mikemont17@hotmail.com and Facebook.

Charan P. Morris is a poet/educator based in New York . A 2011-12 LAMBDA Literary Fellow, her work has been published in The Gallatin Review, Sinister Wisdom, Kweli Journal, InDigest Magazine is forthcoming in The Mom Egg and Stand Our Ground anthology.  She has performed for audiences throughout the Midwest and East Coast. In addition to being a public school educator, she has facilitated poetry workshops with diverse groups of writers including formerly incarcerated youth and graduate students at Columbia University .

Stephen Motika‘s first book, Western Practice, was published by Alice James Books in 2012. He is also the editor of Tiresias: The Collected Poems of Leland Hickman (2009) and the author of the poetry chapbooks Arrival and At Mono (2007) and In the Madrones (2011).  Recent work has appeared in The Brooklyn Review, Eleven Eleven, The Boog City Reader 4, and The Poetry Project Newsletter. A 2010-2012 Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Workspace Resident, he is the program director at Poets House and publisher of Nightboat Books.

Sean Patrick Mulroy: Born and raised in Southern Virginia , the house where Sean Patrick Mulroy grew up was built in 1801 and was commandeered by the union army during the civil war to serve as a makeshift hospital.  As a boy, Sean loved to peel back the carpets to show where the blood from hasty surgeries on wounded soldiers had stained the wooden floorboards.  Now he writes poems.

Angelo Nikolopoulos’ first book of poems, Obscenely Yours, is a winner of the 2011 Kinereth Gensler Award and is forthcoming from Alice James Books in April 2013. His poems have appeared in The Best American Poetry 2012, Best New Poets 2011, Boston Review, Fence, The Los Angeles Review, The New York Quarterly, Tin House, and elsewhere. He is a winner of the 2011 “Discovery” / Boston Review Poetry Contest and the founder of the White Swallow Reading Series in Manhattan . He teaches at Rutgers University , New Brunswick and lives in New York City .

Eric Norris is a founding editor of the international poetry journal Kin (http://wearekin.org) and the author of Cock Sucking (On Mars), N is for Nothing, and Nocturnal Omissions, co-written with pornstar poet Gavin Geoffrey Dillard. He is an occasional contributor of essays, poetry, short stories, memoir, and dramatic dialogues to various journals and e-zines. Eric is also a co-host and co-organizer of Carmine Street Metrics, the longest running open-mic metrical reading series in the U.S.

Tim Trace Peterson is the author of Since I Moved In (Chax Press) and Violet Speech (2nd Avenue Poetry), is Publisher/Editor of EOAGH, and co-editor of the new anthology Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics (Nightboat Books, 2013).

Steven Riel is the author of three chapbooks of poetry: How to Dream, The Spirit Can Crest, and most recently, Postcard from P-town, which was selected as runner-up for the inaugural Robin Becker Chapbook Prize and published in 2009 by Seven Kitchens Press.  His poems have appeared in several anthologies and in numerous periodicals, including The Minnesota Review, International Poetry Review, Evening Street Review, Christopher Street , The G.W. Review, St. Andrew’s Review, The James White Review, and The Antigonish Review.  In 2005, Christopher Bursk named him the Robert Fraser Distinguished Visiting Poet at Bucks County (PA) Community College.  Denise Levertov selected one of his poems as runner-up for the Grolier Poetry Peace Prize in 1987.  He served as poetry editor of RFD between 1987 and 1995.  He received an MFA in Poetry in 2008 from New England College , where he was awarded a Joel Oppenheimer Scholarship.  He won a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council in 1992.  His poems were nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 1989 and for Editors= Choices III in 1991.  Website:  www.stevenriel.com

Casey Rocheteau began performing poetry at Hampshire College, where she was one of the leaders of the Slam Collective from 2003-2007 She performs throughout the country, has lead a variety of writing and performance workshops at colleges and high schools. She’s released two albums on the Whitehaus Family Record, and has published five books. Her most recent book, Knocked Up On Yes was released on Sargent Press in 2012. Recently her work has appeared in Amethyst Arsenic and Side B Magazine. Casey was a member of the 2012 Providence Slam Team.

Jason Roush is the author of four books of poems:  After Hours, Breezeway, Crosstown, and Dispossession.  He teaches at Emerson College and New England Institute of Art in Boston .

Sarah Sarai‘s poems are in Lavender, Lambda Literary, Boston Review, and others. Her collection, The Future Is Happy, was published by BlazeVOX[books]. For links to her poems and stories, visit My 3,000 Loving Arms (http://my3000lovingarms.blogspot.com).

Christopher Schmidt is the author of The Next in Line from Slope Editions and a chapbook, Thermae, from EOAGH. His writing has appeared in Tin House, La Petite Zine, Boston Review, Lambda Literary, Time magazine, and many other venues. He lives in New York City and is an Assistant Professor at City University of New York, LaGuardia.

Jason Schneiderman is the author of two books of poetry and his poems and essays are widely published.

Lolan Buhain Sevilla is a queer butch cultural worker who roots her art in community, study and practice. She is a member of FiRE-GABRIELA USA, and the National Writers Union, UAW Local 1981. Lolan was co-founder of Kreatibo, a queer Pin@y Artist Collective, and has been published in Maganda Magazine, The Womanist Journal, Cheers to Muses: Contemporary Works by Asian American Women (2007), and TAYO Literary Magazine.   Her first chapbook, Translating New Brown (2005), received the Philippine American Writers & Artists’ Calatagan Award.  Lolan co-edited Walang Hiya… Literature Taking Risks Toward Liberatory Practice (2010), and recently completed a Hedgebrook Writing Residency where she worked on her first novel, Every Surface An Altar.

Steve Turtell is a poet who lives in New York City . His collection of poems, Heroes and Householders, was published in 2009 by Orchard House Press and will be reissued in May 2012 in an expanded second edition. His 2001 chapbook, Letter to Frank O’Hara is the 2010 winner of the Rebound Chapbook Prize given by Seven Kitchens Press and was reissued with an introduction by Joan Larkin in 2011. He is currently at work on Fifty Jobs in Fifty Years, and Peter Hujar: Invisible Master. You can follow him on Twitter as @rdturtle and friend him on facebook.

Richard Marx Weinraub taught at the University of Puerto Rico for twenty-three years.  He has published two collections of poetry: Wonder Bread Hill and Heavenly Bodies; a third entitled Lapidary will be published in 2013.  His work has appeared in many journals including The Paris Review, Asheville Poetry Review, South Carolina Review, Green Mountains Review, North American Review, Slate, and River Styx.

Emanuel Xavier: An Equality Forum GLBT History Month Icon, Emanuel Xavier is an award-winning NYC based spoken word artist of Ecuadorian/Puerto Rican heritage best known for his appearances on Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry on HBO.  As a former homeless gay teen, he has staged many benefits for queer youth and is a longtime activist.   His poetic manifesto from 1997, Pier Queen, was officially published this year along with a revised edition of his poetry collection, Americano: Growing up Gay and Latino in the USA.  He is also author of If Jesus Were Gay & other poems, the novel Christ Like and editor of Mariposas: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry and Me No Habla With Acento: Contemporary Latino Poetry. His new poetry collection, Nefarious, will be published Fall 2013 by Rebel Satori Press.

LeNair Xavier gained notoriety in the underground as adult entertainer, “Tré Xavier”. He officially broke free from that persona in early 2011 when at a Men of All Colors/NY event, he debuted his poetry series about the gay porn industry simply titled “The Industry”, and has been furthering himself from “Tré Xavier” ever since. He is now making a brand of LeNair Xavier as a writer, blogger, performer, and model. Such as by way of magazine interviews done here and abroad, modeling for Next Door Magazine, and YouTube videos to show his singing, writing, and dancing talents. He has also become a regular at Mike Geffner’s monthly erotica event, Titillating Tongues, where he is the unnamed stripper mentioned in Time Out New York ‘s review of the event. www.TresX-RayVision.com, www.YouTube.com/RemoSurf