RedBone Press

Joseph Beam began editing In the Life: A Black Gay Anthology, in 1984 after years of frustration with gay literature that had no message for—and little mention of—black gay men. Essex Hemphill finished Beam's Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men after Beam's death in 1988 from AIDS; Hemphill died in 1995 from AIDS. Together, these two books broke ground, becoming testaments to the power of words to change lives. In the Life and Brother to Brother have been out of print for many years, but have recently been reissued by RedBone Press. Join esteemed scholars Terry Rowden, professor of African-American literature, College of Staten Island (CUNY); Jafari Sinclaire Allen, assistant professor of anthropology and African-American studies, Yale University; and La Marr Jurelle Bruce, Ph.D. student in African-American/American studies, Yale University; and the book publisher, Lisa C. Moore (RedBone Press), as they discuss the impact of black gay writers on the community and academia.

Free and open to the public. 7-9 p.m. Tuesday, October 14, 2008, in Room C198, Graduate Center, Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS), 365 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10016.