Writing Queer Characters - Launching A New Occasional Series with "Dear Authors" - A Queer Teen's spoken word poem about LGBTQAI+ Representation

I'm delighted to be launching this new series of posts with this very heartfelt video, "Dear Authors", which I'm sharing with the teen creator's permission:



Writing queer characters for young people is a topic that's been getting more attention and coverage in writing conferences around the USA this past year, and we'll be hearing from some of those presenters.

Stay tuned for some great stuff ahead! And thanks to @JoneMac53 over on twitter for the heads-up on "Dear Authors!"

Lee

Queer Teen Poetry: RuPaul goes Poetic for National Poetry Month (Words To Live By From A Drag Diva)

"What other people think of me is none of my business."

- RuPaul

It may not rhyme, but those 11 words are pretty profound.

When I heard RuPaul say this for the first time on her TV show (RuPaul's Drag Race) I ran to write it down. And now she has a new book out, "Workin' It! RuPaul's Guide to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Style" in which SHE wrote it down for us.

And the empowering spirit behind those words? THAT'S poetic.

Thanks, Ru!

(Be) Longing: A Poem Written By Charlie, A Boy In Middle School

(Be)longing

When I was 8 years old
I wanted to be one of the guys
More than anything
I wanted to belong in their world

Voices deep like grown men’s
A foreign language unknown to me
The sound of boards hitting concrete
made my skin tingle like a sunburn

Just a bunch of guys being physical
Light-headed from too much sun
Out of control and trying to impress
Their bodies a mystery to an 8 year-old

Butterflies dancing in my stomach
and something else
But I was too young to understand
what that feeling meant.




Thanks to the author, Charlie, for letting me share this poem that he wrote back when he was in Middle School. And Check out Charlie's blog!