Pride Recap Part I

What a crazy week! Dipstick will be posting about the Pride festivities from the weekend and I'll touch on the great events we had early in the Pride hullabaloo.

Broadway Books Reading
A big thank you to all those dedicated dykes (and two dudes!) who came to hear Dipstick and I read at lesbian-owned Broadway Books. Sally was kind enough to ask us to come read and we're so glad we decided to wrap it up in rainbow colors for the week of Pride. For all you Portland, Oregonians, if you've never been to the adorable Broadway Books, be sure to check it out next time you're in Northeast Portland.

QLiterati!
This was the first installment of the new monthly queer reading held every second Wednesday at Portland's Q Center. There was a great turnout that inspired some wonderful readings. After Diane Anderson-Minshall welcomed the crowd, it was kicked off with Sossity Chiricuzio, who read some of her dirty poetry. She is the host of Dirty Queer, a monthly x-rated open mic, where people cum out and read all sorts of sexy, slutty things. Other readers included Jason, who read a short piece combining his two great loves: culinary arts and men. Heather Knight read a surprisingly provocative piece about--of all things to turn you on--Powell's Book Store! It was called Ode to Powell's Books. Marc Acito (photo) and his humorous and colorful writing/performing took the mic next and delivered a wildly entertaining reading from his new book: Attack of the Theater People. Jacob Anderson Minshall also read from contribution to Men Speak Out. Dipstick and I closed the show with a reading from our book and everyone enjoyed Diane's homemade (kinda) cookies when they asked a question during the Q & A.

The most exciting piece of info of the night was the announcement from Kendall, the center's Executive Director, about a $200,000 grant donated to the center that day. The catch, however, is that the center has to match the donation (in fundraising) in order to get it. So, if you feel inspired to give this summer (they have three months to raise the funds), consider this worthy cause!