OutWrite

"Oh please, please powers-that-be, have the smarts and curiosity to bring OutWrite back into our lives. This inspiring collection reveals the dialogic community in negotiation/inspiration from all of its corners: where the most rewarded meet the most marginalized, where the grassroots meets the corporate, the dying met the future, and they all sit on the same panels, eat and drink together, make friends and lovers, business deals and friendships, and share aesthetics, politics, argue and thereby influence the creation of the literature." -- Sarah Schulman * author of Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993 *
"The Outwrite conferences of the 1990s marked a critical turning point in the history of LGBTQ literary life and culture. This collection restores to historical memory the anger, the militancy, and the vibrant cultural voices that confronted directly the pain of the AIDS epidemic as well as the racial and gender divisions within the community. The editors have given us a wonderfully moving and inspiring gift by bringing into print these powerfully insightful speeches from the past." -- John D’Emilio * author of Queer Legacies: Stories from Chicago’s LGBTQ Archives *
"OutWrite: The Speeches that Shaped LGBTQ Literary Culture is an incredible collection that taps into the heart of the queer literary community in the 1990s - the struggles, the successes, the visions, and the revisions. Reading it, I was struck by our loss of an entire parallel culture of LGBTQ businesses, conferences, and infrastructure that existed before the wide spread of the internet—but I was also struck by the continuity of hope, the clarity with which these authors fought for a freer future, against incredible odds. OutWrite is a history that feels searingly present." -- Hugh Ryan * author of When Brooklyn Was Queer *
"The incredible importance of queer culture to American culture is usually ignored by heterosexuals and often underestimated by LGBTQ people. OutWrite: The Speeches that Shaped LGBTQ Literary Culture edited by Julie R. Enszer and Elena Gross is a magnificent testimony—and until now undocumented archive—of the expanse and the depth of LGBTQ literary and political culture that was the legacy of decades of struggle. Every piece here brilliantly embodies the insights, intellectual bravery, political acumen and sheer courage that went into building a fiercely independent literary and political culture that redefined American culture and still illuminates how we live today. This is an invaluable contribution to LGBTQ literature, Queer Studies, and the everyday reader of queer literature." -- Michael Bronski * Professor of the Practice in Activism and Media Studies of Women, Gender and Sexuality, Harvard Univ *
"What a fabulous and fascinating collection of speeches from leading figures in queer arts and letters in the 1990s! For everyone who wishes that they had attended the OutWrite conferences, for those who will enjoy re-experiencing them, and for all who are interested in cultural activism, this valuable anthology will inspire with words, wit, and wisdom." -- Marc Stein * author of The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History and Queer Public History: Essays on Scholarly A *
"The vital, urgent need to tell our stories, to share, to write within and for a community is an inspiring part of any gathering of writers and publishers, but it’s especially evident in the speeches collected in OutWrite: The Speeches that Shaped LGBTQ Literary Culture. This anthology documents the pivotal role the OutWrite conferences played in shaping and inspiring a generation of LGBTQ writers. The diversity of speakers gathered here, and the explicit links they make between silenced and marginalized sexual communities and other oppressed communities amidst the devastation wrought by the AIDS epidemic and the ‘90s culture wars is especially valuable. This collection honors the memory of our forebearers—many of whom fired my own passion for critical queer writing—and is sure to bolster today’s artists and activists working against a global pandemic, climate crises, and the continued ascendency of white supremacy and conservative politics." -- Dwight A. McBride * President & University Professor at The New School *
"Far from academic ephemera, these resonant messages offer ever relevant takes on the current discourse around identity, inclusion, dissent, and the responsibility of the artist. The result is an indispensable addition to literary and cultural history." * Publishers Weekly, starred review *
"A new book captures the rousing speeches of LGBTQ writers," by Merry Johns * OUTvoices *
"Remembering the Queer Literary Conferences of the 1990s," by Julie R. Enszer and Elena Gross * The Georgia Review *
"OUTWRITE: The Speeches That Shaped LGBTQ Literary Culture" blog spotlight * Mile High Gay Guy *
March 2022 Reads for the Rest of Us by Karla J. Strand: "This volume is a collection of speeches and presentations from the annual OutWrite Conference which ran from 1990 to 1999. Included are queer greats such as Dorothy Allison, Jewelle Gomez, Allen Ginsburg, Minnie Bruce Pratt and more." * Ms. Magazine *
Listen for My Name: Julie Enszer and Elena Gross on community care, the AIDS epidemic, and OutWrite, the conference that shaped queer literary history * Poetry Foundation - Off the Shelf Podcast *
"Remembering OutWrite: Something extraordinary happens when queer writers gather together," by Julie R. Enszer * Public Seminar *
Erie Gay News OutWrite spotlight and giveaway * Erie Gay News *
"When I look back at my heavily marked-up OutWrite programs and reread the articles I’d written about it, I’m reminded that as wonderful as many speeches were, they were only part of what made OutWrite so memorable."  * Gay & Lesbian Review *