Articles in Stories from Our Lives
A child of Anchorage Baptist Temple says: Vote for the children — Yes on 5
RJ Haywood was raised in the Anchorage Baptist Temple, where he once underwent their attempt to exorcise “the demon of homosexuality” from him. He survived and now lives happily as a gay man in Anchorage, with a message for Anchorage voters: Yes on 5.
The time to do the right thing is now: Yes on 5
“I dream of a day when I can show my future children how far we’ve come in the simple arena of basic human rights. I strive to make this day a reality before I’m old and bitter about the way my government has ignored my cries for equality.”— Bent Alaska is glad to have Colleen Crinklaw as a voice in our community.
As Sure as God Made Little Green Apples: In Fairbanks Friday & Saturday
Revive the Red Tent Productions presents an original theatrical piece “As Sure as God Made Little Green Apples” in Fairbanks, March 23 and 24. The piece is a blend of text and movement reflecting the experience of growing up and coming out as a lesbian in Fairbanks, Alaska.
White lines and a bell-shaped curve: The Rule of the 68%
If I paint a couple of white lines that the 68% can easily conform to, I will have at my disposal a powerful conforming force. But if the lines are white enough, thick enough, enforced enough, and I land out in the tails, I can even cease to be considered human. I could become Other.
Who are you? I really want to know!
In our TBLG community (yes, TBLG — let’s get the initials in the right order for once, shall we?) we really do want to “get” each other. It’s just that there are some places we, ourselves, cannot go. And that’s Okay. We just need to be very careful to be aware that our own orientation is not the only “right” orientation. We need to be very careful not to be mean.
Trans-suicide: I nearly became a statistic myself
The National Transgender Discrimination Survey in 2011 found that 41% of its respondents had attempted suicide at some point in their lives . Annie Muse suggests that keeping oneself safe from self-harm is not so much about “coming out” to others as it is about “coming in” to oneself.
Community Building for Alaska: The possibilities of every person
Several members of the Alaska LGBT community recently attended Community Building for Alaska sponsored by the Alaska Community Foundation & Alaska Pacific University, joining other Alaskans from throughout the state in a two-day program in experiential education on how to build community. We welcome one attendee, Shannon Sanderson, as a new contributor to Bent Alaska.
John Berry, government official (LGBT History Month)
John Berry is the director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). He is the highest-ranking openly gay federal employee in U.S. history — and has a mountain in Antarctica named after him! Bent Alaska presents his story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.
John Berry
“Each time we act against discrimination, we add a ring of life to the American tree of liberty.”
John Berry (born February 10, 1959 ) is the director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). He is the highest-ranking openly gay federal employee in U.S. history.
Born in Rockville, Maryland, Berry is the son of two federal government employees. His father served in the U.S. Marine Corps and his mother worked for the U.S. Census Bureau.
Berry earned his Bachelor of Arts in government from the University of Maryland and a Master of Public Administration from Syracuse University. His first federal government job was as legislative director for U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer. Thereafter, he served as deputy assistant secretary for law enforcement at the U.S. Treasury Department.
After two years as director of government relations at the Smithsonian Institution, Berry was appointed assistant secretary for policy, management and budget at the U.S. Department of the Interior in the Clinton administration.
Prior to joining the Obama administration, Berry pursued his interest in environmental conservation as the director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and subsequently as director of the National Zoo.
In 2009, President Obama appointed Berry to his current position, where he is responsible for recruiting, hiring and benefits policies for 1.9 million federal employees.
With Berry’s appointment came accolades from the LGBT and mainstream communities. “The selection of John Berry is a meaningful step forward for the LGBT community,” said Joe Solmonese, president of the Humans Rights Campaign. John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, described Berry as the “perfect choice for the OPM. He’s smart, courageous, and has all the right experience in policy and in politics.”
In 2009, Berry served as the keynote speaker for the International Gay & Lesbian Leadership Conference in San Francisco.
One of the few Americans to stand on both the North and South Poles, Berry’s government career has taken him around the globe and literally to the ends of the earth. There is a mountain in Antarctica named after him: the Berry Bastion.
In December 2010 John Berry recorded a video for the It Gets Better Project. Watch:
For more about John Berry, visit his LGBT History Month page or Wikipedia article.
Photo credit: John Berry, official portrait, 13 April 2009, United States Office of Personnel Management.
John Ashbery, poet (LGBT History Month 2011)
John Ashbery is one of the most successful 20th century poets. He has won almost every major American literary award, including the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for poetry. Bent Alaska presents his story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.
John Ashbery
“My poetry is disjunct, but then so is life.”
John Ashbery (b. July 28, 1927) is one of the most successful 20th century poets. He has won almost every major American literary award, including the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for poetry.
Ashbery graduated from Harvard University, where he studied English and served on the editorial board of the Harvard Advocate. He received his master’s degree from Columbia University. After graduating, Ashbery spent three years in publishing before moving to Paris on a Fulbright scholarship.
Returning to the U.S. in 1957, Ashbery attended graduate classes at New York University. Thereafter, he returned to Paris, where he supported himself as an editor. He eventually moved back to the U.S. to become the executive editor of ARTNews magazine.
Ashbery’s success began with frequent publication of his poems in magazines such as Furioso and Poetry New York. While in France, his book Some Trees won the Yale Younger Poet’s Prize. He has won many awards, including the Bollingen Prize and the McArthur Foundation’s “Genius Award.”
His Pulitzer Prize-winning poem “Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror,” which also won the National Book Award and the National Critics Circle Award, is unique for its triple prize status. The poem pulls together his favored themes: creating poetry and the influence of visual arts on his work.
Ashbery’s career has been marked by controversy. Response to his poetry ranges from praise for his brilliant expressionism and use of language to condemnation for his work’s nonsensical and elusive nature.
A prolific writer, he has published over 20 books of poetry
Here he is reading his poem “”Interesting People of Newfoundland” from Notes from the Air: Selected Later Poems
For more about John Ashbery, visit his LGBT History Month page or Wikipedia article.
Photo credit: Poet John Ashbery at the 2010 Brooklyn Book Festival’s gala for the presentation of Best of Brooklyn, Inc’s BoBI Award, 12 September 2010. Photo by David Shankbone, via Wikimedia Commons.
Kye Allums, athlete (LGBT History Month 2011)
Kye Allums, is the first openly transgender athlete to play NCAA Division I college basketball. Bent Alaska presents his story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.
