Lo is obsessed by order. Or, it might be more accurate to say, by dis/order, the blurry line between the world’s inevitable chaos and our human attempts to mitigate “disasters caused by an act of nature.” … read more

After my voice changed, I changed. Instead of a boy who sounded like a girl, I became a boy who sounded like he liked boys…… read more

“Franco’s desire for a queer identity in the absence of queer desire raises a larger question: can a queer heterosexuality exist?”… read more

Christopher’s debut refuses to flatten anything; in his tumbling, often single-stanza poems, reality is allowed its full difficulty, pain, and ugliness…. read more

The first time I saw My Best Friend’s Wedding I was dismayed. At eight or nine, I had discovered the 1997 film among my maternal grandparents’ small, seemingly random VHS collection and then settled down for the evening to watch Julia Roberts scheme her way back into old flame Dermot Mulroney’s roguishly handsome heart. What… read more

Last month, The Feminist Press released the e-book Pussy Riot! A Punk Prayer for Freedom, compiling the lyrics, letters, legal statements and poems of the jailed members of the Russian feminist punk collective, with a portion of the proceeds dedicated to Pussy Riot’s legal defense fees. In addition to preserving an important historical moment for posterity, the book is a rigorous and intelligent read not to be missed.

The Editorial Director at The Feminist Press, Amy Scholder, took a moment to answer some of Lambda Literary’s questions about freedom, Pussy Riot, and putting the collection together…. read more

New Yorkers have a lot to look forward to in October: leather weather (finally!), oversized sweaters, some of the most inventive and intricate Halloween costumes in the world–and, of course, since 2007, the Academy of American Poets’ annual Poets Forum. Poets Forum is a celebration and examination of the form, where some of the sharpest and most exciting voices in American poetry gather to share their work and discuss their processes. Here’s ten reasons (of many) not to miss this year…… read more

Early last Friday evening, friends and fans of Allen Ginsberg gathered at the Rubin Museum of Art to celebrate the digital re-release of Ginsberg’s four-disc 1994 album Holy Soul Jelly Soul, co-sponsored by the Rubin, The Allen Ginsberg Estate, and Origin Magazine. Following a cocktail hour downstairs at the K2 Lounge, the crowd re-assembled on the sixth floor at the top of the museum’s breathtaking spiral staircase to hear poets deliver readings of Ginsberg’s extraordinary work, as well as their own poems…. read more

First packaged as a boxset in 1994 on the now-defunct Rhino Records, Holy Soul Jelly Roll will now be digitally available for the first time in all its strange and excessive glory. … read more

“I am personally interested in exploring the possibilities of poetry—to counter rhetoric, reinvigorate language, and uplift the material of the everyday.”

Jennifer Benka was recently named the new Executive Director of the Academy of American Poets. Having served as Managing Director of Poets & Writers for almost a decade and, most recently, as the National Director of Development and Marketing for 826 National, she’s also an accomplished writer in her own right.

Benka took some time to talk with Lambda Literary about the mission of the Academy of American Poets, her own personal inspirations, and the relationship between poetry and queerness…. read more