Official site of poet James Schwartz, author of The Literary Party: Growing Up Gay and Amish in America
Train: A Poetry Journal: #MARTYRMIRRORS
I am delighted to share additions to my #MartyrMirrors visual poetry series with you, published via Train: a poetry journal.
#QuarantineJournals Spring Update π± (Updated)
* So far over $3k was raised via the MARCH 2020 Pandemic Chapbooks Initative to encourage charitable giving. See link on how to "purchase" your copy!
* A sequel to POETRY in the TIME of CORONAVIRUS: THE ANTHOLOGY feat. my Gay Love in the Time of COVID-19 (now available in paperback & eBook) is forthcoming! Read a review here.
* My next pandemic poem will be out this Sunday via HEADLINE POETRY & PRESS!
Sunday Edition's Poetry as— Headline Poetry & Press • REST-RESIST-REPEAT (@headlinepoets) May 1, 2020
Today's Poem
Rx Poetry | Toothpaste
The Making
of Unorthodox, My Mood
is an Earthquake, Hope
is a Human Frailty, Containment-
Study on Beauty.
_#poetry #FridayThoughts
contributors, @gayatriwrites3 @lolaandjolie @queeraspoetry @MLWoldman +more pic.twitter.com/alw6AZrqPg
* A queer Midwestern anthology with several new poems of mine to be published later this year (or next - TBA) & a poem in a lit journal due out this summer!
* Reminder to my Readers: as we are bombarded with grim news please take time for self-care, practice mindfulness & compassion!
#YangGangBookClub: #SundayReads π
Special #SundayReads for you guys! James Schwartz (@queeraspoetry) has a recommendation for you guys today: Blowout by Rachel Maddow. Have you guys read this one? #YangGang #YangGangBookClub pic.twitter.com/HZGe1WEqbT— Yang Gang Book Club (@YGBookClub) April 19, 2020
#CityOfRefuge: A Short Film π¬
HOPE πΊπΈ π³️π
My father and I took an Amish tourist trip to Washington DC one summer so I got to see the Mall, the Petersen house etc. The highlight of the trip was on the way home when I got on the mic and entertained the bus load of Amish by reading political trivia questions from a book purchased at a gift shop. No one knew much but Presidents and politics but a good time was had by all.
As a gay man there was only one party supporting LGBTQ rights and that was the Democratic party. I remember feeling shocked that some of my non-Amish family voted for the other party simply because they were against marriage equality. You cannot change some people's hearts but you do have the power of your vote.
Since the 2016 election it has been clear the other party is not interested in building on the progress made by Obama and more interested in moving backwards not forward.
If you have a party that is in power but has no interest in serving We The People you have a problem: one after the other.
In the recent primary I was proud to vote for Bernie Sanders who is truly an American hero. I loved Mayor Pete Buttigieg's historical campaign and am a proud member of the Yang Gang: in short I was seeing my interests as a gay man being advocated for again.
Hope is on the ballot in 2020 and if I am alive in November I will be voting for hope, not chaos and division.
ICYMI: HEADLINE POETRY AND PRESS: A MONTH AGO
#InternationalPoetryCircle
Silver Birch Press (MY FRONT DOOR Poetry & Prose Series): City of Refuge
#CityOfRefuge: A Short Film
Pandemic Chapbooks Initative to Support Charitable Giving ☣
[The cover of March 2020: A COVID-19 Anthology: The color scheme is black-and-white and features a detailed, symmetrical drawing by Sile Englert. The drawing is of a woman's head from the side, against circular designs that are reminiscent of how the virus appears under a microscope]
* 845 Press and Collusion Books have joined forces to produce a pair of digital poetry anthologies for our viral times. Both chapbooks are available for free in PDF format to anyone who supports writers, artists, booksellers, or vulnerable communities during this period of social isolation and economic uncertainty.
Ordering info here.
#Nisqually #NativeAmerican #wisdom
POETRY in the TIME of CORONAVIRUS ☣
POETRY in the TIME of CORONAVIRUS is an anthology of original submissions from the Poets of the World. Proceeds will benefit Doctors Without Borders and Partners In Health - two outstanding organizations supporting the fight against COVID-19 and countless other global health issues.
The #YangGang Book Club: "Credit Where Cash is Due"
Quarantine Journal #2 ☣
Listening to the rain and sirens...
Washing over the cold cityscape...
Taking fear & sadness...
& laying it at the feet...
Of the medicine Buddha.
The Good Men Project: Amish in the Time of Coronavirus
Headline Poetry & Press: The Plague
HEADLINE POETRY & PRESS has published my visual poem THE PLAGUE based on text by Albert Camus and scored by a track from the Plague Inc. soundtrack!
Quarantine Journal: #1 ☣
After an experimental 5 episode mini season of The Gay Amish Podcast I lost interest in it entirely although I received a lot of positive feedback from you guys. Thank you!
I am hoping to launch a full season by this summer.
Perhaps my lack of focus extends to other areas in my life as well - shout out to my exes!
I left the Amish Church in my late teens and it was a long time until I found the Center for Spiritual Living which I attended for 3 years.
"Wherever you are on your spiritual path you are welcome here."
While this may or may not be a surprise to you I have decided to convert to Buddhism which is truly a source of comfort and peace to me, something Christianity never did.
I believe there are no accidents in life and that our ancestors guide us in our journey. I am reminded of the right-wing conservative Bible thumpers I knew growing up in Michigan, who weaponized Christianity and to call them zealots would not be an understatement.
Faith is something personal and between you and the Universe, not a Facebook meme that ridicules other faiths.
Now I am under the tutelage of Buddha! It is all part of my dharma and I walk in gratitude. We are living in a time of great change and I feel joyful in embracing the mystery.
A Personal Plea to Amish: Take #COVID19 Seriously! ☣
Tonight I read THIS ARTICLE completely horrified! I am appalled at the responses by the Amish individuals quoted in the Lancaster Online article and unless you begin taking the coronavirus seriously there will be a lot of deaths in the community. The coronavirus does not care about your political views and your consumption of conservative media will lead to a) apathy to your community at large, b) misinformation and c) risking the health of all! The measles epidemic several years ago should be a lesson learned the hard way. Yet today many Amish still refuse to be vaccinated because they don't have to.
While lockdowns in cities may not affect you, make no mistake: this very lethal virus is already in your state and in circulation. Refusing to follow CDC GUIDELINES will be a catastrophe and result in many illnesses and deaths.
On a personal note:
Over the years I have worked very hard to inform Amish on LGBT issues and combat homophobia within the church, as well as supporting LGBTQ+ Amish shunned by the church.
My former community in Michigan saw firsthand my long term relationship with a man that was by my side during the last years of my Dad's life when I was his caretaker. He stood by and supported me when others did not. That's love and all love is holy.
Reforms are long overdue in the Old Order Amish Church which mirrors the Catholic church-state it once opposed. This stems from our Bishops love of power. God doesn't make mistakes.
There have been plagues since Biblical times, the 1918 SPANISH FLU even affected our communities. Today we live in a more advanced time but viruses kill and again: the new coronavirus is in circulation.
Instead of ignoring health professionals, heed their advice and recommendations! This is deadly serious and affects all of us: gay, straight, Amish, non-Amish. All of us! This is not a joke!
I have a large number of Amish, ex Amish and Mennonite readers so I hope this reaches you all before the coronavirus. Stay safe!
Across the Social Distances: "Ground Zero" ☣
My COVID-19 inspired "Ground Zero" has been published via a new popup 'poetry in the time of the virus' journal ACROSS THE SOCIAL DISTANCES!
#NotMeUs ✊π³️π
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