Susie Bright's Journal

Susie at Tulane on April 8th!

SUSIE BRIGHT

Beyond the Vagina:
Sexual Lives and the Body Politic

7:30 pm, Tuesday April 8, 2008

McAlister Auditorium, Tulane University

New Orleans, Louisiana

There is no charge for admission.

Doors open at 6:45 pm.

This event is part of the Katrina Warriors Festival. And the big V-Day Fest this coming week in New Orleans.

I'm honored to be  the "Salzer Lecturer" at Tulane this year. Adele Ramos Salzer, Newcomb alumnus of 1940, was a great and active friend of Newcomb College Center for Research on Women, and this lecture series honors her generous, inquisitive spirit. Past Salzer Lecturers have included Lisa Ling, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Helen Caldicott, and Jil Ker Conway.

Painting: Jon Bailiff

My Little Activist Romp Through New England

The weather is frigid, and many of our year's resolutions are already laid to waste, but this is still the best day ever to contemplate, "what a long strange trip it's been."

I'm uncommonly excited this week because I'm going to be in Boston in two days, to celebrate the anniversary of one of my favorite social justice groups: GLAD (Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders).

If you've ever smiled upon a righteous court decision supporting gay parents' relationships with their kids, or defending queer students who wanted to go to their high school prom, or legalizing wedding bells for same-sex couples— or getting the police out of your bathroom and bedroom, or defending disability rights for those living with HIV+—  well, GLAD was very likely in the thick of it. They have a talent for pressing the law at the most critical times, in the most critical places, every time you wish someone would stand up for what's right.

I'm speaking at GLAD's 30th Birthday party:

Sex on the Margins: The More Things Change...
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Old South Meeting House
310 Washington Street
Boston, MA

Reception to follow
RSVP to this Free Event

Joining me will be my brilliant pal, sexual politics genius Michael Bronski (listen to our interview here), plus the indefatigable and charsimatic GLAD Founder John Ward, and GLAD Legal Director Gary Buseck.

I rarely get a chance to be on a mike with this many brilliant minds at once, and I'd love to see you there. We want to give our own take on "The Sexual State of the Union," and then open up the floor to see where our audience thinks the body politic is moving next.

On Thursday, I'll be toasting The Best (and Last!) of Best American Erotica, my handkerchief waving in the wind, at Brookline Booksmith, one of my favorite bookshops in the area. I'll be introducing some of my favorite authors too— because truth be told, I may have published more people from New England than any other area besides San Francisco. What does THAT say? It must be the spirit of those witch trials, they just get under people's skin!

Thursday, January 24, 7:00 PM
Brookline Booksmith
279 Harvard St., Brookline, MA, 02446

If you have any drinking/eating/sightseeing experiences I should cram into my Boston visit, please tell me. Is there anything cool going on at the Fine Art Museum? I had a wonderful time there on my last visit.

A reporter from the Boston Globe has been assigned  to follow me around for a couple hours. What kind of trouble can I get her into? She said she's done this kind of feature before, on Kitty Dukakis— and Vince Neil of Motley Crue!  I love being their third act.

On Friday, I'll be in Portland, Maine for the very first time. What shall I do; where should I go? Can I snowmobile my way to a lobster shack? I'm sure you're already laughing at me. Jon, my partner, is bringing his SURF MAT, and swears he's going to catch a wave.  Help me remind him what temperature it is.

I'm doing a BAE event Friday night at Longfellow Books, who've been so gracious to me in organizing this all at the last moment:

Friday, January 25, 7:00 PM
Longfellow Books
1 Monument Way, Portland, ME

See you there!

I love my bloggy homage to Martin Luther King I composed last year, and if you missed it, it's still timely as ever... read here.

Susie Bright Reads from New Novel

Click to Enlarge the Above Invite

I've been working on my M.F.A. in Creative Writing the past two years— and this month I've finished my thesis. It's a novel inspired by my teenage years in The Red Tide— and later, the International Socialists— which culminated in my inglorious expulsion at the ripe old age of 18.

The Red Tide was the world's longest-running, and certainly most outrageous, high school underground newspaper, which was well-known in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and Detroit. But perhaps the best way to describe The Red Tide to you is to reprint our masthead:

It came— flooding the schools, crushing everything that stood in its way, leaving in its wake a trial of destruction, havoc, rebellion. It razed classrooms, flinging textbooks to the winds, screaming out of turn, leaving foul stains on the desks, ripping the flags from their poles.

It caught scores of students, sweeping them onward in its headlong course, trapping them in the whirlpool of its frenzy. Administrators reeled, choking on its noxious reek as it tore their offices asunder. Cut slips, tardy slips, suspension notices, bad conduct notices, report cards— all were swept away in its churning mist.

It was… the RED TIDE.

This month, it's my pleasure, (and also my thesis requirement!) to share selections from my new manuscript in a public reading, on Friday, August 17, at 7PM at Modern Times Bookstore in San Francisco.

I'll also be reading some of my father Bill Bright's poetry that it especially apt at this occasion.

Bill died last October, but August is his birthday month. He was the first person who took me to poetry readings, and introduced me to my greatest influences. He was as active in his poetry as I was in revolutionary politics in the 1970s, and I think you'll enjoy hearing them both together. I know he would've!

Modern Times is my "touchstone" bookstore in San Francisco, which has been the vanguard literary hot spot for both progressive and sexual politics since 1971, the same year The Red Tide was founded. I'm honored to have them host this event, and they have a nice reading room to gather in.

Location and directions: Link.

I imagine we'll have a pretty intimate affair, as this is short notice and there'll be no publicity other than my blog notice here, and my personal invitations. I look forward to seeing you!

Come to the Spelling Bee Smackdown!

Please join me for a Celebutante Spelling Bee to support Small Press Distribution, the nation's only remaining non-profit distributor of literary small press books.

Not only is SPD worthy... I need you to cheer me on and pass me cheat sheets— I may not be able to bamboozle the judges like I did in my Wet T-Shirt competition!

Tickets are selling out fast... seriously. Everyone knows this going to be a thrilling evening of watching your favorite stoned author freaks make fools of themselves. What could be more laffs?

The Bee-In
Monday, May 14th
Crown Point Gallery, 20 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco
Doors Open @ 6:30

 

MC:  Laura Sydell, All Things Considered

Judge:  Ruthless SF Chronicle Book Editor Oscar Villalon

Spelling Competitors — With More to Come:

Mollie "Tuna on Toast" Katzen

Former Child Spelling Bee Champion Susie Bright

Tobias "Utterly Lucid" Wolff

Ex-Stripper Stephen Elliott

New York State Spelling Bee Champion Emeritus & BAE Erotic Superstar Kevin Killian (the one to beat!)

George Lakoff (Don't Think of An Eight-Letter Word!)

Still Adored Ex-San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez

Writers with Drinks Baddass Pussycat Charlie Anders

Raging Lounge Act Beth Lisick

North Beach Madam To You! Michelle Tea

Poet and Brilliant BAE Contributor Maxine Chernoff  (Could cream everyone!)

Penny "Take No Prisoners" Cooper

General Admission Tickets: $50
Patron Tickets: $250

Get Your Tickets Now!

And seriously, if any of you have spelling bee experience, give me your tips! Maybe I could wear a wire. I saw that movie, Spellbound, which blew my mind, as I realized that I a mere bimbette in this arena. Will sobriety or heavy drinking push me through the final rounds?
 

Bar Brawl or Literary Crawl?

I've been waiting all year to do this one: The Litquake Lit Crawl

Saturday, October 14, 6–9:30 p.m.

The Lit Crawl is for those who like their literature served neat, on the rocks, or with a water back. It is a bona fide night out on the town.

Instead of being confined to night tables, Oprah, or book club discussion groups, books take to the streets as folks gather up their friends and head out the door for their serving of authors and literature.

Thirty-one venues will host over 150 writers in genres as varied as travel, poetry, noir & mystery, literary fiction, music, erotica, science fiction, spirituality, Latino, queer, young adult, and more will clamber onto bar counters in cocktail lounges, recline in chaise lounges, or, in one case, take over a Laundromat in order to read.

All Lit Crawl events are FREE

PHASE I, 6–7 p.m.

Intersection for the Arts
446 Valencia Street

The Anxiety Chronicles: How Fear Shapes Politics, Sex, and Language

Lineup includes: Susie Bright, Mark Hertsgaard, and Geoffrey Nunberg. Emcee: Jack Boulware.

For the rest of the drunken and word-soaked evening, click here.

Susie Teaches Erotic Writing Class

I am teaching an online erotic writing course at New College in San Francisco this fall. We start this Monday, October 2! The course is called The Erotic Word: Sexual Authenticity and Creative Erotica.

You can download the course description here.  It's a M/S Word doc.

Originally, I was going to teach the class on the New College San Francisco campus, but unexpected events required that we convert to an online format.

I've taught writing courses online before, and I love it. The flexibility is marvelous, and the work and writing spirit is superb.

If you are NOT an enrolled student at New College, you can still enroll and take the course by extension— $500 for a ten week course. The class runs from Oct. 2 to Dec. 14.

Call New College administrator Kris Brandenberger to enroll by this MONDAY afternoon:  415-740-4662. Or, email her at:  krisbrandenburger at sbcglobal dot net . 

Take a look at the Course Description for details. It will require a few hours of your reading and writing time each week... I'd say 4-6 on average for healthy class participation. Plus, there is an original story and a literary critique required as final projects.

The unfortunate note is that I am informing you of this course at the last minute. I regret that. For next semester, I'll give plenty of notice. I plan to teach regularly at New College over the next few semesters.

However, if you are ready to get inky this week and start writing, reading, and working with me in our class, I'd be happy to have you.  Put on your school uniform, beanie, and see me there!

Meet Me Before The Rapture

I do realize that with Motherfucking World War III and all, it's a little iffy to be making travel plans.

Yet the Blogher conference in San Jose is only days away, and it is my deepest wish to meet some of my favorite bloggers who may be attending.

Are you going to be there? Wanna get together?

Tell Bush that Armageddon is not your style, and come hold my hand!

I am doing a panel about women bloggers and sex on Saturday afternoon. I'm speaking with Melissa Gira, Logan Levkoff, and Halley Suitt.

Afterward, I thought maybe we could go get a Shirley Temple or something. I very much want to meet you! Yes, I am bringing my bathing suit, and I want to have a pool party.

UPDATE: Please email me if you are going to be there!

Valentine Appearances

I'm actually leaving the house this month. You can find me, kiss me, and love me up at:

Bookshop Santa Cruz

Tuesday, February 7, 2006 7:30 PM
"Local author returns to Bookshop to share her new anthology, The Best American Erotica 2006." Free.

Writers With Drinks

Saturday February 11, 2006, from 7:30 PM.

Starring:

Patty Lin — Desperate Housewives
Susie Bright  — BAE
Brent Weinbach  — Punchline Comedy Club
Danny O'Brien  — London Sunday Times
J*me and Carolyn Walker  — Cantab Slam Team
Kyra Davis  — Sex, Murder and a Double Latte

At The Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd. St., San Francisco. $3-$5 sliding scale. All proceeds benefit Other Magazine. Charlie Anders MCs and vamps.

Porchlight Storytellers

Monday, February 27, 8 pm
Downstairs at the Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market Street, San Francisco

"Your mother told you not to talk to them, but sometimes the most alluring people of all are the ones you've never met.

"Storytellers include sex guru Susie Bright; San Francisco cab driver Lee Vilensky; poet and waiter Horehound Stillpoint, Alice Radio movie critic Hooman, and former rock road manager Stuart Henry.

"Our musical guest will be cult icon Biff Rose. Biff will play a special set after the stories."

TICKETS: $12 available at Cafe, or at www.ticketweb.com. A ticket does not guarantee a seat, but plenty of standing room with sightlines are always available.

Jilly in Tight Pants

Jill Soloway has been such a little minx this year... making us all take bong hits on Six Feet Under,  publishing "JODI K.", her fictional teenage girl-on-the-verge diary with me— and now,  the final outrage— the publication of  Tiny Ladies In Shiny Pants, her memoir of growing up in Chicago with entirely too much time on her hands! 

What can I say about Jill that I haven't said before... maybe that she has known since she was a  just a wee thing that she was Young, Gifted, and Black. Read and ye shall be informed.

Jill is touring her new book this month, and will visting  my neck of the woods this week:

Wednesday, September 21
7:00
BOOK PASSAGE
1 Ferry Plaza, #46
San Francisco, CA 94111
415-835-1020

Thursday, September 22, 2005
CODY'S BOOKS
Fourth Street Store
1730 Fourth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710

Hope to see you there!

Susie Rocky Top

Once I had a girl on Rocky Top,
Half-bear, other half-cat,
Wild as a mink,
But sweet as soda pop,
I still dream about that.
                                                     Tennessee Rocky Top

I'm coming to Murfreesboro, Tennessee this month, and I'm going to be as sweet as soda pop, too! 

"Susie Bright, on Feminism and the Erotic"
September 29th
4:30-6 PM
Room LRC, 221
MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University)
Book-signing and reception to follow

Free and open to the public
Sponsored by the National Women's History Month Committee and the Distinguished Lecturers Committee

I would love to see you there!