Arts & Entertainment
Calendar: Nov. 30-Dec. 6, 2018
Dances, concerts and more in the week to come
Friday, Nov. 30
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) hostsĀ Queer Tango ClassĀ tonight from 7-9 p.m. Liz Sabatiuk, instructor of Tango Mercurio, will lead the class. The course is designed for beginner dancers to learn tango vocabulary and technique. The class will also discuss the assumptions of gender in dance and welcomes students to experiment with both gender roles. There is a $10 donation to support the D.C. Center. Sliding scale tickets are also available. For more information, visitĀ thedccenter.org.
The D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.) hostsĀ Woof Happy Hour and Porn Star BingoĀ today at 5 p.m. Eddie Danger hosts the party. There will be free pizza at 7:30 p.m. Drink specials include $4 rail drinks, $4 draft beers and more. For more details, visitĀ dceagle.com.
Saturday, Dec. 1
Capital Pride AllianceĀ celebrates its 10th anniversary with the Red Party at Echo Stage (2135 Queens Chapel Rd., N.E.) tonight from 9 p.m.-3 a.m. There will be performances from āGleeā star Alex Newell, āRuPaulās Drag Raceā alum Jujubee, local and veteran queen Kristina Kelly and Pretty Boi Drag co-producer Pretty Rik E. DJ Tezrah, DJ Wess and DJ Tracy Young will play music. Tickets are $15. Total ticket proceeds will benefit the Capital Pride Legacy Fund. For more information, visitĀ capitalpride.org.
Whitman-Walker Health and Real Talk D.C. hostĀ Walk & 5K to End HIVĀ at Freedom Plaza (14th St., N.W. and Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) today from 7-11 a.m. Check-in starts at 7:30 a.m. The 5K begins at 9:15 a.m. and the walk is at 9:20 a.m. Post-event actives begin at 10 a.m. Runner registration is $25, walker registration is $25, student/senior walkers are $15 and āSleepwalkers,ā those who cannot attend the event, are $40. Register atĀ walktoendhiv.org.
The D.C. EagleĀ (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.) hosts Daddy, a menās jock and underwear party, tonight from 8 p.m.-4 a.m. DJ Strike Walton Stone and DJ Dean Douglas Sullivan will spin tracks. Bryan Thompson will be the go-go dancer for the evening. VIP meet and greet tickets are available. General admission tickets are $12. For more details, visitĀ facebook.com/eagledc.
Sunday, Dec. 2
Swazz Bazaar, a queer holiday bazaar, is at 1620 North Capitol St., N.W. today from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. There will be queer vendors selling and displaying art, fashion, magazines and other products. There will also be performances from local queer musicians, performance artists and designers. For details, visitĀ facebook.com/swazzevents.
āWaiting to Exhale TwistedāĀ is at Chateau Remix (3439 Benning Rd., N.E.) tonight at 7:30 p.m. The sold-out play follows two drag queens and two transgender female friends as they navigate relationships with transgender and gay men and each other. Shi-Queeta-Lee, Riley Knoxx, Tanya Clarke and Capri Bloomingdale star. Dinner starts at 6 p.m. For more information, visitĀ facebook.com/queetaspalace.
Friendship Place hostsĀ Winter Warmth,Ā a free winter clothing drive, hot meal, hair cut and shave event, at Washington Hebrew Congregation (3935 Macomb St., N.W.) today from 2:30-5:30 p.m. There will be a shuttle bus from Tenleytown Metro for people attending the event. For more information, visitĀ friendshipplace.org.
Pop a cappella groupĀ PentatonixĀ performs at the Anthem (901 Wharf St., S.W.) for their āThe Christmas is Here Tourā tonight at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $59.50-149.50. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. For more details, visitĀ theanthemdc.com.
Monday, Dec. 3
The InternetĀ brings its āHive Mind Tourā to the Fillmore (8656 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring, Md.) tonight at 8 p.m. The indie-R&B band features lesbian lead singer Syd Tha Kid and bisexual guitarist Steve Lacy. Moon Child opens the show. Tickets are $35. For more details, visitĀ fillmoresilverspring.com.
Pride Fund to End Gun ViolenceĀ hosts Cocktails with a Cause Happy Hour at Number Nine (1435 P St., N.W.) tonight from 7-9 p.m. The happy hour will celebrate the Pride Fundās successes from 2018 and prepare for a new year of advocacy. General admission tickets are $50. Young Professional tickets are $25. For more information, visitĀ facebook.com/pridefund.
Tuesday, Dec. 4
Rainbow Youth AllianceĀ hosts a Happy Hour at Nellieās Sports Bar (900 U St., N.W.) today at 6 p.m. All adults who support LGBT youth are welcome to attend. Drag bingo kicks off at 7 p.m. Nellieās will donate a portion of the eveningās proceeds to Rainbow Youth Alliance. For more details, visitĀ facebook.com/ryamoco.
Capital PrideĀ hosts its Holiday Heat Wave party at Human Rights Campaign (1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.) tonight from 7-10 p.m. There will be culinary stations from Asia Nine Bar & Lounge, Mason Dixie Biscuit Co., Mixology Bartending & Catering and more. Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, Heineken and Titoās will provide beverages. General admission tickets are $15. VIP tickets with open bar are $30. For more information, visitĀ facebook.com/capitalpridedc.
StartOut Rising D.C. hostsĀ a LGBT entrepreneurs and startup happy hourĀ at Number Nine (1435 P St., N.W.) tonight from 6-8 p.m. StartOutās mission is to connect and educate LGBT entrepreneurs and to create jobs for LGBT individuals in the local community. No cover. For more details, visitĀ meetup.com/startout-rising-dc.
Wednesday, Dec. 5
Bookmen D.C., an informal menās gay literature group, discusses āThe Immoralistā by Andre Gide at the Cleveland Park Library (3310 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) tonight at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome. For details, visitĀ bookmendc.blogspot.com.
The Tom Davoren Social Bridge ClubĀ meets tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Dignity Center (721 8th St., S.E.) for social bridge. No partner needed. For more information, call 301-345-1571.
Thursday, Dec. 6
GLOE, Bet Mishpachah, Nice Jewish Boys DC and Nice Jewish Girls hostĀ Oh Gaydel, Gaydel, Gaydel! Queer Chanukah Happy HourĀ at Pitchers (2317 18th St., N.W.) tonight from 6-9 p.m. This is an annual gathering of the local LGBT Jewish community. No cover. For more information, search the event on Facebook.Ā
Reel AffirmationsĀ screens āBuddiesā at Human Rights Campaign (1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.) tonight at 7 p.m. in honor of World AIDS Day. The film, directed by Arthur J. Bressan Jr., tells the story of a young gay man who volunteers to be a ābuddyā to an AIDS patient. There will be a possible cast talk back and catered cocktail reception with co-star David Schachter. Rayceen Pendarvis hosts the screening. VIP tickets are $25 and include VIP seating, one complimentary cocktail, beer or wine and movie candy or popcorn. General admission tickets are $12. For more details, visitĀ thedccenter.org/events/buddies
The 2024 Franklin County Pride Festival was held on the campus of Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pa. on Sunday, Oct. 13.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Books
Thom Gunn bio explores joys, complexities of modern gay life
āA Cool Queer Lifeā presents authorās humanity, poetic genius
āThom Gunn: A Cool Queer Lifeā
By Michael Nott
c.2024, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
$40/720 pages
A confession: Until reading āThom Gunn: A Cool Queer Life,ā I hadnāt known much about the accomplished, controversial gay poetās life or read many of his poems. But this first biography makes me feel like I know him and his large body of work intimately. Michael Nott, coeditor of āThe Letters of Thom Gunn,ā draws on interviews with friends and family, as well as Gunnās letters, notebooks, and diaries, to tell the triumphs and tragedies of his life.
Born in England in 1929 to journalist parents, when he was 15, he and his younger brother Ander found their mother dead from suicide. He would not discuss this tragic event in his poetry for years, including one of his last poems āMy Motherās Pride.ā He published his first book of poems, āFighting Terms,ā while still an undergraduate at Cambridge University.
At Cambridge, Gunn met his life-long partner, Mike Kitay, an American studying theater. Gunn followed Kitay to America, studying poetry under Yvor Winters at Stanford University. At one point, Kitay, doing his military service, was investigated as part of suspicion of homosexuality among his unit. Gunn wrote to friends of his worry both of what might happen to Kitay as well as to himself. While nothing happened, the event reminds us of the precarious state in which gay men lived until recently.
Eventually, they settled in San Francisco, which Gunn loved. Even when he became worldwide famous, he enjoyed the anonymity of the cityās gay bars, where he could pick up men. He taught at UC Berkeley for 40 years, one term every year so he could concentrate on his poetry. His and Kitayās home was filled with friends and sex partners, usually of Gunn. This arrangement seems common for many gay men of the time, reminiscent of Dan Savageās idea of āmonogamish,ā where committed gay couples might have other side partners.
In San Francisco, Gunn discovered leather and drugs, both of which he took to readily. He caused a stir by appearing in his British publisherās conservative club in leather gear. Toward the end of his life, he became a crystal meth addict, frequently using with other addicts whom he also slept with. In 2004, his housemates found him dead from substance abuse.
He explored leather, drugs, and gay sexuality frequently in his poems. His collection āMolyā (named after the drug in The Odyssey protecting from the witch Circeās magic), looked at the appeal and downfall of drugs. The Man with Night Sweats, perhaps his most famous collection, dealt with the AIDS epidemic, the painful death of so many friends and lovers. He won the MacArthur Foundation āGeniusā grant afterwards.
The biography presents Gunn in all his humanity, from his poetic genius to his insecurities. After each book came out, he struggled with writerās block, which led to hookups and drug use. As he aged, he worried about finding āgerontophilesā who would sleep with him. I hope this book encourages readers to discover or revisit his work, filled with the joys and complexities of modern gay life.
Out & About
Blade to mark 55 years, celebrate Best Of LGBTQ DC
The Washington Blade will celebrate 55 years of delivering LGBTQ news and also the best LGBTQ things in the city on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. at Crush Bar.
First drink courtesy of Absolut. Must be 21 to attend and the eventās sponsors are ABSOLUT, Crush, and Infinite Legacy.
Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased at bestoflgbtqdc.com.
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