February Events Calendar

Tuesday, January 31st @ 7PM – $5 Suggested
Women’s / Trans’ Poetry Jam & Open Mike
Featuring Marisa Labozzetta & Tsaurah Litzky
In Marisa Labozzetta’s new collection of stories, “Thieves Never Steal In The Rain”, love and the supernatural drive five female cousins, who learn that loss is a constant force to be reckoned with. Tsaurah Litzky’s second poetry collection “Cleaning The Duck” is a must-have for anyone who believes in the redemptive power of poetry. Hosted by Vittoria Repetto – the hardest working guinea butch dyke poet on the Lower East Side – the jam has showcased the famous, the infamous, the unknown for over a decade. Come out and deliver (up to) 8 minutes of your poetry, prose, songs and spoken word. Visit vittoriarepetto.wordpress.com for more.

Wednesday, February 1st @ 7PM – $5 Suggested
Discussion: Jill McDevitt “Politics of Sexual Oppression”
When a 21 year old Jill McDevitt opened a sex shop and education center in Pennsylvania with a focus on female pleasure, she had no idea she would become the center of a firestorm after a neighboring Catholic church, a Republican candidate for State Representative, and town officials fought to shut the business down. McDevitt reads from her book “Fighting the Crusade Against Sex: Being Sex-Positive in a Sex Negative World” and discusses what such an experience says about American views on sexuality, oppression, and women.

Thursday, February 2nd @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Jaclyn Friedman “What You Really Really Want”
In “What You Really Really Want: The Smart Girl’s Shame-Free Guide to Sex and Safety” Jaclyn Friedman, co-editor of “Yes Means Yes” and founder and executive director of Women, Action & the Media, provides women with the tools they need to separate what they really want from what society tells them to want, and arms them with the skills to define and create their own sexual identity. Come safely claim a sexy piece of the pie!

Friday, February 3rd @ 7PM – $5 Suggested
Performance: Fly and the Drunkard’s Wife
Join Fly and Balkan no-wave band The Drunkard’s Wife (L.E.S. legends, natch!) for some spoken-sung-yelped stories and songs in a variety of Slavic, Germanic, and English languages. Maybe even something that sounds a little like French. Expect punk, politics, and accordions.

Saturday, February 4th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Farid Bitar “Footprints in the Mist”
Join Farid Bitar for the release of his latest prose/poetry book, “Footprints in the Mist.” Centered around a six year old child, whose sneaker was stolen by soldiers when the war destroyed his sleepy town of Jericho. Gaza-Jerusalem, house confiscations, the seven wars with Israel; the human toll on one family. Bitar is joined by NYC poet Robin Small-McCarthy.

Sunday, February 5th @ 2:30PM – Free
Feminist Book Club: “The Revolution Starts at Home”
The Feminist Book Club reads and discusses feminism. We make no claims to any particular feminist platform. Rather, we rely on feminism(s). We read theoretical texts, literature and primary works. All are welcome regardless of gender, political persuasion, and familiarity. We meet on the first Sunday each month. For more information, email feministbookclubnyc@gmail.com. This month’s book (available at Bluestockings) is “The Revolution Starts at Home: Confronting Intimate Violence Within Activist Communities” edited by Ching-In Chen, Jai Dulani, and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha.

Monday, February 6th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Andrew Kilman “The Failure of Capitalist Production”
Near-recession conditions persist, as does the threat of renewed financial crisis. In “The Failure of Capitalist Production: Underlying Causes of the Great Recession,” Andrew Kliman suggests that the underlying problems that led to the Great Recession– low profitability, sluggish investment, and rising debt– have not been solved, and that statist measures won’t solve them. The alternatives are persistent economic weakness, a Great Depression-like slump that restores profitability, or a communal society not driven by the imperatives of “value.” Kilman’s previous work is “Reclaiming Marx’s ‘Capital’.”

Tuesday, February 7th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Alice Bag “Violence Girl”
With Donna Lethal
She started as Alicia Velasquez, and English was her second language. She knew Mariachis better than rock music. Hear Alice Bag– one of the founding figures of the ’77 L.A. punk scene, former lead singer of The Bags– read from her new memoir “Violence Girl: East LA Rage to Hollywood Stage – a Chicana Punk Story.” Alice Bag is joined by Donna Lethal, author of the memoir “Milk Of Amnesia.”

Wednesday, February 8th @ 7PM – $5 Suggested
Reading: Alefhi & Iversen “Milk Shakes When Milk Dreams”
Join Andria Alefhi and Gus Iversen as they explore the effects of deep relaxation on inanimate objects through their own writing. Come listen to new works from both of their zines, and stock up on a fabulous, affordable array of self-published treasures after the show. This event is ASL interpreted.

Thursday, February 9th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Valentine’s Day Edition! “Best Gay Erotica 2012″ & “Best Lesbian Erotica 2012″
With Richard Labonté, Sinclair Sexsmith, and Kathleen Warnock
Find A Valentine at the sexiest reading of the month! In “Best Lesbian Erotica,” women are looking for a little bit of everything: love, lust, and that special someone who brings both to bed. Lammy-nominated editor Kathleen Warnock and 2012′s guest judge, sex blogger Sinclair Sexsmith, have curated a collection that is waiting to lay bare your deepest desires. “Best Gay Erotica” captures the tension and raw energy of man-on-man desire in this collection of the hottest, freshest and most literary erotic fiction of the year. Editor Richard Labonté shares tricks of the trade in this outstanding volume of craftsmanship and cockmanship. Start practicing your pick-up lines…

Friday, February 10th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Costas Panayotakis “Remaking Scarcity”
Join sociologist and political economist Costas Panayotakis for a reading froma nd discussion of “Remaking Scarcity: From Capitalist Inefficiency to Economic Democracy.” The book is a powerful challenge to our current capitalist society; a society capable of producing grotesque inequalities and unnecessary human suffering in order to feed a toxic consumerist culture that fails to satisfy. A frequent contributor to The Indypendent, Panayotakis offers his unique take on the current crisis of capitalism.

Saturday, February 11th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Kevin Rashid Johnson’s “Defying the Tomb”
Featuring John “Mac” Gaskins
Soledad Brother-esque, “Defying the Tomb: Selected Prison Writings and Art of Kevin Rashid Johnson” is a collection of letters between revolutionary New Afrikan prisoner Johnson and a fellow prisoner, Outlaw, as well as essays written by Johnson discussing Marxism and Maoism, the Five-Percenters, Dialectical Materialism, Dead Prez, Capitalism, Racism, Imperialism, Class Struggle, and more. Johnson’s book will be read by John “Mac” Gaskins was in a neighboring cell with Johnson, and was recently released from the tombs of Wallins Ridge State Prison in southwest Virginia. Original artwork produced by Johnson will be displayed.

Sunday, February 12th @ 12:30PM – Free
Radical Educators Meetup: hooks’ “Teaching to Transgress”
Join a group of educators engaged in inquiry of critical texts for a meetup and collaborative discussion of pedagogical values and practices. This month we’ll discuss “Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom” by bell hooks. Please contact bluestockingsraded@gmail.com for more information.

Sunday, February 12th @ 7PM – $5 Suggested
Screening: “Phantasma: Four Short Films by Four Directors”
An anti-Valentine’s-Day look at relationships and the awful power of perception via four short films by four local filmmakers: Stephanie Hummel (“Dust Off Ivory”), Igor Yankilevich (“Blue”), Matthew Fifer (“themorningafter”), Leslie Kwon (“Track Meet”). Queer, straight, New Yorker– it’s all here. Screening followed by an open reception for the audience and directors.

Monday, February 13th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Jose Maria Sison’s “Selected Writings”
With BAYAN-USA
As the Chairperson of the International League of Peoples Struggles, Jose Maria Sison is a well-respected figure amongst national and social liberation movements. A poet, author, teacher, lecturer, and political refugee for over 24 years, Sison is also a figure in the 43-year old Philippine revolution. Join BAYAN-USA, an information bureau for the national democratic movement of the Philippines and a campaign center for anti-imperialist Filipinos in the U.S., for the NYC launch of Sison’s “Selected Writings” on imperialism, socialism, and revolution– perhaps more relevant under today’s economic crisis than ever before.

Wednesday, February 15th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Marika Blossfeldt “Essential Nourishment”
The everyday act of eating has become very complicated. Food is being dissected into micro-nutrients and is no longer viewed as a nurturing whole that delivers life-force, energy, and a connection to life. Marika Blossfeldt integrates rather than separates. In “Essential Nourishment: Recipes from My Estonian Farm,” she provides a balance of education, inspiration, and deliciousness, encouraging readers to discover a natural way of eating and being in this world that is sensible, nourishing, and deeply satisfying.

Thursday, February 16th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Mattu & Maznavi “Love, InshAllah”
In the groundbreaking book “Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women,” 25 writers sweep aside stereotypes to share their real-life romances. The writers represent a broad spectrum of ethnic/racial backgrounds and religious outlooks speaking openly for the first time about love, dating, relationships, gender, identity, and sexuality. Join co-editors Ayesha Mattu and Nura Maznavi for a reading from the book– recently reviewed in the New York Times– and a spirited Q&A session where audience members can pose the questions they’ve always wanted to ask a Muslim woman—but were too afraid to ask!

Friday, February 17th @ 7PM – $5 Suggested
Discussion: Henry Flynt “Autopsy of the Left”
The classic promise of communism appeared in texts by Marx and Engels. Henry Flynt says that promise was as crackpot as flying to the moon by flapping your arms like a bird. The twentieth century saw the creation of a world system styling itself as Communist. Two centuries have passed, and by now the world Communist system has basically disavowed itself. What happened? We are heirs to two centuries of profound historical experience; a decisive appraisal of the outcome is overdue. Join Flynt, author of “Blueprint for a Higher Civilization,” in posing some questions and making some answers.

Saturday, February 18th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: John Kenneth Press “Founding Mother”
Come learn about the most fantastic transgender lesbian activist of the Progressive Era. Frances Kellor (1873 – 1952) developed theories of gender and basketball, founded the National Urban League, set up alternative government forms, led in two Presidential elections before she could vote, got suffrage on national Party platforms, founded international arbitration and much more! This interactive discussion celebrates the publication of “Founding Mother: Frances Kellor and the Quest for Progressive Democracy,” a biography by John Kenneth Press.

Sunday, February 19th @ 4PM – Free
Knitting: Dyke Knitting Circle
Come in and knit, make new friends, drink some tea, and learn a craft at a self-help and member-led group. The Dyke Knitting Circle is open to all levels of queer experience and all levels of knitting proficiency. Bring yarn and needles. Join us any third Sunday of the month.

Tuesday, February 21st @ 7PM – $5 Suggested
Reading: “Fierce Fiction”
With Sweta Srivastava Vikram and Georgia Clark
Join local authors Sweta Srivastava Vikram (“Perfectly Untraditional”) and Georgia Clark (“The Aevum Project”) for a night of Fierce Fiction! Both of these celebrated young writers will share new work that promises to thrill the mind and excite all five senses. From dystopian YA sci-fi romance to character-driven, cultural, and happy adult fiction, Fierce Fiction promises to pack a punch… and then some!

Wednesday, February 22nd @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Mary Romero “The Maid’s Daughter”
“The Maid’s Daughter: Living Inside and Outside the American Dream” follows the life of “Olivia,” the daughter of a Mexican maid, who lives with her mom in the LA home of her wealthy employers, the “Smiths.” While her mother remains the help, Olivia is welcomed into the family’s fold. Acceptance into their world where Olivia perpetually feels she doesn’t belong, mixed with her hunger to discover her Mexican roots, provokes a sense of confusion of what it means to be both a second-generation immigrant and an American. Romero’s previous work includes “Maid in the U.S.A.”

Thursday, February 23rd @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Scott Lauria Morgensen “Spaces between Us”
Explaining how relational distinctions of “Native” and “settler” define the status of being “queer,” “Spaces between Us: Queer Settler Colonialism and Indigenous Decolonization” argues that modern queer subjects emerged among Natives and non-Natives by engaging the meaningful difference indigeneity makes within a settler society. Scott Lauria Morgensen demonstrates the interdependence of nation, race, gender, and sexuality and offers opportunities for resistance in the U.S.

Friday, February 24th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Maia Ramnath “Decolonizing Anarchism”
“Decolonizing Anarchism: An Antiauthoritarian History of India’s Liberation Struggle” looks at the history of South Asian struggles against colonialism and neocolonialism, highlighting lesser-known dissidents as well as iconic figures. This approach reveals an alternate narrative of decolonization, in which achieving a nation-state is not the objective. Maia Ramnath studies the anarchist vision of alternate society, which closely echoes the concept of total decolonization on the political, economic, social, cultural, and psychological planes. Ramnath teaches at New York University and is a board member of the Institute for Anarchist Studies.

Saturday, February 25th @ 7PM – $5 Suggested
Reading: “Stories of Coming Out”
However difficult, nerve-wracking, joyous, heart-rending, comical, or all-of-the-above-and-then-some, “coming out” makes for great stories. Join us for the tales of four fiction writers and a memoirist who will share their interpretations and insights into this milestone of gay life. Bringing both gay and straight perspectives to the subject, authors Phoebe Wilcox and Jamie Reich; playwright and actor Kevin R. Free; memoirist Ian Carlos Crawford; and fiction writer Michelle Cheever have an entertaining evening in store for all.

Sunday, February 26th @ 2:30PM – Free
Practical Anarchy Reading Group: “Zapatista Spring”
NYC-based collective Practical Anarchy invites folks of all backgrounds and identities to a monthly reading group exploring what anarchism means in our current context. Together, we discuss historical and contemporary texts, self-organization and mutual aid, in order to work toward a society free of all forms of social domination. This month we’ll be discussing “Zapatista Spring: Anatomy of a Rebel Water Project & the Lessons of International Solidarity” by Ramor Ryan, available at Bluestockings.

Sunday, February 26th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Chris Bobel “New Blood”
With an ethnographic lens, the book “New Blood: Third-Wave Feminism and the Politics of Menstruation” illuminates roles of menstrual activism in advocacy movements (such as: feminist healthcare, environmental conversation, consumer rights) and it examines via menstruation the body politics between second and third wave feminism(s). Join Bobel for a reading and discussion of her book filled with personal narratives, playful visuals, and a clear accounting of today’s vibrant on-the ground feminism.

Monday, February 27th @ 7PM – $5 Suggested
Book Reception: Geographic Perspectives on Women
Tonight, the Geographic Perspectives on Women Specialty Group (GPOW) of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) honors recently published titles in feminist geography. The reception celebrates and promotes books written within feminist geography and by feminist geographers. GPOW is an organization of mostly academic geographers, both faculty and students, who are involved with geographic research and education on topics relating to women and gender. Click here for a list of this year’s honorees.

Wednesday, February 29th @ 7PM – $5 Suggested
Presentation: “Pinay HERstories”
Hosted by Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE)
There are many instances when our stories as women and as Filipinas are lost or relegated to the outskirts of history. Pinay HERstories reclaims the Filipino migrant narrative by collecting fragments of shared migrant experiences. Join FiRE for a night of readings and performances with migrant women who are students, trafficked victims, activists, nurses, and domestic workers. Stories highlight the resilience of Filipino migrant women and power of community in their lives.