Verse by Verse LGBT Seniors Poetry Workshop

Scenes from My Life is Poetry reading at the Center.

Verse by Verse

LGBT Seniors Share Their Rich Histories Through the Powerful Intimacy of Poetry

Sixteen LGBT seniors gathered at the Los Angeles LGBT Center for a poetry reading all their own. Their deeply personal writings were the results of the eight-week My Life is Poetry workshop offered through the Center’s Senior Services department.

Cassandra Christenson has been part of the workshop for 15 years, but the prospect of reading her poem Seasons of Love in front of more than 40 people inside the Center’s Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Senior Center still made her nervous.

“Right at the last minute I did not want to read that poem. I tried to get another poem off the flash drive, but I wasn’t able to,” she confessed after the reading. “But after I read it, I thought, ‘Thank goodness I read that.’ This is my sexuality. It’s sexy. I’m 85 now, and at 83, I had an amazing sexual relationship and then wrote about it. I experienced such swooning.”

The group’s autobiographical poetry ran the gamut, with topics including nostalgic hook-ups, childhood jobs, a wicked stepmother, addiction to chocolate, the presidential impeachment, Karen Carpenter, and Christmas dinner at grandma’s house.

Steven Reigns, the poet laureate of West Hollywood from 2014 to 2016, has been teaching the workshop for 15 years at the Center. The first of its kind in the country, the class is supported by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

“The reading is the culmination of weeks of poetry writing in the workshop. What you hear is people’s personalities, interests, passions, and life experiences,” he explained. “I created the workshop out of concern about queer seniors’ visibility, representation, connection to their community, and their need for an artistic outlet. With the idolization of youth, our culture’s value in the wisdom and stories that come with age has diminished.”

The poems are developed in what Reigns describes as a supportive and safe environment, both creatively and emotionally. Students are taught how to excavate past experiences and turn them

into poetry. By the end of the workshop, students emerge with at least two to three poems that they can share publicly at the reading.

Erin O’Keeffe said participating in the workshop during the past two years has done more than help her discover that she loves writing.

“This is where I feel supported, and I feel connected,” she said. “I know these are the LGBTQ seniors who are my tribe. I love being here.”

While she loves the writing part, the public reading was another matter.

STRAIGHT PEOPLE CAN KISS MY GAY ASS

by David Parke Epstein

I don’t know why I still remember him but I do

New York City Summer of ‘77 I’m 27 it’s 3 A.M. downtown at the docks I meet him inside a bar for forbidden men only smells like poppers and beer tribal dance floor with a secret all-gay orgy room downstairs in the dark

Yes, I remember the first dance with him I still remember the song Grace Jones “I Need a Man” she screams so do we a hundred blood brothers on the dance floor hungry for love and dick I still remember him not his name I remember he’s a lapsed Catholic an Irishman he pulls me close hip to hip straight in the eye says to me, “If my father up in heaven ever finds out I’m here, he’ll climb down and stone me to death personally.” Then he laughs and kisses me

Nobody knew a Plague was coming Nobody knew we’d all be dead

by Noé Garcia

I’m turning off the light So thoughts can take a flight With my imagination To deep, deep contemplation. So I may think about you. There’s nothing there I can’t do.

Tired of being hated, There I’m intoxicated. In quiet seclusion, It’s a sweet allusion Which starts and ends in sorted ways And which makes for happier days.

It’s just like prostitution Though without persecution -Kissing you countlessly And oh, so carelessly. It’s the finest substitution When living in destitution. To this lone pretender, In complete surrender, Hugs that are oh so tender, With all your warmth and splendor, You give your heart and soul to me In my romantic fantasy.

Lustful oral fervor, You’re the manly server. With erotic effervescence And fiery luminescence -Thoughts to make lecherous men blush -You serve a slow, orgasmic rush.

To love someone tonight, Gently with all my might, Like chivalry to a knight, So that I don’t feel blue, I’m blowing out the candlelight So that I may think about you.

I HAD IT ALL - MORE THAN ONCE

by Bonnilee Kaufman

Thanksgivings seemed easier when we were vegetarian & girlfriend cooked up creamy mac & cheese she raved over my version of collard greens somehow everything I touched turned Jewish. That was a long time ago. Now I scramble for roasted tradition for oven comfort but can’t find my way back. I imagine monastic life living behind high arching walls no regrets not even memory stands tall, sturdy cottonwood trees understand the value of shedding. Cotton wisps everywhere penetrate the ground at my feet.

O’Keeffe shared. “I have a lot of anxiety about speaking in front of people so I just psych myself up. I read my poem in the mirror a lot, read it to my cat.”

Nick Paul participated in the workshop for the fifth time and described it as a great form of self-expression.

“I miss it when I can’t write and share my poetry with everyone,” he said. “I go to other workshops around town, but Steven Reigns is the best. The man is brilliant, and he brings out the best in us. I really appreciate it. I went through a cancer scare a couple of years ago, and Steven was so supportive and kept saying, ‘Whatever you do, come back.’ It’s very inspiring, and I’ve made a lot of good friends here too.”

The 2020 Census is here! Although the goal of the Census is to count everyone living in the U.S., certain populations are inevitably undercounted, including LGBTQ people. We need to be counted as part of the 2020 Census so our communities can:

Get access to federal funds for programs like

SNAP, Medicaid, and public housing Have representation in our state, local, and federal government Enforce our civil rights

The Census counts. So do you.

Self-respond online, by mail, or by phone before April 30!

The Los Angeles LGBT Center is the largest provider of programs and services to LGBT people in the world. With 10 locations across Los Angeles, the Center is supported by nearly 800 staff members and thousands of volunteers.

The Center’s compassionate, talented, inspiring, and fun-loving staff and volunteers are united in our mission to build a world where LGBT people thrive as healthy, equal, and complete members of society.

And we’re missing just one thing: You. Learn more about the opportunities waiting for you at lalgbtcenter.org/careers & lalgbtcenter.org/volunteer