Hot Off the Press: New Book on Queer Virginia; A Wendy Carlos Playlist; Local Arts & Culture Reporting
What I'm writing (and debuting) this spring
I’ve been wanting to write up an inventory of destroyed cultural heritage in Gaza. I had a nightmare about Gaza recently. In this dream, I flew into Gaza’s airport (which was, in non-dreaming reality, destroyed and made non-operational back in the 2000s). The airport was bustling with people speaking Arabic, tourists and business people alike. It was a vision of Gaza in the future. A free Gaza. And then I headed down a rabbit hole of lists upon lists of other sites (besides the airport) that have been destroyed, especially in the past two years. And it left me sobbing at my desk, because there is no way to describe the near-complete destruction of Gaza, including its cultural heritage, without the word genocide. It is so clear.
That post is still in process. This fortnight’s 700/14 post is, rather, my usual periodic “Hot off the Press” collection of current writing (as well as old writings that are finally seeing the light of day).
Read on to the bottom of the post for info on my 700/14 Masterclass: basically the super cheap way for Substack subscribers to get individualized, direct feedback on your writing from me!
Queer Virginia: New Stories from the Old Dominion (University of Virginia Press)
New book alert! This collection of historical essays on Virginia LGBTQ+ history includes an essay I wrote in the period just after my own book Living Queer History was published. It contains some further thoughts particularly on trans sex worker histories, and the relationships between urban redevelopment and gentrification on one hand, and sex worker and transgender communities on the other. I wrote the essay around 2022, and now it is finally coming to print. As such, it represents my final scholarly article, as I am now no longer working in blasted academia!
Check out the book here!
“A Wendy Carlos Playlist: A Composer Who Loves Synths and Shuns Fame” (VAN Magazine)
I have now published a second essay in VAN Magazine, a lovely classical music magazine out of Europe. Can I now call myself a Regular Contributor? I wrote about Wendy Carlos, the pioneering composer and arranger who revolutionized electronic music in the 1960s and 1970s.
Read the piece here!
Local Arts & Culture Reporting
Finally, my journalism mentor’s advice, to get my foot in the door and build up my chops writing for local publications, is, for sure, the right advice! In March, I wrote my first piece for the Roanoke Rambler. (Read about it in an earlier post here.) And last month I wrote my first piece for The Roanoker magazine. And then this month I wrote another. In my local reporting, I am especially focusing on uplifting the voices of Black & queer artists in my home city. Sure, a music journalist could write about the local symphony or opera (and I want to and will), but it feels more important to highlight the creative work of the everyday people doing incredibly bad-ass stuff around our city.
For a smattering of my music writing, both locally and internationally, check out my portfolio here and here.
A final word…
As I announced earlier this year, I am now offering personalized writing feedback & individual mentorship to other writers through 700/14! I call it the 700/14 masterclass. Signing up is simple. Click on the big purple button and become a paid subscriber to 700/14—for as little as $5 a month; the cost of a coffee once a month at your favorite coffee shop—and you’re automatically enrolled. You’ll get feedback on your own writing six times per year, and at the foundational membership level, you’ll also get biannual one-on-one mentorship calls with me.
Keep writing. Your voice is needed in this turbulent world. Sign up by clicking the purple button below.