OREGON S GAY/LE S BIAN/BI A R A N S NEWSMAGAZINE
NOVEMBER 20 2009
PR ESSIN G TEN D ER BUTTONS:
W ith the news this month that W indow
Media—a parent company that published
The Washington Blade and Southern Voice,
among many other gay, lesbian, bi and trans
publications—print media was dealt another
telling blow. The void left by the 40-year-old
Blade fold-up is a palpable one, indeed; and
major newspapers everywhere are clearly
tired o f looking over their shoulders for the
next wave of layoffs.
Gertrude Press doesn’t have to worry
about that very much. The Portland-based
gay, lesbian, bi and trans literary and poetry
journal, while not on a daily deadline for
hard-hitting news and comprehensive elec
tion coverage, is a big piece to the niche press
puzzle. W h at’s more, it’s growing every day.
“Now is the time for the small presses
to take hold and grow,” explained Gertrude
Press spokesperson and Web editor Siobhan
Crosby. “I think journals with a really strong
and deep vertical focus are finding more
support with a targeted audience that has a
voracious appetite for print.”
Gertrude Press’ journey began in 1998,
when Gertrude: A Journal of Voice and Vision
offered a vehicle for the over-abundance of
queer writers and artists who could not find
publishing opportunities to showcase their
craft. An editorial board was assembled in
Fort Collins, Colorado, and the premiere is
sue appeared in spring of 1999 as a 36-page,
black-and-white, saddle-stitched journal
featuring eight writers and three artists.
It would take two more years to get a per
fect-bound issue published, but G ertrude’s
gradual growth yielded a move to Portland
as its official base in 2002. The journal went
on hiatus for two years before being resur
rected in response to Oregon’s passage of
Measure 36. Since 2006,
Gertrude Press has been
incorporated and changed
its journal name to simply
Gertrude, while produc
ing two journals, a fiction
chapbook, and a poetry
chapbook annually.
Creating a connec
tion with readers, artists,
dreamers and writers in
the community is the most
important goal to the edi
torial board. Recent efforts
have included the journal’s
focus on visual art and the
annual fiction and poetry chapbook contest.
Gertrude is currently accepting submissions
for the 2010 chapbook contests (the deadline
is February 15, 2010), which will showcase
one winner from each chapbook category for
a limited run.
“W hat’s nice about the chapbooks is that
they provide a spotlight for somebody who
may not normally get the chance to have their
own book with their name on it,” said Crosby.
“We think that that’s really inspiring and pro
vides hope for queer artists in the community
to give them something to aspire to.”
The folks at Gertrude hope to cast a wider
net for submissions in the journal’s next few
issues. As it stands, the board receives work
from emerging and established writers and
artists from over 30 states and 10 countries.
The journal’s impact on more isolated areas of
the country should not be overlooked either.
Crosby feels that the link the journals
provide to combat alienation and loneliness
are invaluable to the drive of the independent
publisher.
“[Gertrude] can sort of transport you from
wherever you might be living, especially if
in enforced gender roles. In the feminist com
munity in Portland, people have experienced a
lot o f that, but we don’t necessarily talk about
it. I grew up in an evangelical background
in Northern California, in Chico. Even in
dating guys in college, they would have this
idea that he would have the job and I would
have the kids. Even before I came out as gay,
LeAnn
that’s a hostile culture,”
she offered. “It will make
you appreciate the different
ways that people express
themselves.”
In May, Gertrude Press
achieved 501(c)(3) nonprofit
status, which among other
things affords Gertrude the
opportunity to apply for
funding grants. As a result,
the February 2010 Gertrude
Art Show at Q_Center has
been made possible by a
grant from The Standard.
The art show will operate
under the theme “Yesterday: Today: Tomor
row” and is billed as falling within the curato
rial framework o f queerness, “an unidentified
identity in constant flux.” Participating artists
will include Michelle Achuff, Dawn Forbes,
Frank Munns and more, and the show will
run February 6-28; an opening reception is
slated for February 7 at 6 p.m.
The current issue of Gertrude— released
this fall/winter— is its 13th installment.
M id-2010 will see the debut of Gertrude
Press’ first themed journal, hilariously dubbed
“Gertrudes Gayest Issue Ever.” Expect a call
for “super ridiculously ‘gay’” art, fiction and
poetry soon. “W hat keeps us going is whom
we’re reaching and how we’re connecting,”
reiterated Crosby.
The connection is stronger than ever. The
Little Journal That Could not only thinks it
can, it knows it can.
For further details on Gertrude Press, in
cluding subscription information and contest
guidelines, visit www.gertrudepress.org. Pick
up Issue 13 of Gertrude at In Other Words
Womens Books (8 B NE Killingsworth St.).
I disagreed with the church that people who
are gay would go to hell.”
» More FALL READING PICKS, on 19
L o g
her
Push
by Sapphire
If you’re looking for a sweet, fun romp of
a book, keep looking. Push is a tough window
into the world of a young woman whose life
is filled with incest and neglect— the cycle of
abuse that grabs hold of families and pushes
them through crises unimaginable to many.
The power of a novel like this is the incredible
humanity and strength of a girl to discover her
own voice and to begin to rise above it.
Push is the basis for the current movie
Precious, in theaters now with the formidable
backing of Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry
and starring Gabourey Sidibe, Mariah Carey
and Mo’Nique. But the movie can only be as
good as the novel upon which it’s based, and
the book is worth the read. Be forewarned:
you have to push yourself to
get through it all, and that
isn’t easy.
Writing within the dialect»
of her main character, author
Sapphire delivers a raw real
ity: Claireece Precious Jones
not only can’t read or write,
she can barely give voice to
her life. At just 16-years-old,
she’s pregnant for the second time, sexually and
physically abused by her parents, and quickly
losing any ground in the public system— that
is, until she’s placed in an alternative school
and comes into contact with a teacher who
connects with her as have few other adults in
her life. The fact that this teacher is a lesbian
surprises Precious. She realizes it’s not the
gays who have raped her, ignored her or sur
rounded her life with drugs. It’s “the homos”
who finally see her preciousness.
It’s one thing to be marginalized or dis
criminated against. It’s a whole other level of
oppression to be a unnoticed within the very
society in which you exist. Precious moves
through a life of victimization and invisibility,
but the growth and hopefulness she displays
through these pages is simply amazing and
compelling. Poetic and rough, Push is a beau
tiful read through darkness and profound
misery.
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