Bit of an outsider-- a category she reinvents and subverts.
Michelle is also a self-identified queer writer,
yet she is one who is opposed to the ghettoising queer
literature.
In this respect, she manages to give voice to her experiences,
speak her truth, but still subvert and challenge
the perceptions that queer is "other"
or that as a queer person she can automatically
speak for everyone who identifies as queer.
The recent media attention to a seemingly endless series
of suicides of teens who were cast to the margins of culture
makes it abundantly clear that we have a long way
to go in our society to combat the negativity
and hatred that "other" identified
people continue to face.
Michelle's work nurtures and challenges us
in the right direction, and her reading tonight
will likely stimulate our vision for change.
All of the above in one glorious sentence--
Michelle Tea's work invites cracks
into the foundations of artificial boundaries
by waking up fresh spaces where we could live.
And that she does by seeing and pointing unflinchingly
with the raw eye at what and how it actually is.
Tonight, please join me in welcoming to the stage
the unparalleled Michelle Tea.