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Revolutionary Voices

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Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology, edited by Amy Sonnie, is an anthology created by and for radical queer youth, committed specifically to youth of color, young women, transgender and bisexual youth, (dis)abled youth, and poor/working class youth. It was published in 2000 by Alyson Publications and was a finalist in two categories for a Lambda Literary Award.

The anthology gave rise to the founding of RESYST (Resources for Youth, Students, and Trainers), a radical queer youth organization that had chapters across the country.

Background

The book had a major impact on the political agenda of the queer youth movement, as well as on a national and international radical queer and transgender literary movement influenced by poets such as Gloria E. Anzaldúa, June Jordan, and Audre Lorde. Many of the contributors to Revolutionary Voices were students of Jordan's Poetry for the People project, and all could be said to share the sentiment of Margot Kelley Rodriguez, the author of the collection's foreword, when she writes, "Revolutionary Voices is a call to action. .... Because this is truth, raw and real and in your face. It may be harsh, but that is what truth is, and these artists have taken the leap to write it down. .... We dedicate this book to us, to all of us, wherever we are; so we may continue to speak our minds and hearts, to struggle to save ourselves, and in doing so to save search other" (Sonnie xxvi).

Controversies

The book has also come under attack from right wing conservatives. An article widely circultated on the Internet entitled "The World According to PFLAG: Why PFLAG and Children Don't Mix Unless You Happen to Like Child Abuse" by Linda P. Harvey, founder of Mission America, claimed that the book was part of a covert mission by PFLAG to "encourage children to be self-indulgent and self-centered in every aspect of life; to reject the wisdom of parents and other authorities if they wish even at early ages; and to engage in just about any sexual behavior imaginable" (Harvey).

Harvey's article specifically targets contributors Siobhan Brooks (and her interview with a sex worker named Minal), Gina de Vries, Qwo-Li Driskill, and T. Rowan. Harvey's article also attacks several other books that PFLAG has listed as resources, including Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out edited by Loraine Hutchins and Lani Ka'ahumanu (Alyson: 1991), Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez (Simon & Schuster: 2001), and Two Teenagers in Twenty edited by Ann Heron (Alyson: 1994).

Impact

The anthology introduced the queer literary world to a host of radical young writers and artists, many of whom continue to publish, create, and receive critical attention. The contributors to the anthology are: Andromeda, Antigona, Nzinga Akili, Sherisse Alvarez, Tim Arevalo, Ariana Banias, Mario Anthony Balcita, Meliza Bañales, Alegría Sonata Barclay, Mollie Biewald, Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrán, Jerome C. Boyce, Siobhan Brooks, Chris Cotrina, Sara Frog Davidson, Gina de Vries, Colin Kennedy Donovan, Beth Ann Dowler, Qwo-Li Driskill, Liz Gaden, Thea Gahr, Ryn Gluckman, Katherine Heather Grobman, John Frazier, S. Asher Hanley, Cecilia Isaacs-Blundin, Kohei Ishihara, Rachel Josloff, Uchechi Kalu, Emil Keliane, Shane Luitjens, Laura & Lauren, Lisa Lusero, meicha, Anna Mills, dani frances montgomery, Gloria Ng, Alix Olson, Maria Poblet, Ryan P. Reyes, Margot Kelley Rodriguez, Jason Roe, T. Rowan, Dana Nicole Robinson, Kevin Rolfe, De Anne Lyn Smith, Amy Sonnie, Daryl Vocat, Matt Wiedenheft and Bree Zuckerman.


References

  • Sonnie, Amy. Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology. Los Angeles: Alyson, 2000.
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