January Events Calendar

Sunday, January 8th @ 12:30PM – Free
Radical Educators Meetup: Wade’s “Social Studies for Social Justice”
Join a group of educators engaged in inquiry of critical texts for a meetup and collaborative discussion of pedagogical values and practices. This month we’ll discuss “Social Studies for Social Justice: Teaching Strategies for the Elementary Classroom” by Rahima Wade. Please contact bluestockingsraded@gmail.com for more information.

Sunday, January 8th @ 2:30PM – Free
Feminist Book Club: Roberts’ “Killing the Black Body”
The Feminist Book Club reads and discusses feminism. We make no claims to any particular feminist platform. Rather, we rely on feminism(s). We read theoretical texts, literature and primary works. All are welcome regardless of gender, political persuasion, and familiarity. We meet on the first Sunday each month; January’s meeting is on the second Sunday due to the holiday. This month’s book (available at Bluestockings) is “Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty” by Dorothy Roberts.

Monday, January 9th @ 7PM – $5 Suggested
Performance: Groove Therapy Sessions
With Akinfe Fatou, JP Howard, and Helese Smauldon
Groove Therapy Sessions is a refreshing eccentric expression of poetry and music bound together by inimitable spirits. Take a break from the norm and join us for an unforgettable experience! The Sessions feature Akinfe Fatou and Helese Smauldon, co-founders of Indigo Souls United Collective; and JP Howard, co-founder of Women Writers in Bloom Poetry Salon.

Tuesday, January 10th @ 7PM – $5 Suggested
Presentation: “REWILDERMENT part 1, FILM THEORY: animal disasters/animal sanctuaries”
Join Sarah Falkner and Ryder Cooley for a multimedia performance with music, video projection, and text from “Animal Sanctuary,” a wild, powerful, and mysterious novel structured around the life of a 60s fictional actress and animal rights activist, her queer performance artist son, and the environments and personas they create and inhabit– a rhizomatous meditation on the structures others place us in, images as occupied territories, and the performance of gender and species.

Wednesday, January 11th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Diane Ehrensaft “Gender Born, Gender Made”
“Gender Born, Gender Made: Raising Healthy Gender-Nonconforming Children” is a comprehensive guidebook for the parents and therapists of children who do not identify with or behave according to their biological gender. Drawing on the case histories of several children, each “gender creative” in their own ways, Dr. Diane Ehrensaft offers concrete strategies for understanding and supporting children who experience confusion about their gender identities. Rather than offering a “cure” for gender variance, the book facilitates improved understanding and communication about gender identity.

Thursday, January 12th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Scott Alexander Hess “Diary of a Sex Addict”
Join Scott Alexander Hess for a night of Sex Addicts and Bergdorf Boys! Hess reads from his subversive debut novel “Diary of a Sex Addict,” a Hot Read on the gay.net It List, and called “relentlessly erotic and divinely written” by Richard Labonte. Along with the reading, Hess screens a short film, based on the novel, that has been a hit on the internets.

Friday, January 13th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Richard Gilman-Opalsky “Spectacular Capitalism”
The ideas and practices of Guy Debord and the Situationist International have become a constant reference point for those involved in radical politics, the arts, and cultural theory. Drawing on the work of Debord, Richard Gilman-Opalsky’s latest book, “Spectacular Capitalism: Guy Debord and the Practice of Radical Philosophy,” argues that the theory of practice and practice of theory are superseded by social upheavals that do the work of philosophy directly. Reading, with discussion to follow.

Saturday, January 14th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Frank Romano “Love and Terror in the Middle East”
Join author Frank Romano for the release of “Love and Terror in the Middle East,” the dramatic capturing of his efforts to promote understanding, communication and cooperation among Jews, Muslims, and Christians. The book details Romano’s arduous journeys between Israel and the West Bank, organizing marches and dialogues; it’s a memoir of a man working in the field, face to face with people from all kinds of factions, including extremists on both sides. Romano is a professor at the University of Paris.

Sunday, January 15th @ 4PM – Free
Knitting: Dyke Knitting Circle
Come in and knit, make new friends, drink some tea, and learn a craft at a self-help and member-led group. The Dyke Knitting Circle is open to all levels of queer experience and all levels of knitting proficiency. Bring yarn and needles. Join us any third Sunday of the month.

Sunday, January 15th @ 7PM – $5 Suggested
La Pluma y La Tinta Presents: New Voices Reading Series
This literary reading offers unpublished or new writers and poets the opportunity to share and promote their work. La Pluma y La Tinta is a writers workshop for Latinas based in Brooklyn, New York.

Tuesday, January 17th @ 7PM – $5 Suggested
Presentation: Pre-Valentine’s Day Bush
Join Georgia Scott, editor of “Down There: Narratives About the Joy, Aroma & Overall Existence of the Bush” in scheming this year’s special Valentine’s Day. Scott reads from this oddly compelling book– but there’s more! A sommelier will be on hand for wine pairing help, the Buppy Hipster provides scintillating beauty product suggestions, and photographer Alexis Percival displays provocative photos.

Wednesday, January 18th @ 7PM – $5 Suggested
Presentation: URGENT!: A Resurgence of the “I Had an Abortion” Campaign
With Jennifer Baumgardner, Soapbox Inc., and RadFem
In honor of the 39th anniversary of Roe v Wade, RadFem and Soapbox Inc. invite all interested parties to a party, screening of the “I Had an Abortion” documentary, and a launch of new t-shirts and bags that allow those who’ve had abortions to be acknowledged and to personalize a vicious and abstract debate.

Thursday, January 19th @ 7PM – $5 Suggested
Screening: Josh Fox “Gasland” (2010, 107 min.)
When filmmaker Josh Fox is asked to lease his upstate New York land for natural gas drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies, and contamination. A recently drilled nearby Pennsylvania town reports that residents are able to light their drinking water on fire. This is just one of the many astonishing revelations from “Gasland.” Join Ling Tsou from United for Action for a discussion after the film on the risks of hydraulic fracturing.

Friday, January 20th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Tom Angotti “Accidental Warriors and Battlefield Myths”
Tom Angotti reads from “Accidental Warriors and Battlefield Myths,” his first work of fiction. Angotti’s short stories illustrate how many soldiers are drawn into war by circumstances they neither understand nor control. Tragic, humorous, macabre, and absurd; set in the U.S., Latin America and the Middle East; brilliantly illustrated by Sofia Vigas; each story ends with haiku, and perhaps some peace. Angotti is the author of “New York For Sale: Community Planning Confronts Global Real Estate.”

Saturday, January 21st @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Sean Stewart “On the Ground”
With Ben Morea
In four short years (1965-1969), the underground press in the U.S. grew from five small newspapers to over 500 newspapers– with millions of readers– all over the world. “On the Ground: An Illustrated Anecdotal History of the Sixties Underground Press in the U.S.” is comprised of stories told by the people involved with the production and distribution of the newspapers and features dozens of full-color reproductions which provide a window into the spirit of the times. Join editor Sean Stewart and Ben Morea (main instigator of the Black Mask group, or Up Against The Wall Motherf**ker) in a reading, discussion, and celebration of the release of “On the Ground.”

Sunday, January 22nd @ 2PM – Free
Meetup: Future Librarian Forum
Are you a library school student or think you might be one someday? If you answered “yes” to either of these two questions, the Future Librarian Forum is for you! The FLF features library workers from a variety of different backgrounds (e.g. academic, public, special, and archival) speaking about their educational and professional experiences. These brief presentations are followed by discussion for questions and comments on anything and everything library-related!

Tuesday, January 24th @ 7PM – $5 Suggested
Discussion: Nickerson Hill “Radical Resistance or Unwitting (Re)Enforcement of Stigma?”
Join Nickerson Hill for a critical consideration of common language and points of argument used in debates regarding gender identity and the DSM– specifically in efforts to distance experiences/expressions of gender from other experiences currently described in the DSM. How might we still advocate for change without employing othering rhetoric that (re)enforces mental health stigma– stigma that is itself so bound within the sociopolitical enforcement of cultural norms? This event is co-organized by QuORUM (quorumnyc.org).

Wednesday, January 25th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Heuler & Keplinger “The Made-up Man” and “Shut Out”
How far would you go to get what you want? In Karen Heuler’s “The Made-up Man,” one woman takes her fate in her hands and sells her soul to the devil to be a man for the rest of her life. What could possibly go wrong? In Kody Keplinger’s “Shut Out,” high school girls decide to end the obsessive rivalry between two boys’ sports teams by going on hookup strike. These updates on “Faust” and “Lysistrata” confront their own surprising modern twists.

Thursday, January 26th @ 7PM – $5-10 Suggested
Performance: Ryan Harvey “Riot-Folk Live!”
A Performance for Occupy Wall Street Arrestees and Supporters
On November 17th, hundreds of people were arrested blockading the NY Stock Exchange as part of the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations. Since most initial hearings have been set for January 25th and 26th, Ryan Harvey, one of those arrested, will be hosting a performance for those arrested and other Occupy participants and supporters. Harvey is a part of the Riot-Folk Collective and has been writing and performing hard-hitting political folk songs for over ten years.

Saturday, January 28th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Mary Patten “Revolution as an Eternal Dream”
“Revolution as an Eternal Dream: The Exemplary Failure of the Madame Binh Graphics Collective” examines the political practice and visual propaganda of a now-obscure women’s anti-imperialist art collective, from the perspective of a founder. Based in New York City between 1975-1983, the MBGC produced beautiful multicolored silkscreened prints, note cards, banners, and print ephemera before withdrawing into the isolation of a sectarian and militaristic political line. Join author MarPatten in celebrating the release of this richly-illustrated book.

Sunday, January 29th @ 2:30PM – Free
Practical Anarchy Reading Group: “Wobblies and Zapatistas”
NYC-based collective Practical Anarchy invites folks of all backgrounds and identities to a monthly reading group exploring what anarchism means in our current context. Together, we discuss historical and contemporary texts, self-organization and mutual aid, in order to work toward a society free of all forms of social domination. This month we’ll be discussing “Wobblies and Zapatistas: Conversations on Anarchism, Marxism and Radical History” by Staughton Lynd and Andrej Grubacic, available at Bluestockings.

Monday, January 30th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Saundra Amrhein “Green Card Stories”
With Laura Danielson, Ariana Lindquist, and Stephen Yale-Loehr
“Green Card Stories” features the dramatic narratives of fifty immigrants to the U.S., uncovering their histories, hardships, and successes as they arrived from across the globe to work, love, study, invest, or escape persecution. The four contributors– journalist Saundra Amrhein, photographer Ariana Lindquist, and renowned immigration lawyers Laura Danielson and Stephen Yale-Loehr– come together for the first time since publication to discuss their work and the future of immigration in the U.S.

Tuesday, January 31st @ 7PM – $5 Suggested
Women’s / Trans’ Poetry Jam & Open Mike
Hosted by Vittoria Repetto – the hardest working guinea butch dyke poet on the Lower East Side – the jam has showcased the famous, the infamous, the unknown for over a decade. Come out and deliver (up to) 8 minutes of your poetry, prose, songs and spoken word. Visit vittoriarepetto.wordpress.com for more.