Calliope Writing

“The courage of life is a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy” (JFK).

This month has seen its fair share of both tragedy and triumph.

A Racist Act of Terrorism

On June 17, a racist-terrorist attack occurred in my town of Charleston. If you’ve been away from all media and news outlets for the past week or so and don’t know anything about the Charleston Church Shooting, you can find out more on NBC News.

I won’t repeat the shooter’s heinous statements or even type his name. Instead, I’d like to take a moment and send love to the nine victims (pictured below) and their families.

Courtesy of NBC News

There have been countless events, fundraising efforts, etc., to spread awareness about this horrific attack and the shooter’s motives (white supremacy–don’t even get me started), to raise funds for Mother Emanuel AME Church as well as for the victims’ families, and also simply to show support and love for our city and those who inhabit it. Today happens to be Blue and White Friday, and according to the Facebook event, tens of thousands of people are participating. The mission of the event is to “send a strong messages (sic) to the world. South Carolina is united. We are strong. We will not tolerate evil and we will not be afraid.”

All right, on to the celebration part of this post (because we have to stay positive, right?!)

Love Wins

Today, June 26, 2015, will forever go down in history as the day a momentous step was taken toward truly encompassing the Declaration of Independence’s proclamation that “all people are created equal.” (“People” being my modification.)

As the final ruling of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court determined that same-sex couples now have the right to legally marry (it was a close one at 5-4).

In celebration of marriage equality, I researched some books that look awesome and have great reviews–unfortunately, I’ve only read a few of them (in bold) and those titles are indeed badass. Oh, yeah–and the books have a LGBTQ theme. Duh!

• The Color Purple, Alice Walker
• Hero, Perry Moore
• Maurice: A Novel, E.M. Forster
• Am I Blue?: Coming Out from the Silence, edited by Marion Dane Bauer
• Annie on My Mind, Nancy Garden
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
• The Lost Language of Cranes, David Leavitt
• Our Lady of the Flowers, Jean Genet
• Boy Meets Boy, David Levithan

Bonus poem: “Howl,” Allen Ginsberg

“Last of the Colour Coding” by Juhan Sonin (Flickr)

Also, something to consider before I wrap up: This is my site, so it’s run according to my rules. Name-calling (I know, it sounds like I’m talking to kindergartners, but this sort of thing often needs to be said), aggressive comments, threats, or anything else that I determine is downright nasty will be deleted. I’ll tell you why, of course. But I’m doing my best to keep this site positive and sprinkled with laughs. Let’s keep it that way.

Tragedy and triumph occurring within a week and a half of each other. Life is strange (and so are people, as I learned from Jim Morrison in high school). How do you feel about any of the aforementioned topics? And are there any books you think should be added to the LGBTQ list?

PS: I didn’t even get into the Confederate Flag controversy, although I wanted to, because my word count was hastily approaching what I try to set as my “ideal.” Want to get up to speed on the Rebel Flag debate? Read this, and then let me know your thoughts!