“Hey, Toto! We are in Kansas!” I shouted out the open car window as we crossed the state line. Yeah, I had been saving that cornball comment ever since I signed up for the Tex-Kan Artist Retreat—a yearly retreat that sends Texas artists to Kansas to experience local grassroots art, explore family farming, and work with rural artists.…
A huge part of me grew up closeted in Kentucky, and I know that—in a state of roughly four million folks—lots of other boys did, too. And while the cities of Louisville and Lexington brim with gay bars and rainbow crosswalks, there are plenty of guys living out and proud in smaller towns, too. I wanted to meet and connect with fellow gay men across Kentucky, so I rebooted Tinder and Grindr.…
The history of my family (and an outrageously cheap Expedia deal) is why I ventured to Mexico City in May, to finally look upon the sites that compose a whole third of my ancestors. And though Montezuma’s Revenge confined me to an entire day of gulping peach Pedialite and binging 'Master of None,' I still paid pilgrimage to everything I wanted to see. From the Catholic cathedrals to the Teotihuacan pyramids to Frida Kahlo’s studio, my three friends and I…
Inspired by a friendly yet fiery conversation with my friend about which states constitute “the South,” I decided to curate a more formal dialogue between Dr. Rachel Afi Quinn, Dr. Trevor Boffone, and myself—all queer people based in Houston with roots spread throughout the region—where we could hash out our ideas on what the South truly is. The following is an edited version of our conversation……
