Poetry
literally saved Trey Amos Life
Trey Amos
Growing up with her brothers in Nashville, TN, Amos felt out of place. As the only girl child in the family, she felt uncomfortable in the dresses and stockings that she was made to wear to church and other outings. In a world where masculinity and femininity were strictly defined, Amos wanted to participate in the activities that her brothers were into and wear what they wore, but she not allowed to. It was a struggle, she said.
Trey Amos
Growing up with her brothers in Nashville, TN, Amos felt out of place. As the only girl child in the family, she felt uncomfortable in the dresses and stockings that she was made to wear to church and other outings. In a world where masculinity and femininity were strictly defined, Amos wanted to participate in the activities that her brothers were into and wear what they wore, but she not allowed to. It was a struggle, she said.
“I’m
southern born and raised yes, ma’am,” said Amos. “I’m a long
way from home right now. A southern upbringing is very structured and
very specific. It leaves little room for creativity. During my
adolescent, I was kind of put into a box.”
Amos
said that her parents were unaware of her emerging sexual identity.
“I
think that has a lot to do with the geographical location and
religion and a number of other things,” said Amos. “(Homosexuality)
was something that wasn’t really accepted in my household. But now,
I am happy to be older and have positive relationships with my family
in regard to identity. The transition has been beautiful. My
relationship with my mom has grown tremendously and I think it has to
do with my writing. She sees how far it can take you and how much it
can five you. Having a child being successful in the world and doing
something positive is what she cares about now.”
After
relocating to the Bay Area, Amos found Youth Speaks, a forum for
young artists, at age 17.
“Being
exposed to 500 other people who thought like me at a Brave New Voices
festival was empowering,” said Amos. “The bug bit me, and I never
stopped. Now, I am in a position of creating spaces that transformed
me when I was the same age.”
On
Friday June 12, young artists from around the Bay Area who identify
as gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender participated in the
“Queeriosity Performance Showcase, presented by Youth Speaks and
the National Queer Arts Festival at the LGBT Center in San Francisco.
During the Queeriosity Performance Showcase, singers, dancers,
musicians, poets and visual artists presented their work, which
touched on themes of otherness, alienation and self- acceptance. The
Queeriosity Performance Showcase is an annual spoken word and
performance event dedicated to young people who are reshaping the
conversations about sexuality, identity, and community.
Amos,
now a Queeriosity Performance Showcase alum and poet mentor read her
hip hop inspired piece, “This Color Brown” (See link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChMAgvTlElc
“Being
a person of color and a person who identifies as “queer,” the
importance level runs neck in neck,” said Amos. “I want to speak
for people of color and speak out against police brutality and other
injustices. “This Color Brown” is meant to shed light on how
people who look like me or have the same skin tone as me are viewed
in the eyes of the law and the court system.”
The
Queeriosity Performance showcase was hosted by co-curator and lead
facilitator, Indira Allegra, who led a six week writing workshop.
Each year Youth Speaks facilitates a writing and performance workshop
that explores how self-identified LGBTQ youth develop a deeper
awareness of their sexual identities while celebrating their
queerness. A small group of youth applied, and Youth Speaks reviewed
their application. Allegra described the program as an
interdisciplinary representation of poetry which integrated visual
arts live music and dance.
“I’m really pleased with the way that the youth were able to really step into that place of risk and that place of vulnerability to be able to create work,” said Allegra, who is also an acclaimed writer, performance artist, visual artist and winner of the Jackson Literary Award.
“I
feel like, not only is this a writing workshop to create work, it’s
really about professional development,” said Allegra. “As an
artist, I can’t create work that lands in other people’s
experience if I’m not vulnerable myself. I feel like this king of
emotional training is valuable, and we have to get it started not at
the beginning of their careers.”
Ash Phillips
One of the 2015 Queeriosity Performance Showcase’s rising stars, poet Ash Phillips, who identifies as a “genderqueer poet,” spoke of the challenges faced by transgender youth: having a hard time shopping for clothes, people placing bets on which body parts you have and the fear of walking into a public restroom without being reported or attacked.
“You
wonder why I cry when people ask, ‘are you a boy or a girl,” said
Phillips. “I’m neither, or maybe I’m both. Or maybe I don’t
know and maybe it wouldn’t be a problem if you didn’t f-----g
ask.” In closing, Phillips proudly called the names of all of the
members of the transgender community that we lost this year.
“You
weren’t killed by black and white; it was pink and blue that took
your lives. (See link .(See link http://youtu.be/faKyMgxfG9M).).
For
information, go to http://youthspeaks.org.
