Just in time for Pride 2024: Fire & Inkwell Reignites: Advocacy for LGBTQ+ Artists and Writers of African Descent
10:00 a.m. EDT
June 19, 2024
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
:: Contact ::
Samiya Bashir
THIS PRIDE MONTH :: A CRITICAL 21ST CENTURY MOVEMENT RETURNS
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**Fire & Inkwell Reignites: Advocacy for LGBTQ+ Artists and Writers of African Descent**
Juneteenth 2024 – Just in time for Pride, and in celebration of Juneteenth, we are excited to announce the leadership of seasoned organizer, poet, artist, and writer Samiya Bashir, who most recently led Lambda Literary, to her new role restoring and rebuilding Fire & Inkwell (formerly Fire & Ink, Inc.) to meet its next quarter-century of support for LGBTQ+ Black artists and writers. As a founding organizer of Fire & Ink since its inception in 2001, Bashir brings a wealth of experience and passion to guiding Fire & Inkwell in its next chapter. We are grateful to our long-time partner, allgo, for their fiscal sponsorship as we build out our organizational infrastructure.
Restoration of this historic movement is right on time at a moment when Black LGBTQ+ writers and artists remain in the very particular crosshairs of intersecting communities on the margins, each fighting ongoing attacks on Black, queer, and trans books, arts, performance, and cultural programming. Our new organizational name connects the organization with its history while symbolizing and affirming an even deeper and wider commitment to community advocacy and support. While Fire & Ink was focused on writers and writing, artists have always been a critical part of our movement. In this reconception, we are centering Black LGBTQ+ creators across discipline and genre.
“Black artists and writers are our key cultural creators,” said Bashir. “It’s time our lives and work are supported at a scale that reflects our impact.”
· Books by and about LGBTQ+ and Black people remain the top books being banned in challenges across the country.
· Preservation is key. Our presence in the archives is critical to the long-term life and impact of our work. Fire & Inkwell is dedicated to increasing our presence in and access to our work in the archives – for our own use, for current and future scholarship, and for the ongoing historical record. We will work to preserve that work, build upon the archives and increase access to our communities and our work both current and historical.
· Culturally Competent Professional Development will not only help us get work to sustain us but also get our work out into the world to sustain us all.
Fire & Inkwell understands the importance of collecting, reflecting, and creating our literary histories while working to build into the future. Fire & Inkwell is committed to establishing, connecting, and building comprehensive archives of Black LGBTQ+ arts and literatures, laying the groundwork for the study and creation of all of the new work to come.
What Fire & Ink built, upon which Fire & Inkwell is building, is something uniquely and historically important. It must be preserved, expanded upon, and made available to new generations.
We are thrilled to introduce our new Advisory Council, featuring a dozen amazing Black queer artists and writers, including Steven G. Fullwood, Cheryl Clarke, Torkwase Dyson, Dawn Lundy Martin, Ruth McFarlane, Alexis DeVeaux, Jafari Allen, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Ronaldo Wilson, and Daniel Alexander Jones. This new leadership team will guide our efforts to build a unified body of artists and writers who can teach, inspire, share encouragement and networking opportunities, and develop effective strategies for sustaining LGBTQ+ writers of African descent.
Fire & Inkwell invites our communities of artists, writers, publishers, producers, performers, and creatives across the spectra to join this vibrant and powerful movement FOR US BY US. Whether you are an artist, writer, or an ally, a reader, spectator, collector, publisher, curator, gallerist, community member, or friend – your support is crucial in amplifying the voices of Black LGBTQ+ creative artists. Together, we can create a more inclusive and supportive community.
**New FOLIO of The Poets of Fire & Ink in POETRY Magazine**
We are also excited to announce the release of a special, 45-page folio, “Up We Step: The Poets of Fire & Ink” in the July/August issue of POETRY Magazine, the nation's oldest and most prestigious publication dedicated to poetry.
“We, all of us, need those voices that refuse to be silenced,” said Bashir, “narratives that challenge the status quo, and language that celebrates the beauty and strength that sustains us especially when we find each other and come together.”
Samiya Bashir sent a call out to dozens of Black poets who have participated in Fire & Ink since its inception, and the response was overwhelming and powerful. This issue is not to be missed and will feature a collection of poignant and inspiring works from these talented poets.
**About Fire & Inkwell**
Fire & Inkwell is an advocacy and support organization dedicated to LGBTQ+ artists and writers of African descent. Building on the legacy of Fire & Ink, which began in 2001, Fire & Inkwell aims to create a nurturing and empowering environment for Black queer creatives through various programs, initiatives, and community-building efforts. Visit us online at fireandinkwell.org for more information and stay connected through social media @fireandinkwell.
JOIN US and be part of this transformative movement!
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