Day: Saturday September 19th

Baltimore’s queer and trans artists are a huge part of the city’s literary brilliance. Join two Baltimore-based publishers for a live reading showcasing queer dynamos, featuring authors, editorial board members, and contributors to fifth wheel press anthologies and Mason Jar Press‘ Jarnal. Featured readers include writer and drag king Zoe Leonard, The Workshop Prince and a Kundiman fellow, who will also serve as the moderator: Alison Lubar, queer, biracial Nikkei poet, educator and author of two full-length poetry books, The Other Tree and Metamourphosis: T. Mae Moll, the Lambda Literary Award winner for Out of Step: A Memoir and the executive poetry editor for Mason Jar Press: Filipino poet and author of Patrilineal and Prey, Aldrin Badiola (he/him) who is also the editor-in-chief of Artists from Maryland: Ashley Elizabeth (she/her), teacher and a Pushcart-nominated author of the full-length collection A Family Thing and four chapbooks, including red line and CHARM(ed). Co-produced by Sarah Daniels, the new publisher and executive director of Mason Jar Press who writes fiction under the pseudonym Persephone King, and nat raum—editor-in-chief of fifth wheel press and author of origin trilogy and this book will not save you—this reading highlights some of Baltimore’s best queer and trans writers who will read work spanning a variety of topics such as LGBTQ+ issues, family and legacy, and identity.

fifth wheel press is an independent community-focused publisher of art and writing by queer, trans, and gender variant creators. Mason Jar Press is an independent publisher of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and literary art that mixes it up. They amplify fresh voices and promote bold work that pushes the boundaries of literary norms, and they believe literature should not only sustain readers but also inspire their curiosity to examine the status quo.

True justice isn’t found in fixing broken systems; it’s about complete restructuring. Referencing Audre Lorde’s quote, “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” Deemed bold, brutal, and unflinching, Burn Down Master’s House by Clay Cane is a work of historical fiction about enslaved people who fought back against unimaginable cruelty. Ibram X. Kendi calls it “a resistance story for the ages.” A powerful tale, “Yes, this book will make you uncomfortable, but discomfort is the extravagant price of truth,” says Cane, whose work challenges the way history has been written, falsified, or erased, and how collective opposition is possible. “With shades of Kindred, James, and The Prophets, this story belongs to a long tradition of resistance that traces back to 1526,” writes Keith Boykin, “when enslaved Africans burned down their captors’ settlement in what is now South Carolina.”  What one reader shared about this fascinating debut work: “A MUST READ …I can’t emphasize enough. It’s four short stories inspired by real-life enslaved people who dared to fight back … the characters are incredible. I’m going to think about this the rest of my life.”