Monday, August 31, 2020 at 7:30 – 9pm at The Glory 281 Kingsland Road, E2 8AS London, UK – Queer Love from the Russian frontlines with Sergey Khazov-Cassia – facebook event page here – tickets on Outsavvy here – pay what you can.
London is proud to welcome Russian writer and journalist Sergey Khazov-Cassia reads who will be reading extracts from his novel ‘The Gospel According To’, a story of queer repression and liberation in modern Russia, translated to English by Reuben Woolley.
Sergey Khazov-Cassia is an award-winning Russian journalist and writer living in Moscow and working for Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty. He is the author of two gay novels : A Different Childhood (2014) and The Gospel according to (2016). Both novels reflect the life of a gay person first in the Soviet Union and then in the modern Russia. Apart from novels Sergey writes articles and shoots documentary films including on LGBT+ subjects, women rights, immigration, human rights in general.
The evening will be hosted by Dan Glass, activist and author of United Queerdom From the Legends of the Gay Liberation Front to the Queers of Tomorrow followed with Q+A alongside Polish LGBT+ activist Kamil Arendt exploring the struggles for queer liberation that are currently ongoing including against the LGBT+ Free Zones in Poland aswell as reading ‘A gay man in the Gulf reveals ignorance, prejudice, hypocrisy & abuse’, and how we should look at and, most importantly, help them, both in our own countries and communities, and from overseas. Donations will be collected for the Moscow Community Centre, Russia’s only year-round shelter for LGBTQ+ people.
Contributors
Kamil Arendt is a Polish/British citizen living in London, a political activist working with KOD UK (Committee for the Defence of Democracy in Poland) and the founder of PoloniaExpress, a charity which started off as a pro bono courier company helping Polish citizens in the UK take part in Poland’s elections. He is also a husband, a father and a software engineer, trying to find the best way to weave his bisexual identity into the fabric of his public and private life.
Abdulla Al-Ensan is an LGBT+ author and a citizen of one of the Persian Gulf states. He writes under a pseudonym to protect his identity for reasons of safety. He has travelled in Europe to find a more welcoming place for himself, but found it a lonely and unfulfilling experience. His writing is a form of therapy for him personally, but also raises awareness of the hardship facing LGBT+ individuals in his part of the world.
There are very limited spaces so please book via the link.
Suggested donations £5
The Glory has a number of measures that need to be adhered to to ensure the safety of their customers and staff. You will be asked to:
– respect physical distancing guidelines
– stay seated at your chosen table
– order drinks via the app
– not stand up or move around the venue unless you need to use the toilet facilities
Apologies the venue is not accessible as this event is in the basement.
Tuesday September 1st at Soho Square, Westminster, London, W1D 3QB for ‘Queer Freedom Everywhere in Soho Square’ facebook page click here Join us at 6-8pm GMT on Tuesday September 1st for a special live book reading in the heart of Queer London with leading LGBT+ writers and activists for ‘Queer Freedom everywhere. None of us are free until we all are.’ Outsavvy tickets here. Soho Square is wheelchair accessible.
We will be exploring the struggles for queer liberation that are currently ongoing including against the Gay Propaganda Law in Russia and the LGBT+ Free Zones in Poland, and how we should look at and, most importantly, help them, both in our own countries and communities, and from overseas. Donations will be collected for the Moscow Community Centre, Russia’s only year-round shelter for LGBTQ+ people.
Sergey Khazov-Cassia reads extracts from his novel ‘The Gospel according to’ on a story of queer repression and liberation in modern Russia translated in English by Reuben Woolley, alongside Polish LGBT+ activist Magda Oldziejewska and Matt Beard Executive Director at All Out, a global LGBT+ human rights group. The events will be hosted by Dan Glass, activist and author of United Queerdom From the Legends of the Gay Liberation Front to the Queers of Tomorrow.
It is with these same ideals that we can reshape the world for the LGBTQ+ community and for all else who fall vulnerable to difference. I will stand strong but never alone, witnessing the burning of our flag has only added fuel to our fire and it is with this we ignite a torch, lit by hatred and oppression that TOGETHER will illuminate a path into a future of our making, A FUTURE THAT IS OURS.
Followed a DJ set from DJ Auntie Maureen!
“You don’t love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear.” Oscar Wilde
Theatrical DJ and queer vintage music curator, Auntie Maureen likes to dig deep. For music, history and making audible the musical stories of the invisible, the forgotten and the erased. Queering up DJ sets, she/they have swayed dancefloors at proud events Tate Britain’s Queer Britannia, The Wallace’s Look OUT, The Royal Vauxhall Tavern’s rowdy Big Bingo Show plus at quirky cultural dates for The Freud Museum’s The Minotaur, The Painted Lady and The Egg,Two Temple Place’s Jazz Age exhibition with The Sonic Sensorium and The Petrie Museum’s Egyptomania.
All press requests please email queertoursoflondon@gmail.com
Please do not forget to bring your masks!
About the Speakers
Sergey Khazov-Cassia is an award-winning Russian journalist and writer living in Moscow and working for Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty. He is the author of two gay novels : A Different Childhood (2014) and The Gospel according to (2016). Both novels reflect the life of a gay person first in the Soviet Union and then in the modern Russia.Apart from novels Sergey writes articles and shoots documentary films including on LGBT+ subjects, women rights, immigration, human rights in general.
Reuben Woolley is a student and translator from Russian to English. He has a particular interest in modern liberation struggles in Russia and England, and how best to bring them together. His translations can be found at http://reubenstranslations.home.blog
Magda Oldziejewska is a queer Polish activist, writer, researcher and fundraiser at the Feminist Library, living in London. Her activism focuses mainly on reproductive and human rights. She writes about feminist history and organising, radical spaces and activism on her blogs (angelsandwitches.com, www.polishqueerfeminist.com and herstorydiary.wordpress.com), and other feminist platforms (farsapl.wordpress.com, alfa-fem.com). She will be reading one of her recent articles on surviving as a Polish queer feminist living in London in 2020.
Matt Beard is the Executive Director at All Out, a global LGBT+ human rights group, partnering with frontline organisations to work towards a world in which nobody has to sacrifice their family, freedom, safety or dignity because of who they are or who they love. Prior to starting at All Out in 2016, Matt served as the International Director of Fundraising and Communications at Action Aid, a global anti-poverty and women’s rights organisation. Before joining Action Aid, Matt worked for 10 years at Amnesty International in the UK, Australia, Germany and Canada, leading teams working on digital engagement, fundraising and communications.
Valentina Likhoshva is an activist of the Moscow Community Centre for LGBT + Initiatives. Since 2017, she has been coordinating the Barents Pride from Russian side. Valentina is currently conducting research on LGBT + issues in Russia, providing psychological assistance at the Moscow Community Center for LGBT + initiatives and is preparing with the team and partners for Barents Pride 2020. The Moscow Community Centre for LGBT + Initiatives was launched in 2015 and has become a unique platform where you can realize ideas, get legal and psychological assistance. In addition, the MCC has the only shelter in Russia for LGBT + persons, which is open all year round.
Patrick Braithwaite, ACT UP campaigner as part of the Azanian faeries with a special interest in mental health and addiction within marginalised communities. Patrick helped organise the first Queer Spirit festival and subsequently became a member of the Radical Faeries and is part of The Azanian faeries, a collective of spiritual and ecological minded queers living and working around the South African region. Patrick is a founding member of FAENA, a sub group within the faeries dedicated to addiction. Contact Patrick on Patrick.Braithwaite@gmail.com