March 2024
The Dirty Gerund Poetry Show is a weekly open mic at Ralph's Rock Diner on Grove Street in Worcester. I am the house band leader and a regular performer. Any and all are welcome to sign up to express themselves creatively with this loving and supportive community. Open mic list goes up at 8pm, the show starts at 9pm.
In Reflection:
My Audience
Those who follow me on social media may have seen a post I made on Monday February 19th: I shared a change.org petition created by Matthew Caranci that called on the Worcester Parks Department to remove their busking fee of $50 per two weeks. When I found the petition, it had roughly 50 signatures. After my posts, that number jumped to 270 signatures after two days. As of my sending this, the petition now has almost 500 supporters!
First of all, WOW!! I didn’t realize until this week just how far my impact can reach. Worcester residents weren’t the only ones showing their support: friends from out of town, out of state, even my cousin in Australia signed the petition. My Facebook post itself was shared 19 times, and then another 7 times from those shared posts. A local journalist even picked up the story and dug deeper into the issue. I’m truly blown away by all the support this cause received, and I thank each and every one of you greatly for it.
And it worked! Sort of. Direct quote from that article: "A representative from the City of Worcester confirmed Monday morning [2/26] that the permit application is currently on hold and under review." More to come on this issue, stay tuned!
This audience I have is a powerful tool that must be used wisely. I remember back in my middle school days, between 2007 and 2010, when the internet was still a relatively new thing and as unsupervised as the wild, wild west, a teacher told us that anything posted to the internet will remain there forever, even if the original post is removed. In this day and age, with the emergence of “call-out culture” and increased surveillance, it’s crucial that I vet everything I post to my social media accounts, from my promotional posts to silly memes I share with my close friends on Instagram.
The brand I aim to promote is centered around wholesomeness, strength in community, and pride in uniqueness. While my existence as a trans person is radical in itself, I don’t want to post anything too polarizing that would alienate any of my viewers. I also recognize that being openly trans on the internet makes me more vulnerable to harassment and targeted hate. Thankfully I have not received anything like that yet, but that possibility will only grow as my audience does.
Thanks for being here with me. Remember, folks: there is ALWAYS strength in community!
Current Creative Endeavors
Y'all are getting one essay out of me this month. I beat myself up a bit for making that decision, but then I remembered why I started my self-employed journey in the first place. I'm my own boss now, and I deserve to cut myself some slack.
Approved!
Earlier this month, Manny Jae interviewed me on camera in his cool new studio space. It was lots of fun! He's a real friendly guy. We talked about gender, my teaching days, and my involvement with the Dirty Gerund Poetry Show.
Manny's production team, Manny Jae Media, is working on a Dirty Gerund movie! They filmed two separate shows earlier in fall 2023, and are currently in the editing process. This interview was the first of several of the Dirty Gerund crew members to promote ourselves, the show, and the movie. Stay tuned for more!
