Welcome To The Relaunch.

Photo of beloved friend and acting powerhouse Rachel Crowl from VOGUE, hello. By Alexey Kim / Sidewalkkilla.

As longtime readers probably know, I have been writing about arts and culture for a long time - since I was in college, when I figured out record labels would send me free CDs if I wrote about them for the school newspaper. Did my school newspaper have a music section? Not exactly. But they were open to adding one, and suddenly I had all the folk music CDs (remember CDs?) I could ever have wanted, for the price of 500 words and a fax (remember faxes?) to the label with a few past columns and my mailing address.

As I started writing more of my own work, and performing, and touring, I started to understand that reviews were an absolutely critical part of artistic success. To show that a magazine or newspaper (remember newspapers?), no matter how humble, had said something complimentary that you could quote was a game-changer in getting that next contract or meeting or gig or tour.

A lot of writers I knew were getting paid $50 per piece to write a little bit about other people’s books or shows or music in the 1990s, and recently when I was reminiscing about this with queer genius Nayland Blake, we recalled that the queer writers all looked out for the queer artwork (and all wrote about each other) to make sure everyone was getting enough reviews to stay marginally employed. None of us were getting rich, but at that time you could afford to have a part-time job, spend the rest of your time making art, and still, you know, eat meals and sleep indoors. Was it a lot of lentils and roommates? Of course. But it was possible.

Now it’s 2025, and queer and trans arts and culture are under attack, and the landscape of arts writing has contracted like a salted slug, and many of the remaining publications have either dramatically reduced their arts coverage or turned it into clickbait and listicles that encourage you to rage-share your current hate-read and I am… tired of it. It’s not for me. And it honestly doesn’t seem great for artists either. Artists need reviews, especially early in their careers - and not just when the mega-conglomerate that own their local paper decides to pay someone $50 to tidy up an AI slop “article” based on a press release that says nothing at all about the work.

Trans Forming Liberty, by Amy Sherald. Sherald cancelled her planned exhibition (including portraits of Michelle Obama and Breonna Taylor) at the Smithsonian because they wouldn’t let her display this Black, trans, image of Liberty.

So, here we are. I am constantly reading and watching and listening to and otherwise sticking my face in the most amazing, delicious, heartbreaking, beautiful queer and trans artistic work and I want to yell joyfully about it. For three years I had the Queer Culture Catchup column at Xtra Magazine where I got to do just that.

Now as a birthday present to myself, I am bringing it back.

So, here you’ll find ongoing updates on what I’m enjoying in 2SLGBTQ+ arts and culture. Glad to have you, welcome in, and if you want to help out, let me know. There’s plenty of pixels to go around for your joyful yelling about queer biz you’re currently liking, too.