After a year of podcasting and six months of writing and editing essays for this website, Adam and Erika are leaving the Ivory Tower Boiler Room at the end of November.
We could talk about what this photo has to do with the theme of the article, but it’s enough to say that it’s nice and we thought you’d like it.
Photo by Adam Katz.
We’re sad to go, but also eager for whatever comes next. This is not the end of our adventure in writing, of course. You can still read our existing pieces right here on the blog, and you’ll be able to read our new work once we get our new project up-and-running: 2RulesOfWriting.com. (We’ll mirror our favorite pieces on the new website, as well.)
As we pack our bags and say our goodbyes, and as we reflect on the first six months of blogging, we thought this would be a good time to revisit some of our favorite themes and some of our favorite pieces.
We are proud to have brought you a lot of content related to queer themes–allyship, coming out, the queer experience across generations. Today, we’re bringing you a belated LGBTQ History Month celebration with some favorites from among the pieces celebrating queer themes.
In June of this year we brought you Erika’s reflections on the fortieth anniversary of the first reports of “pneumonia” which we would eventually know as HIV/AIDS. The history of HIV is deeply intertwined with Erika’s experience growing up as a queer Gen-Xer. It provided her with safe ways to explore and understand her identity as a queer person. It guided her career choices. HIV helped her learn about passion, authenticity, activism, community and more, but some of the most important lessons were about role models and becoming the kind of role model she wished she had had growing up.
June also saw Adam share with us a story of confronting his own internalized homphobia and his journey to genuine allyship. Adam’s take on the true meaning of “Love is Love” and of nourishing all the kinds of love around you is precious, fragile and beautiful.
In October, Adam shared with us a frightening tale of sleep walking. What does this have to do with queer content? You’ll just have to read the piece.
To close out this “Best Of,” we invite you to take a cross generational look at queer history (especially the bisexual experience) with Erika, and what that means to her as a queer adult now, and as a parent, as kids around her come out and she reconsiders what it means to her to be a role model.
We hope you enjoy revisiting some of our favorite pieces with us over the next few weeks. If you’ve got a favorite you would like to see us highlight–or if you have a reaction to one of our pieces, let us know.