New Weekly(ish) Piece

Happy Pride from Big Cat, Little Cat . . . For the visually impaired: Two cats, orange and grey. The orange cat takes up almost all of the left half of the frame, and is looking downward at the grey cat with what appears to be a benevolent facial expression. The grey cat is smaller,Continue reading “New Weekly(ish) Piece”

(Podcast Episode) A Postscript to our Writers’ Round Table on Queerness and Allyship

As Andrew and I listened to the playback for parts I and II of this month’s Writers’ Round Table about queerness and allyship we both found ourselves exhausted from the emotional labor that we’ve been doing this month. We were both unprepared for the things we felt-trauma, disappointment, frustration, and for the homophobia we wouldContinue reading “(Podcast Episode) A Postscript to our Writers’ Round Table on Queerness and Allyship”

Adam’s Big Think #2: Performing at the Cringe Festival: Becoming an Ally

By Adam Katz Early on in my relationship with my very first girlfriend, she told me about how she broke the exciting news to her friends that she was dating someone new: this guy who has all these interests: he likes to knit and listen to opera and draw and play piano, and… To whichContinue reading “Adam’s Big Think #2: Performing at the Cringe Festival: Becoming an Ally”

Your Love is better than Ice Cream

By Erika Grumet (A note about the term “bisexuality”: some people find the term ‘bisexuality’ restrictive or uncomfortable because of its focus on the idea of “binary” or an either/or dichotomy. My personal interpretation, the way I use it, describes the idea of “a gender identity similar to mine” and “a gender identity unlike mine”Continue reading “Your Love is better than Ice Cream”

We Dance to the Rhythm of 49 Heartbeats: The Pulse Massacre 5 Years Later

By Erika Grumet In December of 2012, the day after my youngest child turned 3, on what had begun as a typical Friday (with a little extra crankiness because there had been an extended evening of celebrations the night before) the Facebook News Network broke a story about a shooting at an elementary school inContinue reading “We Dance to the Rhythm of 49 Heartbeats: The Pulse Massacre 5 Years Later”

(Podcast Episode)Pride 2021: Queerness and Allyship- An Ivory Tower Boiler Room Round Table Part II

You couldn’t wait, right?  We left you wondering more about our interaction with LGBTQ+ literature, and you like listening to us in the Ivory Tower Boiler Room so much that you couldn’t wait to come back and listen to the rest of what we had to say about queer literature, Pride, allyship, coming out andContinue reading “(Podcast Episode)Pride 2021: Queerness and Allyship- An Ivory Tower Boiler Room Round Table Part II”

Midweek Teaser, June 6 2021

What a week it’s been here in the Boiler Room. And if you’re listening to our podcast, you’re extra lucky, because you get a double dose. (If you’re not already listening, fix that. We’re available all over the podcast universe, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding us on your favorite platform, plus there areContinue reading “Midweek Teaser, June 6 2021”

#ActLoveGive-A Request from Erika

by Erika Grumet This weekend will mark the fifth anniversary of the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, an unimaginable and heartbreaking tragedy targeting our LGBTQ+ family, and in particular BIPOC members of our LGBTQ+ family. We’ll bring you a longer piece about that over the weekend, but I have a request this week,Continue reading “#ActLoveGive-A Request from Erika”

Andrew’s Big Think #2:

“I Don’t Have to Wait for you to Give me the Key.” By Andrew Rimby I spoke those words when working through my writer’s block during a Zoom writing session a few weeks ago. When I said this, Tiffany Sowa (fellow contributor) looked at me and said “Andrew, that’s it. That’s where your writer’s blockContinue reading “Andrew’s Big Think #2:”

(Podcast Epiode)Pride 2021: Queerness and Allyship-An Ivory Tower Boiler Room Round Table Part I

(Erika, writing on behalf of the Ivory Tower Boiler Room team,) One of my favorite parts of being part of the Ivory Tower team is getting to sit around with my friends and have the kind of deep, intense conversations like the ones that happen in the middle of the night at summer camp, orContinue reading “(Podcast Epiode)Pride 2021: Queerness and Allyship-An Ivory Tower Boiler Room Round Table Part I”