Portrait of a man, the beginning — Thanks for coming to see me. Nobody really does anymore. I get it, they’re busy. Plus I smell so bad, I make myself sick. Gross, right? And sometimes when I look in the mirror, I wanna heave. They call me Brad. It’s really Broderick, but I always hated that name. So keep it to yourself, huh? …

On tears and rejecting harmful belief systems — I cried as I fell asleep — My own fault, really. I shouldn’t have been reading Braden’s Story by Mason Dodd. As an aspiring author of LGBTQ YA fiction, I read a lot. Knowing my genre is part of the job. This one knocked me for a loop.

Prism & Pen Digest, link redirect — Dear P&P readers, we’re still having trouble with our weekly newsletter, so I’m removing tags from the main email to this separate story with a link. To read this week’s Prism & Pen newsletter with brief summaries of our stories, please click here. Protest, Unity, Caution, and Joy. It’s Pride 2023 at Prism & Pen! Prism & Pen Weekly — June 4, 2023medium.com Esther Spurrill-Jones, Fred Shirley, neil chapman, David…

Prism & Pen Weekly — June 4, 2023 — by James Finn Pride 2023! A time to celebrate, protest, explore unity, and exercise great caution in the face of threats of organized violence. This week in Prism & Pen, writers share their joy, fears, and defiance. Plus, a Grammy-nominated songwriter and P&P regular pens and performs a music parody…

But progress hangs in the balance. History is never inevitable. — I got the shock of my life driving down a back-country road last week near the conservative, Trump-country Michigan village where I live. How conservative? I see red MAGA hats every day. …

Pride 2023 DEFIES White Supremacists, Christian Nationalists — Hey, guys! Pride starts tomorrow, and Prism & Pen is looking for YOUR stories. Let’s make Pride really shine on Medium and all over social media where P&P has a presence. We sent a Pride prompt yesterday, but have had technical difficulties getting it to people. So, I’m trying again…

A Prism & Pen writers prompt — “Watch them!” shouted Lenny, pointing at a group of marchers a block down the parade route. “Look what the cops do!” he growled to me and to all the queer folks packed around us to take in the 1990 New York City LGBT Pride March. Lenny glared at a cop…

Prism & Pen Digest, link redirect — Dear P&P readers, we’re still having trouble with our weekly newsletter, so I’m removing tags from the main email to this separate story with a link. To read this week’s Prism & Pen newsletter with brief summaries of our stories, please click here. Protest, Unity, Caution, and Joy. It’s Pride 2023 at Prism & Pen! Prism & Pen Weekly — June 4, 2023medium.com Esther Spurrill-Jones, Fred Shirley, neil chapman, David…

Prism & Pen Weekly — May 28, 2023 — by James Finn An ongoing global backlash against LGBTQ equality looks set to crash over Pride festivals this year, perhaps especially in the U.S. with groups like the Proud Boys coordinating violent plans on social media. As the backlash swells, Prism & Pen writers share their thoughts on queer resilience. …