Creating Spaces

Pain penetrates
me drop
by drop

~Sappho~


Another week has flown by in Sappho. The Queer conference date is inching closer and the abstracts have come in. While reading through some of them, i was surprised how the many facets of being queer or living queer can be expressed. It was surprising to read about issues like court cases where the wife has been accused of adultery with another woman, or recent queer discussions in the literary circle. India has produced one of its very first queer graphic novel in Amruta Patil's Kari.

The conference which is scheduled to take place on 10th and 11th April is being organised on a grand scale. H L Roy auditorium in Jadavpur University has already been booked for the occasion and now arrangements are being made to fix accommodation and transport for the outstation speakers and the chairpersons. Work is on full swing at Sappho with the conference. What is unique about the conference is also the fact that all the speakers will be from the age range 18-28. This was to ensure that we could look and discuss recent queer theory and development through the eyes of the youth. The old age theorisations suddenly seem to have fallen from grace with the rapid globalization and the growing want to create a new identity that does not ape the West or look back at the medieval course. As such the papers and the speakers chosen will be those who can give shape to the creation of this Indian queer identity and in breaking the silent monolith of MSM and WSW.

P.S: SAPPHO is putting up a play tomorrow at The School of Womens Studies at JU on the occasion of International Woman's Day. (Its being celebrated on 20th of March instead of 8th March due to certain logistical and arrangement issues)

P.P.S: People who are interested to attend the Queer conference on single/both the days are requested to start registering with me at sapphoqueerconference@gmail.com . This will help us to keep count of the anticipated number of people who might turn up and will ensure there is sufficient lunch and snacks for all the participants and attendees.