The Massachusetts Poetry Festival 2016

The freedom to define what gender means has expanded greatly over the past century, with fashion, feminism and LGBTQ liberation each opening new doors. Psychology recognizes that gender identity is not always guided by appearance, while surgical procedures and hormonal therapies allow those of us who make that choice to express our gender identities in physical terms. How do poets explore and reveal gender in these changing times? Can imaginative use of poetic tropes help us as individuals and as a society better understand masculine and feminine, and their every combination, even as each generation redefines these terms? Four gender nonconforming poets (CA Conrad, Joy Ladin, Steven Riel, Pilar Quintana) will read from their works as they discuss how poetry interprets otherness, revealing the individual behind outward appearances and actions, allowing for understanding and acceptance, and enabling us to define who we are for others, and for ourselves.