The 2027 Dykewriters, Southeast Lesbian Writers Conference, will meet in south Georgia, April 14-18. Registration for this intimate gathering covers workshops, readings, variety show, 3 meals a day, snacks and if desired, bunk space in primitive cabins. Registration fee is $250, more if you can, less if you can’t. Limited space is available for women with special needs. All lesbian writers, from beginners to published authors, are welcome.
To attend the conference you must be a member of Dykewriters.
We were lucky in our timing! South Georgia has wildfires now. As of May, a fire and burn ban is currently in effect throughout the park. No open flames, campfires, or burning of any kind is permitted. The lake is closed to all non-emergency personnel. Lake water is being used to support firefighting efforts in response to nearby wildfires. No boats, kayaks, canoes, or swimming are permitted until further notice.
Dykewriters from eight states gathered in south Georgia for four days of writing, reading, workshops, and socializing. They came from as far as Massachusetts, Missouri, and Indiana, and as close as Atlanta and north central Florida, with Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana in the mix. Held in a nature setting, the gathering allowed lesbians to disconnect from the chaos of global politics and connect to ourselves and each other to focus on our writing skills. There was plenty of room and time to share our readings, take a walk through the goddess grove, play croquet under shady trees, and participate in quiet discussions after hours.
A highlight was the variety show after Friday night readings. We had songs (with and without audience cue cards) and a magic show, but we missed Gail’s standup comedy routine. Maybe next year?
Each workshop member wrote a line on a slip of paper, to be combined into a poem, a cento.
In Monica’s poetry workshop, we all contributed phrases to be woven into a cento. A cento is a poem in which each group member contributes a line. The line could come from anywhere–from your heart to a billboard. Initially we lined up the lines randomly and read it aloud. After Monica got home, she rearranged the lines using every line she was given, but letting them blend into each other in a few cases. The workshop we did this in was called National Lesbian Poetry Month, and she wanted to encourage fellow dykewriters as they returned home to join her in taking any literary material that members of the dominant culture distribute and then make them our own. Here is the final product:
A cento from some dykewriters
The woman with steady eyes and hands ripped her own face off slouching toward Bethlehem Her desperation, increasing with spinning darkness of ocean depths, was not the result of a murder or the brilliance of the stars in this dark place hot enuf to poach an egg in my cooch
This–The ecology of the situation–too shall pass
It was a move to emancipate herself from mental slavery A prompt is a swift kick in the ass to change your focus No one told us we would have to study our lives No more weapons of War! To write wise, drink in the dreg and spit it back out, moist and flavorful
Not a word for the flowers that could take me from you for the ages of a day?
Dykewriters 