Dear Loverbois,
Have you experienced a queer love that is out of this world? A connection that is extraordinary, perhaps even extraterrestrial? Join our orbit on the afternoon of Saturday, February 14, and share your otherworldly love at Sonnets for Loverbois Volume 4: A Queer Poetry Open Mic.
Artists, poets, aliens, lovers, and queers of all cosmos are invited to land your love ships at Boston City Hall Plaza and find us inside the Civic Pavilion on Valentine’s Day from 4–6pm for this stellar affair. Sign up to share poetry, writing, or lyrics about the queer loves that make up your universe at this open mic evening. At a time when LGBTQ+ communities are being encroached upon by the dark matter of this Earthly plane, coming together to celebrate queerness and transcendental love is sure to be a celestial experience!
This program is free and open to all loverbois, but please RSVP to ensure there is room for all voyagers. This event will sell out!
Community Guidelines:
— Reading is open to all on a sign-up, first-come basis. BIPOC voices, or those of folks from groups that have been historically marginalized and underrepresented, will be uplifted and at the forefront.
— You don’t have to read! Guests, dates, secret crushes, polycules, and more are encouraged to attend
— This space is LGBTQ friendly. Love knows no bounds…unless you’re into that. (No kink-shaming!)
— Marginalizing and oppressive language is not ok. This means any language that is racist, transphobic, homophobic, sexist, ableist (including language that stigmatizes those navigating mental illness), sizeist, ageist, classist, victim-blaming or slut-shaming that is directed toward a specific person or group is unacceptable.
— Respect the mic & respect the space. Readers are asked to take no longer than 3–5 minutes on the mic to ensure others have time to read, and all are expected to be supportive of one another during readings. The crowd creates the vibe!
Boston’s annual queer open mic is lovingly hosted by Boston Art Review and co-curated by Jasper A. Sanchez and MC Julissa Emile. This event was made possible with support from the Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture and sponsorship by Mobius Artists Group.
About Our Featured Loverbois
Julissa Emile (known affectionately as juju) is a transplant and chaos baby from the United States Virgin Islands. Their writing focuses on the intersections of blackness, softness and “if that were a garden, what kind of magic would grow from it”. They served as the FEMS slammaster from 2018-2020, and have been featured in Button Poetry, Teen Vogue, BET, and Buzzfeed. All of their passions are an extension of their love of poem. With skills in Tarot, herbalism, and event planning, Julissa Emile is a poet of many shapes.
Jasper A. Sanchez (he | they), a Venezuelan-Colombian raised in Miami, is a curator and cultural organizer based in Boston. Their contemporary curatorial practice melds queer diasporas and reimagines public space to achieve creative justice, uplifting artists and making their work accessible. As Assistant Curator for the Boston Public Art Triennial, they produce large-scale, temporary, and site-responsive public art experiences with the mission to make Boston a more open, equitable, and vibrant city for all. Sanchez has curated with the Boston LGBTQIA+ Artist Alliance (BLAA), Boston Cyberarts, Boston Center for the Arts, Tufts University Art Galleries, City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture, and Boston Art Review; their exhibitions have been reviewed in The Boston Globe and WBUR. He is also a member of Mobius Artists Group and the inaugural Collective Futures Fund Advisory Council.
