I had the pleasure and honor to attend a performance last night by E Patrick Johnson from his forthcoming book, Pouring Tea: Black Gay Men of the South Tell Their Tales. "Pouring tea" in black gay southern circles is an expression for dishing gossip, and his performance strings together several narratives from black gay men in the South that he collected between 2004 and 2006. The men he interviewed were between the ages of 19 and 93 and from fifteen different states. I was homesick for most of the performance, with several of his guys hailing from or mentioning North Carolina!

The eight narratives, each built around a core theme ("Religion," "Being Transgendered," "Being Gay in the South," "Coming Out," "Sex," "Coming of Age in the 1920s and 30s," "Masculinity and Peer Pressure," and "Being a Southern Diva"), began first with a short audio clip directly from Johnson's interview with them. He would then perform -- word for word (including "ums" and "ahs"), we're told -- a segment of that interview. It was gorgeous! What complicated and fabulously intriguing stories were told.

I was struck by the resiliency in the narratives he performed, and so at the reception following the event I asked him about just that. He said that he had interviewed some 70 guys (I can't recall the exact number), and that resiliency was not a theme consistent accross all the narratives -- but that those were the stories that he wanted to perform. And it paid off!

The book is forthcoming. You must find it and a purchase it when it comes out!!! He'll be launching the book at UNC Chapel Hill. Sigh. Wish I could be there.