GSWS Reads: QUIRK-e

Taken from the forward in Together We Stand * by Val Innes

The Queer Imaging and Riting Kollective for Elder (Quirk-e) in Vancouver, BC, is a collective of twenty-two queer (LGBTQAS+) artists. Most of us have have been political and cultural activists since the ‘60s and ‘70s and continue to advocate for justice and social change today. We lived through times when homosexuality and gender variance were defined first as crimes and then mental disorders. We started in the ‘closet’, hiding for fear of losing jobs, family and friends. When we ‘came out’ we were often subjected to rejection, discrimination, bullying and violence. Our histories and herstories as activists, artists, and writers reflect our lifelong struggles for dignity and human rights. We work in written and spoken word, in theatre, memoir, video, graphic arts and photographs.

* Get your copy of Together We Stand Online here or at People's Co-op Bookstore