Red Umbrella Diaries: "Family Affairs" December 2, 2010

Hosted by Audacia Ray
Happy Ending, 302 Broome Street between Forsyth and Eldridge, in New York City
Thursday, July 1. Doors at 7 pm, reading from 8-10
21 and up – FREE

15% of the bar tab supports the New York City vigil for the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers on December 17

Starring: Lily Burana, Tré Xavier, Katelan V. Foisy, Fiona Helmsley, and Sydney Seifert.

Lily Burana

Lily Burana is a punk rock girl turned writer and editor. Since starting her writing life as a columnist and editor at punk and alternative ‘zines, she has gone on to write for numerous publications including The Washington Post, GQ, The New York Times, Self, Glamour, Entertainment Weekly, Details, The Village Voice, Slate, Salon, and The New York Observer, and her reviews and cultural criticism have been picked up by magazines and newspapers around the world. She has been a Contributing Editor at SPIN and New York magazines. Her essays have been included in numerous anthologies.

Lily is the author of three books. Her first book, STRIP CITY: A Stripper’s Farewell Journey Across America (Miramax Books, 2001) made Best Book of the Year lists in Entertainment Weekly, Salon, New York Newsday, and Rocky Mountain News, and was selected as a Barnes and Noble Discover New Writers title. Strip City was also named in the Top Six “EW Picks” in Entertainment Weekly’s 2008 “So You Want to Write a Memoir” roundup, which featured a thousand recent memoirs. Her novel, TRY (St. Martins Press, 2006), an alt.Western romance, was lauded by Kirkus Reviews as “a touching winter-spring romance set amid full Western regalia.” Her third book, I LOVE A MAN IN UNIFORM: A Memoir of Love, War, and Other Battles (Weinstein Books, 2009) was called “a notable historical document” by the New York Times.

Tré Xavier is a predominantly gay bisexual entertainer and author who writes about sex, life & love in his blog, Tré’s X-Ray Vision. While he has retired from performing in studio-based gay porn, his continued exhibitionist displays online and telling of his sexual adventures and explorations for his blog maintains his being considered an adult entertainer.

During his time in the industry, Tré’s writing skills at creating vivid pictures and expressing valid points has led to him writing blog entries for Pitbull Production’s ThugPornBlog, and more recognizably, MOC Blog, which he still maintains being a contributing writer for. He has also had his opinions published in a book review for FlavaMen Magazine, and in the Feedback section of The Advocate. In the vein of his published words on MOC Blog and in The Advocate, he is an active and well-recognized voice for racial equality in gay adult entertainment by way of comments on various websites like Fleshbot, Gay Porn Times, and The Sword. And since retiring, Tré’s voice fighting for that racial equality continues to be heard by the aforementioned, and even more places now as he has spread to fighting for it in gay mainstream entertainment as well, including most recently the gay cable channel, LOGO. All this while he resurrects his skills as an actor, dancer, singer, artist, poet, and songwriter. Most of which can be found on his YouTube channel.

Katelan V. Foisy is a visual artist, pin-up model, writer, and tarot reader living in NYC. Her fine art pieces have been displayed at The Worcester Art Museum, Ohio History Museum, Mae West Fest, MODA, Museum of Contemporary Art DC, as well as the A&D gallery in London. Her illustrations have graced the pages of the Grammy Awards, Scholastic Books, as well as appearing on the stage of Ensemble Studio Theater. She is the art director for Constellation, an astrology-based arts magazine, and released her memoir Blood and Pudding earlier this year. www.katelanfoisy.com

Fiona Helmsley is a thirty-something momshell, navel-gazer and recovering fun slut. Her first book, There Are A Million Stories In The Naked City When You’re A Girl Who Gets Naked In The Naked City was released in June. A writer of creative non-fiction and poetry, her work can be found scattered about the print and online worlds while her irreverent fashion sense stays static at whatfionaworetoday.tumblr.com.

Sydney Seifert is a writer and photographer interested in youth led research, sexuality & social justice. Her masters thesis, “Beyond Risk: The evaded curriculum in sexuality education for marginally housed and homeless young women,” has helped shape and focus her lens through which she sees the power in education and knowledge. She has been a passionate photographer since the age of 14, continually documenting her life in New York City and Beyond.

She has a BA in Sociology from St. Lawrence University and her MA in Sexuality Studies from San Francisco State University. Currently she is working with queer youth in NYC, c0-creating and building a peer sex education program with 15 amazing youth interns.

Her photography has appeared in publications by the National Sexuality Resource Center and The Center for Sex and Culture and The Richard F. Brush Art Gallery. Her writing is published in $pread magazine and the San Francisco State University Library. She is interested in Photo Journalism & Art/Erotic Photography.

This Cuban/Greek sex geek lives in New York City with her Pound Pup, Henry Marie Elizabeth and is always on the look out for a new restaurant to try.

Official Website: http://www.redumbrellaproject.com/december-2-family-affairs/