This week I talked with award winning poet Eileen Myles (they/them) about their work & appearance in the new documentary “Queer Genius” distributed by Frameline. Eileen Myles came to NYC from Boston in 1974 to be a poet. Their books include “I Must Be Living Twice: New & Selected Poems” & “Chelsea Girls”. Myles is the recipient of 4 Lambda Literary Awards & was honored with Lambda’s Pioneer Award in 2016. Eileen also received a Guggenheim Fellowship & in 2021 was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts & Letters. “Queer Genius” is directed by award winning filmmaker Chet Pancake who chronicles five visionary queer artists including the late iconic lesbian filmmaker & producer Barbara Hammer, performance artist & actor Jibz Cameron, Black Quantum Futurism (Rasheedah Phillips & Camae Ayewa A.K.A. Moor Mother, literary & artistic creatives) & Myles who unapologetically break down barriers in their creative fields outside of mainstream culture. These intimate portraits resonate across generations as critically acclaimed & notoriously radical queer artists who have overcome personal & political obstacles to find new ways to live & share their visionary creative practices. In the lens of queer women & our LGBTQ culture the film confronts fame, failure, censorship, family, gender & sexuality. The documentary explores each artist’s “Genius” sharing their thought process, creativity & experiences as expressed through their art & embraces communal possibilities of “Genius” from a queer & generational perspective. “Queer Genius” won the Boundary Breaker Award at Buffalo International Film Festival (2020) & the Audience Award-Best Picture at Q-Fest Houston (2020) & is currently available virtually at San Francisco’s Roxie Theatre nationwide. I talked to Eileen about their involvement with “Queer Genius” & spin on our LGBTQ issues. LISTEN:
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