Penguin Pride celebrates queer stories with intimate literature event
On Wednesday evening (20 July), Penguin Pride in association with GAY TIMES invited a selection of queer writers to discuss the stories that have most “changed and shaped” them to a beautifully intimate audience at Above the Stag in Vauxhall.
Broadcaster and Celebrity Masterchef champion Riyadh Khalaf hosted the event. Warming the crowd up with his charm, Riyadh recommended Alan Downs’ The Velvet Rage before introducing comedian and author of Cheer the F**K Up: How to Save Your Best Friend and creator of the hit autobiographical comedy Big Boys, Jack Rooke, who shared a hilariously candid original comedic poem about shame after lamenting his short-lived career as a spoken word artist.
Poet and lecturer Sean Hewitt then discussed the motivations behind his memoir All Down Darkness Wide, telling the audience that the book deals with topics of depression and growing up as a queer man.
Reflecting upon his own experience caring for a loved one with depression, Sean commented on the dearth of literature that approaches mental illness from the perspective of those indirectly affected.
