No 145 Spring 2011 $9.95RFD is often a place to be retrospec- tive, reflective of the past and considering our experi- ences but the Summer issue is all about exploring “what’s next” in our movement. As the modern gay movement pushed well into it’s forties (looking fine by the way!), how are we looking to the fu- ture generation of gay people. How are we handling issues of young people within the GLBT community and how is the gay movement viewed by the queer youth of today? If you’d like to focus your submission on how this related to the Radical Faerie movement that’s fine but we’re hoping for the larger view. But of course the personal is always political so speak from the “commu- nity” which most reflects on your experience. W e’d especially like to hear how Generation Q reflects the diversity of the queer community–so reach into topics beyond just “gay men” like leather, the bear culture, the lesbian com- munity, people living with HIV, the gay drug culture, gay literati, transfolk, porn–you name it but focus on the positive and think in terms of community building. And lastly how does a vibrant community and culture made up of young and old, gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans- gendered people create a last- ing impact on our immediate community but also look beyond it. As always we’d love to see your artwork and photo- graphs gracing the pages of RFD. So please consider sending in work which re- flects on this theme. S ubmissions can be sent to submissions@rfdmag.org with Summer 2011 in the subject line. Please include within your document or email the title of your piece, your name as you would like it to appear in RFD as well as your mailing address so we can send you a contribu- tor copy of the issue. The deadline for this issue is April 25, 2011. Artwork & photos should be scanned at least 300 dpi. Color is great! Art and photos should be emailed to submis- sions@rfdmag.org. NEXT GEN “Rinkle Free Darlings” : Summer 2011 Teaser / Call for Submissions Call for Submissions Issue 146 Summer 2011 RFD 145 Spring 2011 1 Retooled Four-color Digest Vol 37 No 3 #145 Spring 2011 Every winter we dream of warmer days and with most of the United States covered in snow and ice this season, we at RFD can’t wait for the flowers to bloom, our calendar to free up some social time after a long wintry solitude. We asked a number of sanctuaries, faerie communities and our like minded brethren to send in news about upcoming gatherings and to also let us know how life has been going in their neck of the woods. Close to half of the sanc- tuaries and gathering sites responded and we’re thrilled to share with our readers their plans, dreams and plans for the gathering season. Our call for spring renewal brought in a bouquet of poems from our readers and we hope you enjoy the variety and color of each of them. In a bit of hearkening back we are pleased to print an article from Clear about early Running Water gathering times. It’s a pleasure to print the article and we’re sorry it didn’t make it into the issue dedicated to Running Water and Louisiana Sissies in Struggle (#142). Marc has written a moving piece about how to move on after a relation- ship changes. It seems appropriate to consider all the changes we face as the wheel of life turns. The RFD Collective is excited that Mark Thompson’s book, The Fire in the Moonlight, is coming out. We interview him and publisher, Bo Young, about this seminal collection of writings about Radical Faerie culture written by many of the readers to RFD. We’re also pleased to present our first issue in full color—and in a more in- timate format, the same size as the original RFD of the mid-1970s. With this format, we’re able to run more pages and highlight some amazing artists and their work and to show off our readers’ contributions as well candid photos from gatherings past. We hope you enjoy this issue in all it’s variety and spring colors. —The Spring pansies of the RFD Collective The Spring Issue Between the Lines2 RFD 145 Spring 2011 Artists in this Issue Adrian Chesser & Timothy White Eagle . . .22, 24, 61 Arkanjil / Trey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Bob Maidel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Chris Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44, 54, 55, 59 Clear Engelbert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Devin Mohr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18, 26, 36 Hoot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63, 64 Hummingbird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16, 30, 31 Lady Bartlett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-9 Mid West Men’s Fest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Peat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2, 15 Shokti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,6 Stitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 - 6 Teddy Bear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Todd Yeager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32, 35 Walt Cessna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34-35 Yusef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 ZMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-11 Artist Links RFD appreciates the following artists whose work appears in this issue: Adrian Chesser & Timothy White Eagle: www.adrianchesser.com Devin Mohr www.devinmohr.com Chris Day www.chrisdayart.com Walt Cessna www.waltcessna.blogspot.com Bob Maidel www.primaldad.com Hummingbird www.flickr.com/photos/hummingbird-dreams Todd Yeager www.yeagermuseum.com RFD is a reader written journal for gay people which focuses on country living and encourages alternative lifestyles. We foster community building and network- ing, explore the diverse expressions of our sexuality, care for the environment, radical faerie consciousness, nature-centered spirituality, and share experiences of our lives. RFD is produced by volunteers. We welcome your participation. The business and general production are coordinated by a collective. Features and entire issues are prepared by different groups in various places. RFD (ISSN# 0149-709X) is published quarterly for $25 a year by RFD Press, P.O. Box 302, Hadley MA 01035-0302. Postmaster: Send address changes to RFD, P.O. Box 302, Hadley MA 01035-0302 Non-profit tax exempt #62- 1723644, a function of RFD Press with office of registra- tion at 231 Ten Penny Rd., Woodbury, TN 37190. RFD Cover Price: $9.95. A regular subscription is the least expensive way to receive it four times a year. Copyright © 2011 RFD Press. The records required by Title 18 U.S.D. Section 2257 and associated with respect to this magazine (and all graphic material associated therewith on which this label appears) are kept by the custodian of records at the following location: RFD Press, 85 N Main St, Ste 200, White River Junction, VT 05001. Mail for our Brothers Behind Bars project should be sent to P.O. Box 68, Liberty TN 37095. On the Covers Front Cover : Mark Hufstetler Back Cover: Devin Mohr Inside Front Cover: Courtesy NASA Inside Back Cover: Courtesy Walt Whitman Archive Production Bambi Gauthier, Editor in Chief Matt Bucy, Design & Typography Eric Linton, Editor Paul Wirhun, Editor Jason Schneider, Editor Myrlin, Prison Pages Editor Photo by Peat RFD 145 Spring 2011 3 Letters & Announcements ....................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Gathering News Folleterre .....................................Shokti ..........................6 British Columbia ..............................Stitch ...........................7 Terschelling ...................................LoveHändel .....................9 Zuni Mountain ...............................Tiny Bear ......................10 Philadelphia Faeries ............................Lady Bartlett ...................12 Faerie Camp Destiny ...........................Daisy, Shasta & Wave ............15 Midwest Men’s Festival .........................David Lauritzen .................18 Stories & Articles The First Gathering ............................Clear Englebert .................21 Cowboy Love is Just a State of Mind .............Marc Matheson .................25 Interview in the Moonlight: A Conversation with Mark Thompson and Bo Young ..............................Bambi .........................45 Radical Nomad ................................Nomi ..........................49 Spring Fling ...................................Wow ..........................51 Poetry & Art Beltane ........................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 The Sphinx is Good in Bed .....................Marvin Hiemstra ................28 Toward Two-Mile Hollow ......................David Townsend ................29 Potage .......................................Christopher Barnes .............32 Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, 2007 ..................Steve Schwartzberg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 “The Shapes Arise!” ...........................Walt Whitman ..................35 Spring Is ......................................Wow ..........................40 To the Unknown Person Sitting Next to Me on the Beach .......................Brian Cronwell .................41 Photography ..................................Devin Mohr ....................36 Paintings and Drawings ........................Bob Maidel .....................42 Paintings .....................................Chris Day ...................55, 59 Papa-oom-mow-mow ..........................Christopher Barnes .............55 Remembrances Sheikh Jamshed Ken Storer & Me ...............Rosemary for Remembrance. . . . . . 56 Rev. Sheikh Jamshed Kenneth Mark Storer .......Yusuf ..........................60 Hummingbird .................................Teddy Bear .....................62 Hiaka ........................................Hoot ..........................63 Prison Pages ..................................Myrlin .........................66 CONTENTS4 RFD 145 Spring 2011 LETTERS & ANNOUNCEMENTS Dory Previn: A Diva to Inspire Overcoming My partner and I purchase RFD irregularly, but I had to buy this one because of the short article on Dory Previn. I was introduced to Dory Previn by my mother and I immediately fell in love with her music and her message. I was a young kid when I first heard her music in the early seventies, mostly from the albums “Reflections in Mud Puddle” and “On My Way to Where”. Her music, because it lacked any sort of pop sensibility, never garnered the wide spread appeal that it deserved, but I have never heard truer lyrics in my life and it has helped sustain me during the low times of life (including my mother’s death from cancer when I was fourteen and could have used more than any other time in my life). I cannot tell you how gratified I am to find another queer devotee to Dory Previn out there. She is a true Diva, and without knowing it I have always held her in that esteem. Patrick M. Dacey St. Helens, OR Daffodil Meadow Contemplation Center I look back at how my journey has unfolded, each step giving rise to the next. Embedded in whatever way I may have stumbled is perfect order. This land has called me home to continue my work as a space holder for the unfolding of your perfect order. I have spent the last three years getting to know this land and who I am on it. People have come here through- out this time for healing. Whether people have come for an hour or years, they have all felt the sup- port and magic this land offers. I believe it is time to open the space in a more focused way. Creating Daffodil Meadow Contemplation Center is the next step of the journey. So here I am living on 56 acres of incredible beauty in a thriving community of homesteaders, artists and craftspeople. Daffodil Meadow is on Short Mountain in Middle Tennessee. Short Mountain is the headwaters for three different watersheds and is the highest point between the Ozark and Ap- palachian Mountains. Life at the Meadow is deeply rooted in the land. There are no modern convenienc- es. Solar power, a water system and a bathhouse are in the works. But for the most part it is a place where life can be experienced first-hand, a place where a connection to the natural world can be deeply explored. The Meadow for me has put a call out to people for the purpose of this deepening connection to our most natural self. I am in service to that call. I don’t know what will happen. I just know this is the next step. I realize that what happens next depends on the people that come. So I offer Daffodil Meadow and myself as support in your journey of becoming. Co-creating Space for Love’s Most Bold and Beautiful Expression Retreats When thinking about retreats to offer, I went to the vision statement for the land, “Co-creating Space for Love’s Most Bold and Beautiful Expres- sion.” I have come to see the land and my work here as an example of love’s most bold and beautiful expression and use it as a guiding principle. The weekend retreat focuses on moving through our next layer to more clearly embody our next expres- sion of our most bold and beautiful self. Drawing on the power and healing energy of the land, we will explore the next layer of what is to be released. Through ritual, we will release what no longer serves and embody the next. The experience will include time spent alone as well as in community. The retreats begin on Friday afternoon and end on Sunday afternoon. Camping space is available as well as space for special needs. Food will be pro- vided and cooking is done communally. A suggested donation to the weekend is $300, more if you can and less if you can’t. Retreat Dates for 2011 March 25-27, April 22-24, May 20-22, June 3-5, July 15-17, Aug. 12-14, Sept. 16-18, Oct. 21-23. Personal Retreats In addition to the weekend retreats I am also offering individual retreats for those wishing to take time on their own to explore. The individual retreats can be personalized to meet the needs of each per- son. The suggested donation is $100 a day, more if you can, less if you can’t. Daffodil Festival March 13. Cob building workshop June 8-16. See barefoot- builder.com for details. For more information, visit our website at daffodil- center.com or to schedule a retreat call 615-653-9182. With peace and love, Mati Karol RFD 145 Spring 2011 5 Amber Fox McDonald’s Corners, Ontario, Canada akaamberfox.blogspot.com Breitenbush (Cascadia Radical Faerie Resource) www.radfae.org/breitenbush Edward Carpenter Community BM ECC London WC1N 3XX United Kingdom contactecc@edwardcarpentercommunity.org.uk www.edwardcarpentercommunity.org Faerie Camp Destiny P.O. Box 517 Chester, VT 04143-0517 info@faeriecampdestiny.org www.faeriecampdestiny.org Faeryland P O Box 495 Nimbin, N.S.W. 2480 02 6689 7070 ozfaeries@yahoo.com www.ozfaeries.com Folleterre Ternuay-Melay-et-Saint-Hilaire France info@folleterre.org www.folleterre.org Gay Spirit Visions P.O. Box 339 Decatur, GA 30031-0339 info@gayspiritvisions.org www.gayspiritvisions.org IDA 904 Vickers Hollow Rd Dowelltown, TN 37059 615-597-4409 idapalooza@gmail.com www.planetida.com Kawashaway Sanctuary P.O. Box 581194 Minneapolis, MN 55458 www.kawashaway.org Midwest Men’s Festival http://www.midwestmensfestival.com/ Nomenus (Wolf Creek Sancturary) Wolf Creek Sanctuary P.O. Box 312 Wolf Creek, OR 97497 541-866-2678 nomenus@hughes.net www.nomenus.org Santa Cruz Radical Faeries www.santacruzradicalfaeries.com Short Mountain Sanctuary 247 Sanctuary Lane Liberty, TN 37095 615-563-4397 Messages only Starland Yucca Valley CA www.starlandcommunity.org Zuni Mountain Sanctuary P.O. Box 636 Ramah, NM 87321 505-783-4002 zunimtn@wildblue.net www.zms.org Corrections? Send them to submissions@rfdmag.org with “corrections” in the subject. Announcements can be sent to the same address. Please be sure to list “an- nouncement” in the subject line! GAYLA Men’s Conference July 16-23, 2011 Ferry Beach Conf. Center (UUA) Saco, Maine Now in its 33rd year, GAYLA is a week of fellow- ship, fun, and intentional community among Gay and Bi men at Ferry Beach, a Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations-affiliated retreat center on the southern coast of Maine at Saco. This year’s theme is “Our Stories” and GAYLA activities (all op- tional) include a.m. workshops, outdoor chapel (led by a Gay Minster of the Week), afternoon Check-in Circles, sundown Friendship Circle, Free-Time slots, and different events each evening, including a Movie Night and the Talent-No-Talent Show. Each GAYLA brother chooses level of activity or inactivity: Do as much or as little as desired or just enjoy the beach! Lodging and meals included. See www.gayla.org. Sanctuaries and Faerie Friendly Organizations6 RFD 145 Spring 2011 16 April–1 May COMMUNITY WEEKS . During these weeks, we will focus on the renovation of the floor above the bathroom we are building. 9–13 May GARDEN WEEK. Gardening and open- ing the house to make it ready for Beltane 13–20 May BELTANE BRIGHT FIRE GATHER- ING. Held at the Beltane full moon, offering light nights on the faerie prairie 2–7 July ELDER GATHERING 11–22 July TERSCHELLING XIII Gathering on the island Terschelling, Netherlands... original home of the Eurofaerie gatherings.... details at www.eurofaerie.eu) 22–29 July COMMUNITY WEEK . Preparation for the annual Great Faerie Circle 30–31 July GREAT FAERIE CIRCLE . Our annual circle of the members of Folleterre, covering business, projects and faerie spirit 1–11 August LAMMAS LOVEMAGIC SUM- MERFEST . Fires, feasts, heart circles, tantra, shamanism, sunshine...nature! 15–21 August QUIET GATHERING . A week to relax and arrive in the Here and Now in the beautiful nature of Folleterre with meditations, yoga, sweat lodges, heart circles, long nature walks and good food 22–28 August ARTS AND CRAFTS GATHER- ING . Around 21 September EQUINOX GATHERING 14–22 October LUMBERJANE’S GATHERING Full details at www.folleterre.org —Shokti Lovestar Folleterre France F olleterre, now into our sixth year of existence, is the sanctuary of faeries in Europe. We are visited by many from all over the world. Fol- leterre is situated in the Vosges mountains in the east of France, and can be reached easily by train from Paris or Basel in Switzerland. In the centre of western Europe, Folleterre is a meeting spot for faeries from many different backgrounds, and we don’t all speak the same (verbal) language, which raises the importance of exploring other means of communication. With no permanent residents, Folleterre is our escape to nature, a tribal home with open welcoming arms. Here the info on Folleterre gatherings 2011: read the calls and find contact emails at www.folleterre.org. Photographs courtesy of Folleterre Gathering News “We should have a gathering here, in B.C.” T his comment filled a brief silence at the closing of a Heart Circle. The group of men looked at the bold Faerie who seemed surprised as the rest of us at the words which had tumbled from his mouth. The idea settled in the room and the seed of that idea took root in the lovely area rug that all the chairs were circled around. The small group became imbued with possibility; why not create a Faerie Gathering in our own backyard again? This idea builds on a rich history of Faerie gatherings in British Columbia that dates back to 1993 when a group of Faes forged space on a Faerie’s farm out near Christina Lake in the South-eastern portion of the province, barely a stone’s throw from the American border. There were two consecutive gatherings at this location and they’ve been wonder- fully chronicled by Tiger Lily in the Winter 2009 issue ( No. 140) of the RFD. Faeries were instrumental in creating three gay men’s spiritual retreats in 1998, 1999 and 2000 on the Sunshine Coast north west of Vancouver. While they were not officially Faerie gatherings, they were organized by Darlene the Ambassador’s Wife, Sparkie Lamee and Luke Warm- water. Then in the middle of the past decade the Vancouver Green Body Gathering sprung to life through the diligence of Danzante, the Queen Registrar of the first of three urban gatherings. The VGBG was conceived on the concept of keeping Fae energy in the city by holding Faerie activities in urban spaces. Now it’s 2011 and the desire, dare say, need for a larger local gathering has been born. The yearly mini- gatherettes hosted on the Sunshine Coast and Salt Spring Island were successful and well attended, but both were unable to host a large number of Faeries. Luke Warmwater’s enthusiast suggestion at that fated Heart Circle was echoed by the community at large. I’ve had little experience at helping to organize Faerie gatherings and the overwhelming responsi- bility at concocting such a venture filled me with trepidation and fear. I’ve been fortunate to have helped our Faerie elder, Tulip, host successful, albeit, small gatherettes, as we were fond of calling them, at the Landing Place, his reclaimed parcel of land on the Sunshine Coast. Tulip and I were hesitant about our first gathering and started off small by inviting an intimate group to his home and land. As our confidence grew, so did the gatherings. I’m filled again with similar feelings of apprehension as my local community of Faeries put themselves out there for a much larger event. The first step toward our vision of a grander gathering would be to find a space that would ac- commodate the needs of the Faeries. It had to be private/semi-private and be forgiving and accept- ing of male nudity. If possible, it would be best to have meals prepared for us so we can focus on play, magic and more play. Being surrounded by nature, as we are in the Vancouver area, we have no short- age of green space, but finding an established locale British Columbia Faeries Canada Photographs courtesy of B.C. FaeriesNext >