Evan Tepest and Duygu Ağal take an artistic approach to Joan Nestle’s texts. They approach the author, activist and archivist through dialog and explore the significance of her work for contemporary issues in the form of readings and discussions. Afterwards, there will be an opportunity for discussion and get-togethers over drinks in the bar of the Schwules Museum.
“Desire and Resistance” by Joan Nestle is a powerful collection of essays and short stories that was first published in German translation in 2024. As a lesbian-queer Jewish fem from the US working class, Nestle offers a penetrating look at sex, community, gender, intersectionality, left-wing resistance and queer history. The anthology covers her political struggles since the 1950s, from the civil rights movement to lesbian-feminist alliances. Nestle’s explicit depiction of queer sexuality was both groundbreaking and controversial in the 1980s and has lost none of its empowering effect since then. The book is a contemporary testimony that brings queer history to life and at the same time remains highly topical.
Tickets (8 euros) are available via Eventbrite, not via the Schwules Museum.
Contact person Events
lea@etece.de
etece book UG
(limited liability)
Chausseestr. 86
10115 Berlin
www.etece.de
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Evan Tepest is an author. His novel “Write Your Mother’s Name” was published in 2024 and the essay collection “Power Bottom” in 2023 (März Verlag). In addition to his work as a writer, Tepest develops
performance works with a focus on queer and trans history, most recently “Das klingt alles nach Himmel für mich” (HAU Berlin, with Duygu Ağal) and “Vorleser*innen” (Westfälischer Kunstverein Münster, with Alex Mounji). He is a columnist for Missy Magazine and currently teaches essay writing at the German Literature Institute in Leipzig.
Duygu Ağal is an author and moderator. Ağal made her literary debut in 2022 with “Yeni Yeserenler” (Korbinian Verlag). Ağal also writes song lyrics in collaboration with the band Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek. Ağal moderates in various contexts, most recently at re:publica, She Said Buchladen and Literaturhaus Berlin. Together with Ricarda Hillermann, he*she moderated the sports studio “SAINT FLESH” in the Red Salon of the Volksbühne Berlin and is currently working on his*her theater debut in collaboration with the Schauspielhaus Düsseldorf.
“Desire and Resistance” by Joan Nestle was edited by Lara Ledwa and published by etece buch.
The event will be held in German and is supported by the Schwules Museum, Queer History Month and the Magnus Hirschfeld Federal Foundation.
Information on barriers and accessibility here.