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The archive

Everything laid out from beginning to end, but not necessarily in that order

Poetry, publishing, and life two decades in the making

contact sheet
Contact sheet of luke kurtis author photos by Carl Sturmer, shot for the original like an angel dead in your arms release in 2000

Twenty years ago this month, I published my first book, like an angel dead in your arms. It was a flawed collection. And really, what else could it be? I wrote much of it while I was still in high school. The book’s imperfection and immaturity are why I distanced myself from it over the years. But a few years back, when I realized the twentieth anniversary was coming up, I challenged myself to reconsider it. When I re-read it, I found, certain shortcomings aside, it was a pretty solid piece of work with strong conceptual underpinnings. I managed to pull together a pile of words that simultaneously shared my experiences as a young gay person rejected by his family and the ensuing struggles with identity, self-worth, romance, and religion, and combined it all with a poetic sense of imagination.

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We are masked artists and poets in quarantine and solidarity

I reached out to the artists and poets I’ve published to see how everybody is doing during the pandemic. Some of us are creating, some of us are crying, and some of us (most of us?) are somewhere in between, depending on the day. The state of the world is a lot to process. But we are here. We are well. We are wearing masks. We are hunkering down and taking the situation seriously. I thought it would be fun to share photos of us all masked-up, socially distanced, and going about our days. Here we are, the masked artists & poets of bd-studios.com

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Photography helps bridge the social distancing divide

Rodger Kingston and his wife Carolyn are sheltering in place. “We’re doing well here,” he told me. “We’ve got systems arranged for such things as grocery shopping, going to the pharmacy, post office, bank, etc.” The Kingstons, both in their late 70s, take social distancing very seriously whether running errands or taking walks around their neighborhood in Belmont, Massachusetts. “We feel as if we had targets on our backs and are being very careful,” he said.

Rodger has been a photographer for over four decades. Throughout those years, he’s worked on numerous documentary projects. Given the nature of the coronavirus pandemic—and his need to be extremely vigilant due to his age and health status—he is not able to document what’s happening on the front lines of this war the way he once might have. But those now-systematic errand runs and socially-distanced neighborhood walks allow him to focus his lens in a more personal way.

“In many ways this is a strange project,” he says, “What there is for me to document is the quiet, almost silent restructuring of our world.”

Specialty Selections, Star Market, Cambridge, MA March 2020
Specialty Selections, Star Market, Cambridge, MA March 2020
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Poetry and public art in (not only) a time of pandemic

free poetry by Dudgrick Bevins
free poetry by Dudgrick Bevins

When I messaged fellow poet Dudgrick Bevins the other day, I told him I’ve been finding it difficult to move forward creatively during the coronavirus pandemic. I’ve been at home in lockdown mode for over a month and can count on one hand the number of times I’ve gone outside. You’d think that means I’m holed up, head down, writing poetry, and doing all the creative things I usually do. I’ve been doing a bit of that, yes. But, mostly, I’ve been at a standstill.

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Industrial Shadow

This shadow of infernal
machinery plastered against
brownish yellow brickwork
invokes the human silhouettes
burnt into sidewalks and walls
at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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On pride, protest, and finding home 🏳️‍🌈

A row of rainbow pride flags line a black iron fence along a brick sidewalk, with people walking under leafy green trees on a sunny day in an urban setting.
Photo by luke kurtis

This weekend we celebrate Pride here in New York. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how vital Pride is because I live just steps away from Stonewall, the epicenter of where the gay rights movement began. It’s not because I’m unaware of the persecution against LGBTQ+ folks—I’ve lived through my share of hardships because of my sexual identity. But amid the comings and goings of everyday life, it’s sometimes too easy to become comfortable.

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Dudgrick Bevins on fear, family, and finding his spirit animal 😱👨‍👩‍👦🦌

I sat down with Dudgrick Bevins to discuss his debut full-length poetry collection, Route 4, Box 358. Struck by the way he explored his relationship with home, family and—ultimately—himself, I wanted to understand the stories behind the stories and what motivated Bevins to reveal the stories he did.

Dudgrick Bevins, bd Artists, bd Publication, book
Route 4, Box 358 by Dudgrick Bevins
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Dudgrick Bevins poetry and photography roundup!

Last year we published the debut full-length collection by Dudgrick Bevins, Route 4, Box 358 as a followup to his 2017 chapbook with luke kurtis, Georgia Dusk. He also released a chapbook titled My Feelings are Imaginary People Who Fight for My Attention (The Poet’s Haven) as well as a few other poems (and photos) in various literary journals. Check them out here!

Be sure to keep an eye out for more from Dudgrick in the future. We expect this is not the last you will hear from him.

Poetry as protest and expression of pride 🌈

During the 2016 US Presidential Elections, I began to write more and more poems in reaction to current events. Before long I realized I had enough poems to make up a chapbook-length collection, and that’s what I thought it would be. But as time went on, I continued to write. I ended up with a collection of 40 poems, which I call exam(i)nation.

People often say politics aren’t personal. But that’s actually not true. What goes on in the political sphere affects me very directly as a queer person, just as it does for women, people of color, immigrants, and all the other groups of people under attack by conservative politics. It can’t be anything but personal when our lives are at stake.

exam(i)nation is both a protest and expression of pride. I hope you will be curious to learn about my experiences.

A story-in-poems about growing up gay in rural Appalachia

We couldn’t be more excited about the publication of the debut full-length poetry collection by Dudgrick Bevins. Route 4, Box 358 is a powerful first collection by any standard. Though you got a taste of Dudgrick’s Georgia roots in the Georgia Dusk chapbook, Route 4 delves much deeper into the poet’s past. Here’s a preview of the original photography also included in the book! Be sure to pick up your copy.

Announcing Here Nor There by Sam Rosenthal

bd-studios.com is pleased to announce our latest book, Here Nor There by Sam Rosenthal. Here Nor There presents the artists’ recent body of work of the same name which explores the confluence of conceptual photography, Internet technology, and queer identity. The book will be available at a book launch event at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division on 21 September at 7 PM. Rosenthal will also present a talk about his work followed by a brief Q&A session. Copies of the book will be available at the event or you can order online.