South Pasadena Library Marks Pride Month

To commemorate Pride Month this June, the South Pasadena Public Library has invited authors Chloe O. Davis and Maia Kobabe for virtual talks.

By News Desk

Maia Kobabe (e, em, eir), a nonbinary, queer author and artist, will join the South Pasadena Public Library on Wednesday, June 9th at 7:00 pm, for a virtual discussion on the importance of sharing queer stories, the value of honesty and vulnerability, and living authentically. Kobabe’s first full length book, Gender Queer: A Memoir, was published in May Physical copies of Gender Queer: A Memoir are available for checkout at the Library and digital copies are available through ComicsPlus with a South Pasadena card.

The event, appropriate for high school students through adults, will be held via Crowdcast at crowdcast.io/e/maiakobabe.

Chloe O. Davis, author of The Queens’ English: The LGBTQIA+ Dictionary of Lingo and Colloquial Phrases, will present a virtual talk titled “The Power of Language: Unpacking the Diversity and Intersectionality in LGBTQIA+ Culture” on Wednesday, June 23rd at 6:00 pm. Davis notes she will “discuss how language shapes culture, highlight the many diverse communities and intersectional identities that make our LGBTQIA+ community, guide conversations on the importance of empowering queer identity, help bring visibility and understanding to queerness, gayness, Blackness, and transness, and speak on the value of LGBTQIA+ visibility and resources.”

The event, appropriate for high school students through adults, will be held via Crowdcast at crowdcast.io/e/chloedavis.

Maia Kobabe

Kobabe’s short comics have been published by The Nib, The New Yorker online, and in many anthologies including The Secret Loves of Geek Girls, Faster Than Light Y’all, Gothic Tales of Haunted Love, Shout Out, Advanced Death Saves and Be Gay, Do Comics. Before setting out to work freelance full-time, e worked for over ten years in libraries. Eir work is heavily influenced by fairy tales, homesickness, and the search for identity. Prior to Kobabe’s visit, readers are welcome to join the Library’s Comic Book Club to discuss Gender Queer: A Memoir at the Thursday, June 3rd meeting at 7:00 p.m. The Comic Book Club meets online on the first Thursday of each month to discuss selected graphic novels and comics. It is intended for adult participants, as titles discussed may contain mature images and subjects. Although registration for the Comic Book Club is required, prior participation in the Comic Book Club is not required to attend Kobabe’s author talk.

Chloe O. Davis

Davis is a proud Black bisexual woman and debut author who works in the entertainment industry in New York. A graduate of Hampton University and Temple University, she has centered her creative platform on amplifying the narratives of Black culture and heightening the awareness of the LGBTQIA+ community. Davis’s work as a dancer, actor, and creative has allowed her to travel to all fifty states and internationally where she spent fifteen years researching, writing and creating The Queens’ English. She celebrates the etymological diversity of over eight hundred terms used to describe the collective gay and queer experience and believes The Queens’ English is a starting point for important conversations around inclusivity, sexuality, gender expression and identity. (The Queens’ English is currently available for checkout at the South Pasadena Public Library).

> Both programs are presented by the South Pasadena Public Library with generous support from the Friends of the South Pasadena Public Library.