Chennai Queer LitFest comes to Twitter Spaces, tune in

Queer Chennai Chronicles will be hosting this year's Chennai Queer LitFest on Twitter Spaces.

Queer Chennai Chronicles (@QCChronicles) - an organisation working towards the representation of the queer community in Tamil literature - has been hosting the Chennai Queer LitFest since 2018 to bring the community together for uninhibited discussions on writing, art and culture. This year, the Chennai Queer LitFest is coming to Twitter Spaces! 

Spaces let people come together to have live, audio conversations and has found wide reception among Tamil speaking audiences. The popularity of #TamilSpaces also inspired the launch of a dedicated emoji to support and encourage more conversations. Among these #TamilSpaces, the queer community in and around Chennai have found an open stage to share their unique experiences and stories, discuss interests that they’re passionate and care about, and find a collective voice in unison through #QueerTamilSpaces. After a successful virtual fest in 2020, #QLF2021 will now be an audio-only event hosted on Twitter Spaces - a platform that has become home to conversations from the Tamil queer community - between the 18th and 24th of September, 2021.

“The Chennai Queer LitFest is a place to discuss queer literature and come together to form a community to highlight queer writings and art. With this year’s audio-only edition of the Queer LitFest on Twitter Spaces, we’re excited to see how the new format benefits the community’s experience. #TamilSpaces and #QueerTamilSpaces have given the members a new platform to stay connected, especially during the tough times of the past year. It has been encouraging to see the community find a space where they can converse without inhibitions, and we’re hoping that Twitter Spaces continues to serve as a resourceful platform for our people.” - Moulee, Festival Director & Curator - Chennai Queer LitFest

The seven-day event is set with an exciting line-up of discussions on a range of themes - oral history of Tamil-speaking trans women, queer narratives in storytelling & filmmaking, inclusive media reporting, and more. These discussions will attempt to uncover how the queer community is represented in Tamil literature and culture, address gaps in this representation and rewrite the role of queer-folk in shaping literary culture.

Literature has always given space - around the world - to explore the hidden, the unsaid, and the inexpressible. It has allowed people to give voice to things that they were forced to hide, forced to feel shame for. But in the middle of the last century, literature, publishing, and literary fests had become merely places for the privileged to reinforce their worldview. Thankfully, the Internet and the growth of personal publishing broke that. The QLF, this year on Twitter Spaces - is the result of that. A forum to share the unexpressed, over a medium that gives queer people the voice they seek.” - Nadika, writer and researcher 

“Social media has always been a place for the queer folks to foster community and find support. Navigating social media, like physical spaces, hasn't been easy for us; but we have found our way so our voices are heard. Chennai Queer LitFest has been a home to me right from the first year in 2018. The festival being online means an opportunity for me to participate in the festival even if I am not in India. This year the festival being on Twitter Spaces brings in a unique experience to exchange our stories, experience and solidarity via Literature. My thanks to the QLF team for exploring new avenues to keep the conversation going. This is also an opportunity for me to explore and connect with the Tamil Queer community on Twitter via #TamilSpaces and #QueerTamilSpaces. And I appreciate a platform like Twitter for supporting the festival.” - Living Smile Vidya, Actor and Theatre Artist. 

To join the Chennai Queer LitFest and immerse into a week-long discussion of queer art and culture, Tweet with the hashtags #QLF2021, #QueerTamilSpaces, #TamilSpace, #TamilSpaces, #தமிழ்Space or #தமிழ்Spaces and stay tuned to the conversation. 

Also Read: Tokyo Olympics 2021 will see the highest representation of LGBTQIA+ athletes