Do you have a bird story or favorite feathered friend?

When I was really little, I was obsessed with pigeons— not the fancy ones people raise, but the dirty ones you see on the street everywhere. My parents let me chase them, figuring it was a safe way to get my energy out… until I caught one and carried it home in my hands. I understand now that it was probably sick and dying (as my parents yelled quite loudly when they saw it), but still, catching that pigeon made me feel like I could do anything.

What is your most memorable reading experience?

Being in the audience when Thomas Lynch gave a reading at Bennington College in… 2008? He has the most spellbinding way of reading. Somehow, he read an essay so that it sounded like a poem, a 45-minute incantation. 

What makes you most excited about When Brooklyn Was Queer?

All of the reader responses! I’ve learned so much about Brooklyn and the characters in my book from readers’ emails, Q&As, and even people just stopping me on the street to tell me about some queer facet of our city.

To tweet or not to tweet?

Yes* (*with reservations).

What books do you have in your bag right now?

Partial Justice: Women, Prisons and Social Control (by Nicole Hahn Rafter)–research for my next book, which will be a history of the Women’s House of Detention, the prison for women that used to be located in Greenwich Village.

Can you tell us your favorite rejection story?

Once, when I was at the beginning of my writing career, I got a very kind, very thorough rejection from an editor at Salon… except at the very end of the email, she pointed out that she worked at Slate, not Salon. I was mortified and never pitched her again.

What literary journals do you love?

A Public Space— they publish great authors, they’re Brooklyn-based, and when I was young in my writing career, they brought me on to work as a nonfiction reader, and I learned so much from that experience. The woman who got me involved, A. N. Devers, went on to launch the bookstore The Second Shelf, which specializes in rare books by women, and their magazine, The Second Shelf: Rare Books and Words by Women, is also fantastic. I love Apogee for being a journal that publishes amazing writing on really important and difficult issues.  

What shakes your tail feathers?

The song “Shake Your Tailfeather” by Nelly, P. Diddy, and Murphy Lee will always be my jam. The line “Is that your ass or is your Mama half reindeer?” is pure brilliance.

What advice do you have for fledgling writers?

Write! For the longest time I talked about writing more than I actually wrote.

What other eggs do you have in your basket right now?

Aside from the book about the Women’s House of Detention, I’m (secretly) working on a book of horror stories about my lawn.