Kelly Cogswell's guest appearances

Kelly Cogswell

Sex Out Loud with Tristan Taormino

Life Stories

Dani Shapiro

James Rhodes

Gary Marcus

Steven Rinella

James Rebanks

Kat Kinsman

Annabelle Gurwitch

Jesmyn Ward

John Kaag

Ophira Eisenberg

Jonathan Wilson

Sarah Manguso

Gary Shteyngart

MK Asante

Nick Flynn

OwlTail

Subscribe to Life Stories in iTunes  photo via Kelly Cogswell In this episode of Life Stories, the podcast where I interview memoir writers about their lives and the art of writing memoir, I’m joined by Kelly Cogswell, one of the earliest members of the first chapter of the Lesbian Avengers, founded in New York City in 1992. In Eating Fire, she talks about how this activist group sought not only to instigate improved conditions for lesbian women, but to transform the way they viewed themselves—one of the reasons she decided to become involved, she says, was to bring herself to become more comfortable with identifying as a lesbian:  “It was hard to come out. I didn’t have any trouble really accepting that I liked girls, but understanding what society thinks of you once you kind of accept it yourself, and want to publicly be yourself? That’s a different ball game. It’s hard.”  In our conversation, Cogswell and I discuss the issues and campaigns that brought the Lesbian Avengers together, as well as the internal conflicts that derailed the New York chapter’s momentum even as the organization itself was attracting members around the world—and how what was partially intended as a handbook for organizing direct action campaigns using the Avengers’ work as a historical example took on an increasingly personal component. We also talk about what’s changed for lesbians and the rest of the LGBT community in the two decades since the Avengers assembled, and why things like Russia’s homophobic repressions and Alec Baldwin’s insults matter. Listen to Life Stories #76: Kelly Cogswell (MP3 file); or download this file by right-clicking (Mac users, option-click). Or subscribe to Life Stories in iTunes, where you can catch up with earlier episodes and be alerted whenever a new one is released. (And if you are an iTunes subscriber, please consider rating and reviewing the podcast!)

<h5><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/life-stories/id650168716" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Subscribe to Life Stories in iTunes</a></h5> <a href="http://www.beatrice.com/life-stories/LifeStoriesKellyCogswell.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a> photo via Kelly Cogswell In this episode of Life Stories, the podcast where I interview memoir writers about their lives and the art of writing memoir, I’m joined by <a href="http://www.kellycogswell.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kelly Cogswell</a>, one of the earliest members of the first chapter of the Lesbian Avengers, founded in New York City in 1992. In <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/29017/biblio/9780816691166" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Eating Fire</a>, she talks about how this activist group sought not only to instigate improved conditions for lesbian women, but to transform the way they viewed themselves—one of the reasons she decided to become involved, she says, was to bring herself to become more comfortable with identifying as a lesbian: <blockquote> “It was hard to come out. I didn’t have any trouble really accepting that I liked girls, but understanding what society thinks of you once you kind of accept it yourself, and want to publicly be yourself? That’s a different ball game. It’s hard.” </blockquote> In our conversation, Cogswell and I discuss the issues and campaigns that brought the Lesbian Avengers together, as well as the internal conflicts that derailed the New York chapter’s momentum even as the organization itself was attracting members around the world—and how what was partially intended as a handbook for organizing direct action campaigns using the Avengers’ work as a historical example took on an increasingly personal component. We also talk about what’s changed for lesbians and the rest of the LGBT community in the two decades since the Avengers assembled, and why things like Russia’s homophobic repressions and Alec Baldwin’s insults matter. Listen to <a href="http://www.beatrice.com/life-stories/LifeStoriesKellyCogswell.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Life Stories #76: Kelly Cogswell</a> (MP3 file); or download this file by right-clicking (Mac users, option-click). Or <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/life-stories/id650168716" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">subscribe to Life Stories in iTunes</a>, where you can catch up with earlier episodes and be alerted whenever a new one is released. (And if you are an iTunes subscriber, please consider rating and reviewing the podcast!)

Life Stories #76: Kelly Cogswell