LGBTQ+ writers discuss courage required to express their true selves
SAN JOSE -- There have always gay writers and artists. But for much of modern history, their most personal stories have been left at the margins. Memoirs penned in invisible ink -- peoples with characters unseen, unheard and effectively erased.
"Quite frankly, the drive to erase us is very real. So that means the resistance has to be real," says novelist Elaine Castillo.
Castillo grew up a bright and bookish child born to Filipino immigrant parents in Milpitas. Her debut novel, "America Is Not The Heart," braids together the various stands of her identity -- daughter of immigrants, bisexual women, Filipina.
"I loved books because I was deeply invested in books," Castillo said. But she noted that even her favorite books were at best imperfect mirrors, rarely reflecting the reality of her experience in their pages. It is something she looks to correct as a published author.
"If there's a story that you want to read and it hasn't been written yet, then write it," said Castillo.
Castillo says she's deeply troubled by recent efforts in other states to ban LGBTQ books or bar them from becoming part of school curriculum. It's a concern shared by Gabrielle Antolovich, President of the Board of the Billy DeFrank Center in San Jose.
"This is a classic tactic of a culture that wants to squash difference by getting rid of the books," said Antolovich who is busy penning her own memoir exploring her identity as a non-binary lesbian.
She says putting one's truth on paper is both a gift to the community and an act of courage -- one keystroke at a time.
"It's good to know that our people exist. Because in a strange sort of way, libraries bring your culture alive," she said.
