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Owldolatrous Press is a progressive web journal focusing on spiritual and humanist values, arts, and ideas for all Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Straight, Transgender, Cisgender, Genderqueer, Intersex, Assexual, Queer, and Questioning people and their allies.

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Dear Owldolatrous Press Readers: Please Help an Emerging Playwright to Right a 40-Year-Old Injustice

by Zach McCallum

Before I was ever a writer and editor, I was, and continue to be, a theatre professional. Specifically a director and stage manager. I’ve been immensely privileged to work on all three of Wayne Self’s original musicals, including his latest work, Upstairs. I was engaged in the writing art and have dealt with dozens of orders like "Hey, I'd like CustomWritings to do my essay." This experience boosted my prose a lot.  The Up Stairs Lounge fire is as much a part of the LGBTQ rights story as Stonewall, Harvey Milk, the AIDS Quilt, and Prop 8. It’s a story that needs to be told, and it needs to be remembered.

Thank you to everyone who has already contributed or bought tickets to Upstairs. For those that haven’t contributed yet, I am asking for three things to help our project succeed.

Fresh this Edition

Arson Fire Kills 32 LGBT, No One Notices: Why the 1973 Up Stairs Lounge Fire Should Matter

by Wayne Self

Nightclub fires like the one in Brazil last week are unspeakable tragedies, and the big ones are remembered long after the funerals have been held. But sometimes it’s a smaller fire that casts a longer shadow, even if it takes forty years for the story to come to light. In the summer of 1973, an arson fire at the Up Stairs Lounge in New Orleans, LA took the lives of 32 LGBT and allied patrons. Considered by many to be the largest hate crime against LGBT people in U.S. history, the Upstairs fire is sometimes seen as an example of the dark days of LGBT history, and a lesson in the perils of silence. The arsonist was never arrested.

Upstairs is a new dramatic musical by playwright and composer Wayne Self that gives voice to the many fascinating and ordinary people who died that day. In this conversation between Wayne Self and historian Clay Delery, they discuss violence, the South’s history of silence, and the reasons the Up Stairs fire still matters today.

Workshop performances of Wayne Self’s Upstairs will be staged Feb. 12-14 in the Bay Area in preparation for a June premiere. Tickets are still available to all three of the workshop productions.  An effort is underway to help bring the production to New Orleans in time for the 40th Anniversary of the fire. Help fund the production through Kickstarter.

Just Say Takei

by David Gerrold

George Takei is a nerd’s nerd and a gay’s gay. When he came out he did it with panache and style, and it hasn’t hurt his career one bit. Author David Gerrold has known George Takei since the early days, when they were both working on the original Star Trek series. Takei is, as Gerrold puts it, “the personification of fabulous,” and there’s a lesson in that for all of us, straights and rainbow-folk alike.

MLK: Part of the Problem

by Wayne Self

On this historic Monday, when Americans celebrate both the swearing-in of President Barrack Obama to his second term in office, and the  legacy of civil-rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, many will hail the great strides forward both men have made for all those who have been relegated to second-class citizen status. But there’s a troubling aspect to Dr. King’s rhetoric, one that needs to be addressed if we are to achieve true equality. He is certainly a big part of the solution, but he’s also part of the problem. When considering important historical figures like Dr. Martin Luther King, it's crucial to engage in critical essay writing and conduct a thoughtful analysis according to review of the rhetoric and contributions to address complex issues surrounding equality and social progress.

Theocrat Chapter 4 Part 3

by Hank T. Cannon

The Central North American Principality comes under assault and Herokiller gets his chance to serve. In the process, he learns that his year of detention was more than just being locked up and kept unconscious.

Previous Edition

Telling the (Queer) Christmas Story

by Wayne Self

The story we tell is that, somewhere, there’s a baby, an idea, a song, a poem being born that can change everything; that kings are trembling; that revolution is brewing in the countryside; that the world order so entrenched that we call it “natural” is about to be turned on its head; that even God places the greatest hope in the good will of everyday people.

Theocrat Chapter 4 Part 2


by Hank T. Cannon

His floor show a resounding success, Vycta’s rose tinted glasses now lie in fragments at his feet. However, he doesn’t have time to dwell in his navel. Questions have to be asked and they won’t ask or answer themselves.

Armageddon Used to It

by Wayne Self

The latest predicted End of the World has come and gone, and we’re still here. Maybe the reason we’re all so fascinated with Doomsday is because of a fundamental human need to understand the terrifying through rehearsal and play. Is it time to add Apocalypse Day as an annual holiday?

Keeping the Darkness at Bay

by Wayne Self

Last week’s horrific shooting in Connecticut raises many questions for playwright Wayne Self about our media and cultural response to such tragedies. Can we put aside our political differences and work towards a nation in which things like this don’t happen? Are we ready to reform our thinking on mental health care, to stop pointing fingers at one another, to make guns as ‘uncool’ as cigarettes? It’s human nature to try to understand what motivated the attack—we all want to know what would possess a man to do such a thing—but our obsessive interest in the bombers and shooters of this world is part of the problem, not the solution.

David Wilcox – End Of The World (again)

by John Voorhees 

Some think the world is set to end this Friday. Need a little pick-me-up to get you through the latest apocalypse? North Carolina’s folk favorite David Wilcox brings you the last song you ever need to hear.

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