Welcome to the first edition of my free newsletter, The Rahne Check. I plan to send this out a couple times per month to provide updates on my upcoming publications and performances, reminders of things you might have missed, and an occasional flash essay from my newly-launched blog, Paradise Is Not For Sale.
For the first week or so, I'll be making daily posts for the free version as I get the word out and work out the kinks, and then I'll scale back the free newsletter to a couple times per month, after which the daily posts will be available to the paid version. If you have any suggestions, or if something isn't working right, please let me know!
Part of my goal with The Rahne Check is to continue to diminish reliance on social media outlets like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I've given them decades of free content — most of us have. They've had it too good for too long.
You can sign up for The Rahne Check here — it's free and I'll never sell my address list. And if you'd like to subscribe at any level to my paid periodical, Paradise Is Not For Sale, well, I'd be thrilled.
Let me know what you think of this. I'm going to be tweaking the design and function quite a bit over the next few weeks, so any feedback you have is quite welcome.
Thanks so much for joining me!
EVENT HORIZON, or COOL THINGS I GET TO DO SOON
7pm, May 14: The Lost Weekend presents Rahne Alexander in conversation with Grace Lavery
The Lost Weekend is a new literary festival in Baltimore, presented by the incredible team at Greedy Reads. There are so many events during this festival, and I'm really honored to be able to part of it, talking with the spectacular Grace Lavery about her new memoir, Please Miss: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Penis.
Other featured stars at The Lost Weekend? R. Eric Thomas, Lisa Snowden, Rax King, D. Watkins, Maria Broom, Hernan Diaz, Danielle Evans, Sarah Pinsker, Brandon Soderberg, Mark Alice Durant, Dharna Noor and so so many more.
2-5 June: Tulsa Glitterary writers conference
I will return for the second year of the Tulsa Glitterary Conference, as the creative nonfiction faculty member, working alongside Chen Chen (poetry) and Courtney Harler (fiction) as well as conference founder Steve Bellin-Oka. This conference will be held in Tulsa, but there will be both author readings and writers workshops streaming for the public, which I'll announce once I have more details.
If you're an LGBTQ+ writer in the lower south, you can apply for Tulsa Glitterary though May 15!
FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS
Where does a young trans girl go to find herself for the first time? Why, the Jersey Shore, of course!
My new piece "Making Fajitas in Manasquan, 1987" is forthcoming this Spring in Beach Badge from Eight-Stone Press.
Beach Badge is your entrée to the salt-encrusted, sand-clogged magic, mayhem, and mystery of the New Jersey Shore, as told by those who have lived it. From blistering August sands to the damp gauze of a winter sky, Beach Badge captures the experience of local and benny alike through personal stories, essays, photography, and other artwork about or inspired by life at the shore. Issue No. 1 coming spring 2022 - visit https://eightstonepress.com/beach-badge/ for more details...
Treat yourself to a sneak preview this fine daylight savings day — my story is live on the Beach Badge site for your enjoyment right now!
Eight-Stone Press will be on hand at The Lost Weekend May 13-15, so make sure to stop by their table to say hi!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
My monthly column, The Tarot Asks, is out now on Jennifer Magazine. This month's meditation is on confrontation and conflict between Death and the Knight of Swords. Are you ready to change?
Back in March, I had a really great conversation with R/B Mertz about their new memoir, Burning Butch. This event, which was hosted by the Ivy Bookshop, remains available to stream. Check it out; it was a really lovely to get to know Mertz.
SHOUT OUTS
Some great things coming up in Baltimore:
EYEMAGINATION The world of Linda Campbell Franklin
Gallery 1448
Opening Reception 2-6 pm, Sunday, 8 May | Ongoing through May 22
My great friend and colleague Linda Franklin is, at the age of 82, having her first solo exhibition this month at Gallery 1448. EYEMAGINATION is a month of events, starting with an opening reception this weekend, May 8. Linda is a true treasure, a life/artist of the highest caliber, a vibrant and joyful soul who I have adored for decades and I'm so happy to see her get her due.
BALTIMORATORY: Dana Woodson delivers Barbara Jordan's 1974 House Judiciary Committee Impeachment Hearings of Richard Nixon
Peabody Heights Brewery
Thursday, 19 May | Doors 6pm, Show 7pm
BALTIMORATORY, Pigeonaire's series of live performances of historic speeches presents Baltimore actor and activist Dana Woodson, delivering Barbara Jordan's 1974 Statement at the U.S. House Judiciary Committee Impeachment Hearings of Richard Nixon! This will be an outdoor show in the Peabody Heights Brewery beer garden. Tickets $5 - 10 sliding scale, please arrive vaccinated.
