Small Press Traffic

a semicolon with a green bottom and a yellow top, made to look like a dandelion.
MENU

Where Would I Be Without You?

Olivia Records, 1976 LP, Where Would I Be Without You, Pat Parker & Judy Grahn

Inspired by Small Press Traffic's archives and the iconic 1976 record by Pat Parker and Judy Grahn, Gabrielle Civil presents this five-part series, Where Would I Be Without You?, reckoning with literary ambition, friendship, sexuality, lineage, and her own coming of age as a poet.

This interdisciplinary series will provoke deep engagement through listening, watching, writing, participation, and dreaming to provide a refuge of positivity, friendship, and community connection in these heartbreaking times. Civil invites Tisa Bryant, soledad con carne, Judy Grahn, erica lewis, S*an D. Henry-Smith, Truong Tran, and others to join her in programs and presentations. Culminating in a world premiere of her original performance, My San Francisco, this multidimensional exploration delves into diverse media, collective memory, and the power of imagination.

Gabrielle Civil

Gabrielle Civil is a black feminist performance artist, poet, and writer, originally from Detroit, MI. She has premiered over fifty performance artworks worldwide including Black Weirdo School (Pop Up Critique) (2023), the déjà vu—live (2022) and Jupiter (2021). Her performance memoirs include Swallow the Fish (2017), Experiments in Joy (2019), (ghost gestures) (2021), and the déjà vu (2022.) Her writing has also appeared in New Daughters of Africa, Bone Bouquet, Poem-a-Day, Tripwire, Kitchen Table Translation, Migrating Pedagogies and Experiments in Joy: a Workbook. A 2023 Performance Fellow at the Franconia Sculpture Park, she earned her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from New York University and teaches at the California Institute of the Arts. The aim of her work is to open up space.