Pamela Sneed

Pamela Sneed
Sneed reads on The Laura Flanders Show in 2018
Alma materThe New School
Long Island University
Notable workFuneral Diva
AwardsLambda Literary Award

Pamela Sneed is an American poet, performance artist,[1][2] actress, activist, and teacher. Her book, Funeral Diva, is a memoir in poetry and prose about growing up during the AIDS crisis, and the winner of the 2021 Lambda Literary Award for lesbian poetry.[3]

Education

Sneed earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lang College at The New School and a Masters of Fine Arts degree in New Media Art and Performance in 2008 at Long Island University.[4]

Performances

Sneed has held readings and performances at Center Stage at the Studio Museum in Harlem, P.S. 122, Creative Time @ The Brooklyn Anchorage, Exit Art, Lincoln Center Ex-Teresa in Mexico City, The Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, The Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow, Scotland, The Green Room in Manchester, England, and Literatur Werkstat in Berlin. She also headlined the New Work Now Festival at Joe’s Pub/Public Theater in 2005. In 2018 she was a presenter at the 30th Annual Lambda Literary Awards.[5][6] In 2024 she directed and starred in a performance in tribute to Big Mama Thornton at Joe's Pub at the Public Theater in New York City, for which she received a Creative Capital grant.[7][8]

Sneed was also involved in Dyke TV, a nationally broadcast grassroots lesbian television program, from its inception in 1993.[9] She appeared weekly on the show as the presenter for the arts segment until 1996.[9]

In 2016, Sneed appeared in the live visuals for musician Anohni's song "Execution" on the HOPELESSNESS World Tour.

Academic career

An out lesbian,[10] Sneed taught voice, performance, and autobiographical writing at Long Island University. In 2012-2014 she taught writing for solo performance and solo performance at Sarah Lawrence College.[11][12] She was the 2017 visiting critic at Yale and at Columbia University, and has been an adjunct assistant professor at the Columbia University School of the Arts.[13] As of 2023, Sneed is an online lecturer in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's low-residency Master of Fine Arts program.[14]

Sneed has mentored other writers, including a pairing with poet Tommy Pico in the 2011-2012 inaugural year of the Queer/Art/Mentors program founded by the filmmaker Ira Sachs.[15][16] She has subsequently mentored Heather Lynn Johnson (2016-2017) and Erica Cardwell in the 2020-2021 cycle.[17]

Funeral Diva (2020)

Sneed's memoir, Funeral Diva, a poetry and prose book was published by City Lights Publishers in 2020. The book documents growing up in the midst of the AIDS crisis, and focuses specifically on the experiences of Black queer women.[18][19][20]

The book won the 2021 Lambda Literary Award for lesbian poetry.[3]

Bibliography

Memoir

Poetry

  • Imagine Being More Afraid of Freedom Than Slavery (Henry Holt, 1998)
  • "Kong," anthologized in The Best Monologues from Best American Short Plays, edited by William W. Demastes (Applause, 2006; 2013)[22]
  • KONG And Other Works (Vintage Entity Press, 2009)
  • "Parable of the Sower," anthologized in The 100 Best African American Poems, edited by Nikki Giovanni (Sourcebooks, 2010)[23]
  • Lincoln (2014)[24]
  • "Survivor 2014," anthologized in Nepantla: An Anthology of Queer Poets of Color, edited by Christopher Solo (Nightboat Books, 2018)[25][26]
  • "Born Frees," published on Poets.org (2019)[27]
  • "Never Again," published on Poets.org (2020)[27]
  • "I Can't Breathe," published on Poets.org (2020)[27]

References

  1. ^ Donovan, Carrie (24 October 1993). "Chaos Theory". The New York Times. p. 184. Retrieved 23 May 2011. Pamela Sneed, a performance poet, tops a man's leather bomber jacket, hip-tied sweater, pants and work boots with an overgrown newsboy cap.
  2. ^ Rubin, Don; Solorzano, Carlo (2000-11-02). World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: The Americas. Taylor & Francis. pp. 435–. ISBN 978-0-415-22745-2. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  3. ^ a b "2021 Winners". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  4. ^ "Pamela Sneed". Poetry Foundation. 2020-11-14. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  5. ^ "LGBTQ lit winners of The Lammys announced". Lesbian News. June 5, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  6. ^ Warnock, Kathleen (June 6, 2018). "A Family Fierce, Passionate, and Talented". Gay City News. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  7. ^ Telea Borteș, Mădălina (January 25, 2024). "Professor Pamela Sneed Directs and Stars in 'A Tribute to Big Mama Thornton". arts.columbia.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  8. ^ "Pamela Sneed: A Tribute to Big Mama Thornton".
  9. ^ a b Dyke TV Records Finding Aid, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.
  10. ^ "Poet Pamela Sneed imagines freedom". Lesbian News, June 1998.
  11. ^ "Course Catalogue 2012-2013" (PDF). Sarah Lawrence College. 2012. p. 116.
  12. ^ "Course Catalogue 2013-2014" (PDF). Sarah Lawrence College. 2013. p. 117.
  13. ^ "Pamela Sneed". Poetry Foundation. 11 July 2022.
  14. ^ "Pamela Sneed". School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
  15. ^ Street, Mikelle (February 14, 2018). "Native American and Gay, a Poet Fortifies His Voice". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  16. ^ "2011-2012 Fellows". QUEER/ART. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  17. ^ "| Mentorship". QUEER | ART. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  18. ^ Ajani, Ashia (22 October 2020). "This Stunning Memoir Preserves the Forgotten Black Stories of the AIDS Crisis". them. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  19. ^ Sehgal, Parul (2020-11-18). "'Funeral Diva,' a Mix of Memoir and Poetry, Stirs the Body and Mind". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  20. ^ "Funeral Diva". Publishers Weekly. October 15, 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  21. ^ Verdery, Mitsuko (May 5, 2020). "Artists Reach Out: Pamela Sneed". Gibney Dance.[permanent dead link‍]
  22. ^ Demastes, William W. (2013). Best Monologues from Best American Short Plays. Milwaukee: Applause. ISBN 978-1-4803-8613-6. OCLC 1086114238.
  23. ^ Giovanni, Nikki, ed. (2010). "Parable of the Sower". The 100 Best African American Poems. Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks. pp. 82–83. ISBN 9781402221118. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  24. ^ "BGSQD: Book launch for Pamela Sneed's LINCOLN". The Lo-Down. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  25. ^ Cullina, Alex (October 29, 2018). "The Poets Behind the First Queer POC Anthology". Washington Square News.
  26. ^ Nepantla : an anthology for queer poets of color. Christopher Soto, Lambda Literary Foundation. New York. 2018. ISBN 978-1-937658-78-6. OCLC 1008775259.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  27. ^ a b c Poets, Academy of American. "About Pamela Sneed | Academy of American Poets". poets.org. Retrieved 2020-11-15.