Steven Reigns
Steven Reigns (born 1975) is an American poet, artist and activist known for his poetry publications, his work as West Hollywood's first City Poet, his participatory art projects, his LGBT activism, and his scholarly work on Anaïs Nin. Biography. Early years. Reigns grew up in the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri. From an early age, he sought refuge from a troubled home life in local libraries where he discovered the writers who would have a huge impact on his own work: Sapphire, Essex Hemphill, Dorothy Allison, Edmund White, Christopher Bram, Anaïs Nin, Irene Zahava, Amy Scholder, John  Preston and Audre Lorde. Career. Reigns graduated from the University of South Florida, where he wrote a bi-monthly column for TLW magazine, with a degree in Creative Writing. He also has a Masters in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University. Reigns is a five-time recipient of the Los Angeles County Department of Cultural Affairs' Artist in Residency Grant. He was elected as West Hollywood's inaugural City Poet for a two-year term beginning in October 2014. He was selected as "Someone to Watch in 2015" by The Advocate Magazine. Library Activism. Reigns has cited public libraries and librarians  as a major influence on his development as an artist and activist. He has campaigned in support of gay, lesbian, bisexual and queer programming in libraries. In 2004 he organized 'Loving in Fear', an LGBQT literary event in response to Hillsborough County's lack of gay, lesbian, bisexual or queer programming. He recounted the experience in a Watermark Magazine article about National Library Week. He was the first to speak to the commissioners about their discriminatory policy at the library. He was Literary Director for The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Center of Tampa for two years. Reigns has been keynote speaker  at Rollins College, Stonewall Library, and at the American Library Associations Annual Breakfast. HIV/AIDS Activism. Reigns headed a program in Pinellas County doing HIV outreach to and testing of minorities in the inner city. He contributed to a panel with Los Angeles County on standards of care for HIV. In 2011, he ran a support group that utilized film as a projective tool at Being Alive. In 2012, he published an essay in Frontiers Magazine on the need for new AIDS narratives in cinema and literature. He also published a poem about the so-called AIDS "Patient Zero" Gaëtan  Dugas. Artistic Projects. The Gay Rub. Reigns created The Gay Rub, a participatory art project in 2011 and has curated the project ever since. The Gay Rub is a collection of rubbings taken from historically significant LGBTQ public markers, memorials, and monuments. Participants from around the world contribute rubbings of markers from their home city, along with commentary. There are currently more than 200 rubbings in the collection, which has toured major universities. Other Art Projects. Reigns has participated in several collaborative online projects, such as Heather Champs' Mirror Project and Anni Holm's Getting My Name Out There. He  was also a character in Hilary Goldberg's In The Spotlight. His artwork has been shown in galleries throughout the U.S.A including at The Advocate gallery part of Rainbow Gobblins exhibit in May 2007. From 2007 to 2014, Reigns undertook a 7 years living/art project under the mentorship of Linda Montano, "S(t)even Years". Audio-visual Media. Reigns and his work have been featured in a variety of other media, including: Scholarly Work. Reigns is an Anaïs Nin scholar and has presented at The Sapphire Symposium. Anaïs Nin Scholarship. In February 2008, Reigns organized Anaïs Nin @ 105 at the Hammer  Museum. Reigns said, "Nin bonded and formed very deep friendships with women and men decades younger than her. Some of them are still living in Los Angeles and I thought it'd be wonderful to have them share their experiences with (Nin)," It was through the event Reigns met Bebe Barron, who made her last public appearance at Anais Nin @ 105. Reigns spoke at Bebe Barron's memorial. Reigns also combed through Nin's original diaries to investigate the validity of Bern Porter's claims of his sexual relationship in the 1930s with Anaïs Nin, which were published as a  series of interviews in the 1990s. Reigns' essay refuting Porter's claims, "Bern Porter's Wild Sexual Life with Anais Nin or Wild Imaginings?" was published in "Café in Space and Thinking of Anaïs Nin". Reigns' poem 'Anaïs Nin Never Bought a Car' was published in "Divining Divas: 100 Gay Poets on Their Muses" (2012). Reigns also facilitated the 2010 re-release of a long out-of-circulation audio book by Nin. Reigns loaned his rare 1949 pink vinyl version of Nin reading her prose poem "House of Incest", recorded by Louis and Bebe Barron, to their son Adam Barron . Adam Barron used it as the basis for a CD release. Reigns owns a large collection of Nin memorabilia and ephemera, including a copy of Marcel Proust's Albertine disparue, once owned by Nin. In the book are lines underlined by Henry Miller with notes written in the margin by both Nin and Miller. Reigns also organized and curated "Anais Nin's Influence: Women who Knew Nin Talk About her Writing, Her Life and Their Friendship with Her" at the West Hollywood Library in 2015. Reigns said of Nin and the event: "The struggles of life, love, and artistry Nin  documented in detail daily. Her life and writings are more relevant now than ever. Hearing firsthand from women who Nin is an exceptional experience." In January 2016, Reigns co-produced an event at Antioch University Santa Barbara, "The Allure of Anaïs Nin", Teaching. Reigns has taught writing workshops throughout his career. He began by teaching to LGBT youth groups across the United States, followed by workshops for HIV+ people. He has taught poetry to LGBT Seniors at Los Angeles LGBT Center for many years. This workshop "My Life is Poetry" was the first of its kind in the country and  resulted in a book of the students' writings edited by Reigns. As part of his tenure as West Hollywood City Poet, he taught free writing workshops for National Poetry Month in West Hollywood, CA. Filmmaker Dean Littner, made a 2014 Documentary about the 2013 "My Life Is Poetry" reading by Reigns' students. Publications. Reigns has published three books of poetry. "Inheritance" was selected by Lambda Literary Foundation's My Story Book Club. Reigns has also published chapbooks: His poetry is included in "Velvet Mafia", a poetry chapbook on gay and lesbian response to war, "Outside the Green Zone". Reigns was  featured as Mr. November in the "Most Intriguing and Sensual Male Poet Calendar"(2006). In June 2008, Reigns edited the anthology "My Life is Poetry", a book of autobiographical poetry by gay, lesbian, and bisexual seniors created by those attending his workshops of the same name. The poems are accompanied by photographic portraits by Jenny Walters. The preface was written by Dorothy Allison. In July 2015, Reigns edited "3-Pack Jack", a three book set based on his 2013 curation of the Apt3F performance series at Akbar, Los Angeles. Other Work. Reigns' papers are held by the ONE National Gay and  Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries.