Pride 2005 is indeed a time to be outRAGEous in every sense. It's a time to embrace and celebrate where we've come from, where we're going, and most importantly everything we are. Pride comes from within. It's not contingent on outside approval or acceptance from them or it or whoever or whatever feels justified in legislating or regulating love and expression. Equality by definition is available to all, it isn't qualified by circumstance or situation, and it isn't earned or granted or bestowed. It can exist only completely and only without compromise.
This time of year especially we need to communicate, show, and shout with every fabulous color, shade and nuance of our personality just who we are. We need to be ourselves completely and without apology. Be out, be enraged, be outrageous, but most importantly be you.
Under the umbrella theme of outRAGEous, we found ourselves overwhelmed with submissions of quality queer writing from around the world for the second annual Windy City Times literary supplement. We were amazed and heartened at the amount of talent and richness of expression out there!
Receiving approximately twice as many submissions as last year, the decision-making process was understandably arduous. However, after much deliberation we are confident that the work contained on these pages offers a glimmer of the rich, unique, and outRAGEous experience each one of us has to share.
— Kathie Bergquist and Owen Keehnen
Kathie Bergquist's writing has appeared in OUT, The Advocate, Girlfriends, Diva, Curve, The Harrington Lesbian Fiction Quarterly, and The Lambda Book Report. She is currently co-writing a Lesbigay Chicago Guidebook, and working on her novel, Beautiful, Radiant Things.
Owen Keehnen is a Chicago writer whose interviews, stories, poetry, and erotica have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies. His book of gay XXX interviews, STARZ, is coming soon. He's currently at work on a horror novel.