BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//GayOut//Event Export//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT UID:204473@gayout.com DTSTAMP:20260826T075342Z DTSTART:20260922T193000Z DTEND:20260922T203000Z SUMMARY:Desperate Bodies: Lydia Mathis in conversation with Yemi Combahee DESCRIPTION:This event takes place in person at Charis and on Crowdcast\\ , Charis’\\; virtual event platform. This event is free\\, but regis tration is required for virtual attendance. Click here to register to att end virtually –\\; https://www.crowdcast.io/c/desperate-bodies\\nCha ris welcomes Lydia Mathis in conversation with Yemi Combahee in celebrati on of Desperate Bodies\\, a debut story collection excavating the desire\ \, humor\\, and horror in the everyday lives of Black women and girls.\\n With a voice that vibrates on the page\\, Lydia Mathis’\\; debut col lection is set in the American South and her sharply drawn\\, authentic c haracters shine a light on what we’\\;re willing to do to ourselves and to others in service of our desires. The madness in the ordinary rule s here: an overworked college safety officer is confronted by a bloody fi gure who walks into her office\\; a sex worker runs into a client en rout e to a parent-teacher conference\\; a teacher is plagued by a ghost deter mined to tidy her apartment.\\nDesperate Bodies depicts the fragility\\, strength\\, and unruliness of Black women and girls’\\; bodies and t he power in being honest about their desires. In unflinching prose\\, Mat his takes a frank and determined look at what it means to be subjected to imbalances of power through the perspectives of young girls and adult wo men. With surprising turns and a touch of the supernatural\\, these stori es refuse to look away from the most honest\\, raw moments of womanhood.\ \nVisceral and unyielding\\, Desperate Bodies is a thrillingly dark ride that introduces Lydia Mathis as a major new writer.\\nAbout the Author\\n Lydia Mathis has an MFA in fiction from New York University. She is the r ecipient of A Public Space’s 2023 Editorial Fellowship and is currently an assistant editor at A Public Space. She has stories published in Nort h American Review\\, Southeast Review\\, Torch Magazine\\, Stanchion\\, F ive on the Fifth\\, and oranges journal.\\nAbout the Conversation Partner \\nYemi Combahee (she/her) is a Black Lesbian feminist\\, reproductive ju stice organizer\\, and full-spectrum doula based in Atlanta\\, Georgia. Y emi is currently the Senior Manager of Campaigns at Black Feminist Future . Yemi also has a background in abortion clinic administration and intima te partner violence legal advocacy. She began her interest in liberation work as a Comparative Women’s Studies major at Spelman College where sh e began community organizing and engaging with Black feminist theory. Yem i’\\;s work\\, politic\\, and accountability to feminist community w as also shaped by her time as a bookseller at Charis Books &\\; More\\ , the south’\\;s oldest independent feminist bookstore. Yemi remains rooted in care work through her full-spectrum doula practice\\, Freedom Births\\, where she supports folks through their reproductive journeys. W hen not organizing for a more just future\\, she’\\;s probably bakin g something delicious or reading in preparation for her next book club me eting.\\nThe event is free and open to all people\\, but we encourage and appreciate a donation of $5-20 in support of the work of Charis Circle\\ , our programming non-profit. Donate on Crowdcast or via our website: www .chariscircle.org/donate or in person at the event.\\nCharis Books is a f ully wheelchair accessible space with on site van accessible parking\\, t wo ramps\\, and additional overflow accessible parking nearby. Additional accessibility information can be found on the Accessibility page of our website.\\nPlease contact us at info@chariscircle.org or 404-524-0304 if you would like ASL interpretation at this event. If you would like to wat ch the event with live AI captions\\, you may do so by watching it in Goo gle Chrome and enabling captions: Instructions here. If you have other ac cessibility needs or if you are someone who has skills in making digital events more accessible please don’\\;t hesitate to reach out to info @chariscircle.org.\\nPlease read the in-person event guidelines below to be sure you can participate in the event.\\nIn-person event guidelines:\\ n–\\; All attendees must wear a face mask during the event.\\n– \\; We will begin seating people at 7:00 PM ET.\\n–\\; This event wi ll be live-streamed via Crowdcast. Click here to register to attend virtu ally- https://www.crowdcast.io/c/desperate-bodies\\n–\\; As a remind er: If you are not feeling well\\, please do not come to the event.\\nIf you have any questions regarding these guidelines or to request specific accessibility accommodations\\, please contact info@charisbooksandmore.co m or call the store at 404-524-0304.\\nBy attending our event\\, whether in person or virtually\\, you agree to our Code of Conduct: Our event see ks to provide a harassment-free experience for everyone\\, regardless of gender\\, gender identity and expression\\, age\\, sexual orientation\\, disability\\, physical appearance\\, body size\\, race\\, ethnicity\\, re ligion (or lack thereof)\\, class\\, or technology choices. We do not tol erate harassment in any form. Unsolicited sexual language and imagery are not appropriate. Anyone violating these rules will be expelled from this event and all future events at the discretion of the organizers. Please report all harassment to Charis staff immediately or email info@chariscir cle.org.\\nhttps://www.gayout.com/usa-canada/united-states/atlanta/events /desperate-bodies-lydia-mathis-in-conversation-with-yemi-combahee-2026-09 -22 LOCATION:artsatl.org URL:https://www.gayout.com/usa-canada/united-states/atlanta/events/desperate-bodies-lydia-mathis-in-conversation-with-yemi-combahee-2026-09-22 STATUS:CONFIRMED END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR