John Chambrone
     Los Angeles | The power of poetry transcends age, status, sexual orientation, race and creed. Former Tampa Bay resident Steven Reigns—who now lives in Los Angeles—has harnessed that power for years using the written word. 
     Reigns decided the best way to empower others was to share his passion. So in January of this year, the accomplished author created a 16-week workshop where he taught autobiographical poetry to GLBT senior citizens. With the gay culture so youth-centric, elderly GLBTs, many of whom have fought their entire lives to make life easier for younger gays and lesbians, are often a forgotten and discarded group, Reigns says. He knew queer seniors have strong voices that need to be heard, but that they usually don’t have the right outlet in which to express themselves. Reigns found that outlet at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. His class was supported by the L.A. Department of Cultural Affairs and boasted enrollment of more than two dozen seniors, though none who identified as transgender.
     Following the course’s conclusion, Reigns collected the best poetry from his students and published it in his new anthology, My Life Is Poetry.
     "[Since] none of the students identified as transgender, a missing component of this collection is that it doesn’t have diversity in this manner and that our workshop lacked such an important segment of our community," Reigns writes in the book’s introduction.
     But even without a transgender voice, the project was more than Reigns could have hoped for. 
     "It was my honor and great pleasure to work with such an amazing group of individuals and to help contribute to the rising voices of GLB seniors," Reigns says. "I was told numerous times by the senior students how much the class changed their lives and how class was one of the most important things in their lives."
     To accommodate the failing eyesight of many elderly readers, the book features larger print than the average paperback. Each of the senior’s poems is accompanied by portraits from artist and photographer Jenny Walters. 
     "Her astute eye captured the unique feel and character of each poet," Reigns says. "She, like the poets themselves, worked hard to capture and record accurately with inspiring artistry."
     My Life Is Poetry also includes a preface by noted lesbian novelist Dorothy Allison, who "really got the book," according to Reigns.
     Reigns has a long track record as a facilitator and instructor. In 2001, while in Tampa, he taught workshops with True Expressions, a GLBT youth group.
     "I love connecting people with information and building and strengthening our community," he says. "My workshops have always been for the GLBT community or people living with HIV. At this point in time, I have no interest in teaching a workshop for all straight people. Their lives and stories get enough encouragement and airtime already. I like to help people in our community find and strengthen their voices and for them to realize that their experiences and lives have worth."
     Now that Reigns has finished My Life Is Poetry, he’s spending a lot of his time working on a collection of his own poetry titled Inheritance. He is also in the second year of a seven-year performance-endurance project called S(t)even Years.
     "Each year, for seven years, I’m focused on an energy chakra," Reigns—who will be 38 when the project ends—explains. "I’ve made a commitment to focus on that chakra’s color, teach a free writing workshop based on the theme of that chakra, meditate, and keep the focus while writing. I ventured into S(t)even Years to examine the connection between art, life, and spirituality. This self-imposed discipline will offer a structure and create a steadfast commitment to life, art and my spiritual growth—or my spiritual growth through my life and art. It is also a way to internally and externally infuse art into my everyday life."
     Reigns left his native St. Louis on his own at an early age and ended up in the Naples, Fla., area before relocating to Tampa to attend University of South Florida. During his time in Tampa, he was a committed activist and author, but he left the area in the summer of 2005 because he felt his life was lacking something and needed more. 
     "I loved my friends but I was tired of the small-mindedness one encounters there, tired of having to fight," he remembers. "I was the first to publicly point out the inequity at the public library. I didn’t start as an activist in that situation. Truthfully, I was naive. I thought they just weren’t aware of the inequity. After submitting a proposal and having a meeting with the head of library programming, it became clear they were satisfied with the lack of diverse voices. 
     "Los Angeles has offered me more. In Hillsborough County, I had to beat down doors and then find a backdoor to get a GLBT event at the library. In Los Angeles County, less than two years later, I was given a grant to help document GLBT elder voices. Life is easier when one isn’t always fighting for fair treatment. Cities with more accepting views are queers' rooms of one’s own. What I did isn’t for everyone, and I’m thankful for that. We need queers living in all parts of the country. For me, this was my solution after fighting for years."
     The collection of poetry is available at Inkwood Books, 216 S Armenia Ave. in Tampa, or online at StevenReigns.com.