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{\noindent\parskip=0pt\obeylines

2 April 1990

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New Pacific Academy
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Tom Jennings
HOMOCORE Zine / Fido Software
164 Shipley
San Francisco CA 94107
(415)-764-1688 (w)
(415)-882-9832 (h)
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I first met Deke at the 1988 Anarchist Gathering in Toronto.�
Events conspired to bring a number of us out gay�
punk/anarchist/\&c people together at this gathering; to make a�
long story short, the event was a monumental and critical event�
for gay liberation, and is still under appreciated.

In any case, Deke was one of a small number of gay and anarchist�
people that attended the gathering from all over the country (St.�
Louis MO in his case); all of us had experienced alienation from�
the so-called ``gay community'', but also a sense of something�
about to happen, which began to unfold in Toronto that summer.

Deke was the first person I recall to articulate just what was�
happening to us there: that there were a lot of us who were�
working to make a gay sensibility and community that drew from�
gay history but was not a part of the assimilationism we saw�
around us; the rest of the people present went through that�
magical ``Me too!'' awareness that we were not each alone.

What went on that weekend was basic ``networking'' (to use that�
icky word) and we are, two years later, still benefiting�
incredibly from it. Upon return to St. Louis, Deke did another�
issue of his zine, kept up correspondence with many of the people�
from the Toronto \circleA\ gathering, and within a year had moved�
to San Francisco, leading a wave of homo-punk immigrants.

It is not possible to say how much Deke has helped with HOMOCORE�
zine. It would be more accurate to say that without him it may�
not have continued, nor have been successful. He has provided�
basic direction and energy, as well as ``shit work'' with�
production. When I was ready to drop it, Deke kept orders and�
correspondence current, and kept me going long enough to complete�
the ``next'' issue.

Deke is extremely articulate (maybe too much so -- ask him!), and�
our resident homo-punk intellectual. He is a good worker (with an�
adequate coffee supply), and can speak well to large crowds�
clearly and with humor. To not include him would not only hurt�
him, but our radical gay community as well. Deke did not ask me�
to write a letter of reference; I wrote it knowing only that he�
was applying, and I think it's extremely important that you�
include him. The NPA will benefit as much as he will.


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Sincerely,
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Tom Jennings
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