Proud Voices in Minor (ViM)

So, things have been pretty hectic at Proud ViM HQ. In case you haven’t yet stumbled into us. We’re a small but active community of avid readers and writers. And if you already have stumbled this'a way, we appreciate you! Challenges, fun, and general creative chit-chat is the name of the game in our little corner of the net.

We’ve only been around for a short while, but a few exciting updates have gone down over the past week. We’ve joined forces with Queer Vocal Voices on Facebook, which means lots more shenanigans to be getting on with. Including a shiny new Proud ViM Discord group which you can drop into here:

Note: Discord links expire after seven days so if you come across this after that time period ask for a link in the comments!

Not to mention our new shared Vocal profile. We're a friendly bunch but be warned, we have zero tolerance for unattributed or AI generated content. So please, don't dive in if that's your bag because you'll be dived right back out again - along with your bot! Its not worth your time or ours. Seriously.

Aside from all that, we also have some very- not quite ready to break ‘Breaking News’ about an upcoming challenge. So um. Watch this space!

Meet the ViM and Queer Voices team:

River Joy (Queer Vocal Voices Admin, ViM Mod and Proud ViM Discord Admin)

Hi I'm River (they/them) and I'm allergic to people asking me to write these (but I will this time!). I'm autistic. Queer. Purveyor of nonsense and poetry. Community builder. I've been writing most of my life, I studied visual art in school, my concentration was photography, now I just like to doodle. I love chess, enough to stream other people's games. I'm not very good yet, but like most things they take time. Retail has been my actual job of choice for the last ten or so years despite being an introvert that hates small talk. Community is one of the most valuable things to me.

Ma Combs (ViM Admin and Proud ViM Discord Mod)

“Howdy! My name is Sharon Combs, and I write under the nom de plume “Mother Combs.” I write a mixture of fiction and poetry, sometimes combining the two. My favorite things to write are fairy tales and inspirational poems. When I’m not at my keyboard, I love to spend time with my family, play with the cats and dogs, or just sit outside and watch the chickens run around. Being disabled, I have plenty of time on my hands. I believe writers were meant to gather and talk in pubs, inns, and the like, and with these modern times, Facebook Groups and other social media sites are quickly taking over those antiquated places of old.

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Celia in Underland (ViM Admin and Proud ViM Discord Mod)

Hi, Celia here... Word-a-holic, high school English teacher and deputy principal by day, and scrawler by night. More boho than Balenciaga, I'm still figuring out my style. Maybe I never will, but I'm happy with the hippie thing. Suits my ecclectic brain. When I'm not marking or lesson planning, I can be found with a nose in a book or a pen in my hand. There's usually a cat or three nearby giving one or other of my muscles cramp.

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Susanna Johnston (ViM Mod)

Suze Kay is a Yale-educated Art Historian, an ICE-trained pastry chef, and a renegade writer. A Poet Laureate told her to stop writing poetry, and even that couldn't hold her down. She likes to find light in darkness and beauty in the banal. She lives with her husband and her cat in Hoboken, New Jersey, and writes through the night.

Poppy (ViM Mod)

Hi, Poppy is my pseudonym I made to share my raw poetry and occasionally a depressing short story or two. I’m a Star Wars fan who loves rock music and fantasy books. I’ve self published one poetry book “Wasted Love” and am hoping to one day professionally publish lots more poetry books as well as fantasy novels under my real name.

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Oneg In the Arctic (Queer Vocal Voices Admin)

Oneg is a genderfluid queer elementary school teacher who is honoured to live and work on an arctic island in Northwest Territories, Turtle Island. They focus on facilitating safer spaces and teach through a trauma-informed and anti-oppression framework. Oneg's writing focuses on themes of mental health, identity, and arctic living. They enjoy writing poems they never read, stories about unhappy endings, and a variety of randomness during writing binges that are energy drink-induced. When that isn’t happening, you can find Oneg zooming through the house with their cat while the dog and wife sigh in resignation to the madness.

Water is Life.

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J. Delaney-Howe (Queer Vocal Voices Admin)

Finding poetic inspiration in nature and Love, Jim is a prolific Vocal writer. Writing is what is his passion and he especially loves the power of words to resonate and reach out across the divide. Giving voice to that which otherwise might be left unsaid or unchallenged.

You can join us here at Facebook ViM:

and Queer Vocal Voices here:

Note: Queer Vocal Voices is only accepting members of the LGBTQ+ community at the moment, we will open up to allies in time!

We're focused on building a supportive, kind community network so please feel free to add thoughts, comments, suggestions below! We'd love to hear from you! And don't forget to support us with a happy heart and a subscribe!