Editing Chrystos

{{short description|American writer, activist}}
{{distinguish|Christos (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2011}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Chrystos
| image              = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing [[brackets]] -->
| alt                = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption            = 
| birth_name         = Christina Smith
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1946|11|07}}
| birth_place        = San Francisco, California, US
| death_date         = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (DEATH date then BIRTH date) -->
| death_place        = 
| other_names        = 
| occupation         = {{flatlist|
* Writer
* artist
* activist
}}
| years_active       = 
| notable_works      = 
}}

'''Chrystos''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|r|ɪ|s|t|oʊ|s}}; born November 7, 1946, as Christina Smith)<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Valimaa|first1=Virpi Maria Kristiina|last2=Curtright|first2=Lauren|date=1997|title=Chrystos |journal=Voices from the Gaps |hdl=11299/166121 |url=http://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/166121|language=en-US}}</ref> is a [[two-spirit]] writer and activist whose work explores [[Native American civil rights]], [[social justice]], and [[feminism]]. They are of mixed [[Menominee]]–[[Lithuanians|Lithuanian]]/[[Alsace|Alsace–]][[Lorraine]] heritage.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Cox |first=Sandra M. |date=2011 |title=Autoethnography, Authenticity, and Audacity: Two Poems by Chrystos as "Arts of the Contact Zone" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41210318 |journal=Interdisciplinary Literary Studies |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=52–72 |issn=1524-8429}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20739440 |title=Urban Survivor Stories: The Poetry of Chrystos |journal=Studies in American Indian Literatures |jstor=20739440 |accessdate=2023-02-01 |last1=Brehm |first1=Victoria |date=November 24, 1998 |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=73–82 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Chrystos |url= http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/chrystos |website=PoetryFoundation.org |access-date=October 22, 2015}}</ref> Chrystos is also a lecturer, writing teacher, and artist.

==Life==
Chrystos was born [[Off-reservation trust land|off-reservation]] in [[San Francisco]], [[California]],<ref name="Brehm 1998 73–82">{{Cite journal|last=Brehm|first=Victoria|date=1998|title=Urban Survivor Stories: The Poetry of Chrystos|journal=Studies in American Indian Literatures|volume=10|issue=1|pages=73–82|jstor=20739440|issn=0730-3238}}</ref> was taught to read by their self-educated father, and began writing poetry at age nine. Chrystos had a difficult childhood, including being [[Sexual abuse|sexually abused]] by a relative.<ref name="Brehm 1998 73–82"/> They lived with their abusive mother, Virginia (née Lunkes), who was of Lithuanian and Alsatian descent, and their father of [[Menominee]] heritage, Fletcher L. Smith, who was a [[World War II]] veteran. At the age of seventeen, Chrystos was placed into a [[psychiatric hospital]]. They fell into [[Substance use disorder|drug addiction]], [[alcoholism]], and [[prostitution]] during this time. They were re-institutionalized several more times before deciding it was ineffective in helping their mental health issues.<ref name=":3">{{cite web |last=Miller |first=A. |date=November 11, 2017 |title=Chrystos |url=https://www.makingqueerhistory.com/articles/2017/11/11/chrystos |website=Making Queer History}}</ref> 

Chrystos is a [[lesbian]] and [[two-spirit]]. They moved to [[Bainbridge Island, Washington]] in 1980.<ref name=":1" /> They have been a resident of [[Ocean Shores, Washington]] since 2011.<ref name=":1" />

== Career ==
A self-described [[Political poetry|political poet]], Chrystos was inspired by familial issues stemming from [[European Americans|European American]] [[cultural hegemony]],<ref name="Not Vanishing">{{cite book|author=Chrystos|title=Not Vanishing|date=1988|publisher=Press Gang Publishers|location=Vancouver}}</ref> and more positively influenced by the works of [[Audre Lorde]], [[Joy Harjo]], [[Elizabeth Woody]], and [[Lillian Pitt]], among others.<ref>{{cite book |author=Chrystos |title=Not Vanishing |date=1988 |publisher=Press Gang Publishers |location=Vancouver |page=103}}</ref> They produced a series of volumes of poetry and prose throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Chrystos' work focuses on [[social justice]] issues, such as how [[colonialism]] and racism affect the lives of women, lesbians, and [[Indigenous peoples|Indigenous people]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofle0001unse_c3g4/page/214/mode/2up |title=Encyclopedia of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history in America |date=2004 |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons/Thomson/Gale |others= |isbn=978-0-684-31261-3 |editor-last=Stein |edition=Marc |location=New York |pages=214-215}}</ref> Their works are primarily intended for an audience of Indigenous people, other [[Person of color|people of color]], and lesbians.<ref>{{cite book |author=Chrystos |title=Not Vanishing |date=1988 |publisher=Press Gang Publishers |location=Vancouver |page=106}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chrystos |last2=Claudia |first2=Karen |last3=Sorrel |first3=Lorraine |date=March 31, 1989 |title=Interview: Chrystos Not Vanishing & In Person |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25796736 |journal=[[Off Our Backs]] |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=18-19}}</ref> Their works are also intended to help Native Americans connect with their heritage and to break down stereotypes.<ref name="Autostraddle">{{cite web |title=12 Incredible Indigenous LGBTQ Women and Two-spirit People You Should Know |work=Autostraddle |date=October 12, 2015 |url= http://www.autostraddle.com/12-awesome-native-american-and-first-nation-lgbtq-women-and-two-spirit-people-311473/ |access-date=April 4, 2016}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Dreese |first=Donelle N. |date=2002 |title=Psychic Reterritorializations of Self and Place in the Poetry of Chrystos |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41207001 |journal=Interdisciplinary Literary Studies |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=39–48 |issn=1524-8429}}</ref> Scholar Sandra M. Cox describes Chrystos' work as a form of [[autoethnography]].<ref name=":0" /> Chrystos self-illustrated many of their books covers, and often had their books published in [[Canada]] to work around [[Censorship|censorious]] American publishers and lack of support for writers in the United States.<ref name=":4">{{cite web|url=https://blackcoffeepoet.com/2010/09/15/interview-with-chrystos/ |title=Interview With Chrystos |publisher=Black Coffee Poet |date=September 15, 2010 |access-date=May 1, 2017}}</ref>

While they’re better known for their poems about social justice, Chrystos also has a significant body of [[Erotic literature|erotic poetry]].<ref>{{cite web |date=February 20, 2012 |title=Chrystos |url=https://alp.org/chrystos |website=The Audre Lorde Project}}</ref><ref name="Autostraddle" /> It is more celebratory and its presentation more formal than their other work.<ref name=":2" /> Chrystos co-edited ''Best Lesbian Erotica 1999'' with [[Tristan Taormino]]. 

Chrystos' awards include a [[National Endowment for the Arts]] grant, the Sappho Award of Distinction from the [[Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice]], a [[Barbara Deming#Money for Women / The Barbara Deming Memorial Fund|Barbara Deming Memorial Fund grant]], and the Audre Lorde International Poetry Competition.<ref name="Autostraddle" /> Scholars have suggested that Chrystos uses Indigenous expressions of eroticism as an antidote to the repressive effects of colonialism upon Indigenous genders and sexuality.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kalyanam |first=Sharadha |date=2022-06-01 |title=Sexualities Worldwide |url=https://open.oregonstate.education/womenworldwide/chapter/sexualities-worldwide/ |journal=Women Worldwide: Transnational Feminist Perspectives |language=en}}</ref> 

==Activism==
Chrystos was part of efforts to free Norma Jean Croy and [[Leonard Peltier]], and their activism often focuses on the rights of Native American peoples including the [[Navajo]] and [[Mohawk people]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> In a 2010 interview, Chrystos described their social justice interests as "diverse," citing [[Abortion-rights movement|abortion rights]], [[domestic violence]], and [[prisoners' rights]].<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":3" />

==Works==
*''[[This Bridge Called My Back]],'' [[Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press|Kitchen Table]], 1981; contributor
*''Not Vanishing'', Vancouver: [[Press Gang Publishers]], 1988, {{ISBN|0-88974-015-1}}
*''Dream On'', Vancouver: Press Gang Publishers, 1991
*''In Her I Am'', Vancouver: Press Gang Publishers, 1993
*''Fugitive Colors'', Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 1995, {{ISBN|1-880834-11-1}}
*''Fire Power'', Vancouver: Press Gang Publishers, 1995, {{ISBN|0-88974-047-X}}
*''Some Poems by People I Like'' (Sandra Alland, editor), Toronto: SandrasLittleBookshop, 2007, {{ISBN|978-0-9739540-1-2}}; contributor
*''Best Lesbian Erotica 1999'', Cleis Press, 1999, {{ISBN|1573440493}}; co-editor

==See also==
{{portal|Poetry}}
* [[Native American studies]]
* [[List of poets portraying sexual relations between women|Lesbian poetry]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Refbegin}}
*Bealy, Joanne. "An Interview with Chrystos"; ''[[Off Our Backs]]'', Vol. 33, September 2003, p.&nbsp;11
*E. Centime Zeleke. "Speaking about Language". ''Canadian Woman Studies'', Vol. 16, No. 2, 1996, pp.&nbsp;33–35.
*Retter, Yolanda. "Chrystos". ''Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered History in America'', Vol. 1. Edited by Marc Stein. Detroit: Scribner's; 2004, pp.&nbsp;214–215,
* [http://hdl.handle.net/11299/166121 "Chrystos"], biographical entry at the ''Voices in the Gaps'' database of the University of Minnesota; 2009. (PDF download from the target page.)<!--Using the permalink provided by the site, since the regular URL to the page or to the PDF is apt to change and has already changed at least once.-->
{{refend}}{{wikiquote}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American lesbian writers]]
[[Category:Writers from San Francisco]]
[[Category:Writers from Bainbridge Island, Washington]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ poets]]
[[Category:LGBTQ people from Washington (state)]]
[[Category:American women poets]]
[[Category:20th-century American poets]]
[[Category:20th-century American women writers]]
[[Category:Non-binary activists]]
[[Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:American non-binary writers]]
[[Category:Non-binary lesbians]]