GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos was joined by Poth to talk about the release of this exciting new project.
“I’ve been working on it every day and now just seeing it out in the open is really cool,” Poth said about the book’s release. “It’s really rewarding, really fun to see all these queer kids holding it in their hands and reading it.”
Poth talked about his process of how he found all of these incredible kids to feature in the book. “I usually work through youth groups and GSAs.” Poth shared that the process of creating this book was interrupted by the pandemic in 2020.
Luckily, Poth worked closely with an organization called Project Contrast, a non-profit that amplifies the voices of LGBTQ+ youth through the power of storytelling.
With their help and the use of social media, Poth was able to photograph and interview 73 youths over the course of 2 years, to capture the experience of being young and queer in a country working to erase our community.
Poth spoke about what it would have meant to him as a kid to have access to a book like this. “It would have changed my freaking life, which is one of the main reasons I made this book.”
“Any queer person can relate to this where I would go to my library and pull books that help me learn about myself and help me feel safe and help me find or discover myself more,” he explained. “If I had a book like this, I would have found my confidence so much sooner.”
In addition to the book’s publication, “Young Queer America” will be on display at the LA LGBT Center until September, starting with a special event on July 29th. At the event this Saturday, Poth and actress Isis King, who wrote the powerful foreword to the book, will be doing a Q&A and discussion about the project. Reserve tickets here.
“Young Queer America” is available now and can be purchased here.