Interview _ Bobba Cass
Bobba Cass grew up in the United States and was in the Peace Corps in Nigeria in the 1960s. An academic whose advanced degrees were in English Literature and Cultural Studies, he has been an activist in struggles against apartheid, racism in schools, nuclear weapons and nuclear energy. He organises Pinggg…K! a poetry event that meets monthly in Leicester for an evening of metrosexual open mic verse and a performance by a featured poet. He came out in his late 40s following a police entrapment arrest. In this interview,* Bobba Cass talks about the work he is doing. You are often described as a literary activist. What forms does this activism take? And, how has it been received? When I began coming out in the late 1980's and I experienced and welcomed the gentleness of other men, I began what I can only describe as 'hearing' a poetry which, in its intensity, was much more open about sensuality and sexuality than was then being published (much of this has chang