Kay Turner

Kay Turner holds a Ph.D. in folklore and anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin. Her areas of specialization are in women's performed folklore (especially in the arenas of oral narrative, folk religion, and material culture) and feminist and lesbian/gay/queer interpretations of folklore and popular culture. Her publications include "Beautiful Necessity: The Art and Meaning of Women's Altars", a feminist interpretation of Mexican-American women's home altars, "Between Us: A Legacy of Lesbian Love Letters" (Chronicle Books), and "Baby Precious Always Shines" (St. Martin's Press), an edited selection of love notes between Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. Currently, she is working on a long essay concerning ephemerality and September 11th and a new project, with other AFS colleagues, Transgressive Tales: Rethinking the Grimms' Fairy Tales from Feminist and Queer Perspectives. She teaches adjunct in the Performance Studies Department at NYU and is also based at the Brooklyn Arts Council, where Turner works as the folklorist for the Borough of Brooklyn, researching and presenting the diverse folk arts and artists of Brooklyn.

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