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Letta Neely is a 35 year-old Black lesbian playwright, performer, poet, mother, teacher and community activist who has been involved in progressive, anti-racist and queer liberation movements all her adult life. She was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. After a brief time in New York City, she moved to Boston, MA where she now lives with her partner, daughter and niece. She is the Director of the Boston GLASS community center for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth.
Her work focuses on the connections and intersections of queerness, Blackness, and awareness. Ms. Neely has performed in many venues throughout New York, Massachusetts and the Midwest. She has taught in elementary, middle and high schools, as well as prisons and juvenile detention centers across the country.
Letta's first play, Hamartia Blues, was produced by The Theater Offensive at the Boston Center for the Arts in 2002, directed by Brenda Cotto Escalera. It enjoyed great critical acclaim and received two IRNE [Independent Reviewers of New England] award nominations. Press responses to the Theater Offensive's production of Hamartia Blues included:
"Intense, high-octane theater with far-reaching social themes." -Boston Magazine
"One of the most eagerly anticipated homegrown debuts this theater season! Vividly written and powerfully rendered, the hype is justified!" - Bay Windows
"Vibrant and emotionally charged! The Theater Offensive's phenomenal cast brings tremendous verve to this play, making Neely's poetic dialogue resonate!" -Boston Globe
"Shattering and thought provoking, rich and lyrical, Letta Neely's stage debut is a stunning success!" - in newsweekly
"Neely has an authentic voice and a great ear for dialogue." - Boston Herald
Letta's second play, Last Rites, was co-commissioned by the National Performance Network, The Theater Offensive and the Painted Bride Theater (Philadelphia). The World Premiere was co-produced by The Theater Offensive and Wild Heart Press in April 2004.
"Last Rites' bruising unsparing humor, its lack of condescension or sentimentality, will leave you feeling good"—Boston Globe
"A journey well worth taking!" -- Boston Herald
"A remarkable display of intimacy- so much so you sense the theatrical artifice melting away" -- Boston Herald
Letta has written two books of poetry, Juba and Here (Wildheart Press), which were both finalists for the Lambda Literary Awards. Here was a Triangle Award finalist as well. Her literary work has been included in numerous anthologies, literary journals and magazines including Through the Cracks; Sinister Wisdom; Common Lives, Lesbian Lives; Rag Shock; African Voices, Rap Pages, Catch the Fire, Does Your Mama Know, and most recently, Roll Call—a Generational Anthology of Social and Political Black Literature & Art.
Letta has been recognized for numerous awards and fellowships over the past eight years. In 1995 she was a New York Fellowship for the Arts recipient. Ms. Neely was also a finalist for both the Massachusetts Cultural Council Poetry Fellowship in 2002 and for the Astraea Lesbian Writer's Award in 1999. Twice Ms. Neely has won the OutWrite National Poetry Slam. In 2001 she was named the Best Local Author in the Boston Phoenix Readers' Poll.
