Social Commentator and Lesbian Comedienne Kate Clinton, author of "I Told You So," a hilarious, bittersweet, politically acute survival guide

"Quick-witted, clear-spoken... She has developed a bizarrely logical, seemingly free-associating style of delivery [and] had this critic in tears from laughing so hard."
- The New York Times on our guest Kate Clinton

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Please join us for the June 28th Forward Forum, and one of our all-time favorite guests, social commentator and lesbian comedienne Kate Clinton, live on the phone from New York. This weekend is the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Revolution, and we're pleased to mark that occasion with a guest who's done much to continue that legacy, and the ongoing struggles for women's rights and racial & economic justice, through her activism and her irrepressible sense of humor.



As she tells it, Kate Clinton is a faith-based, tax-paying, America-loving political humorist and family entertainer. With a career spanning over 28 years, Kate Clinton has worked through economic booms and busts, Disneyfication and Walmartization, gay movements and gay markets, lesbian chic and queer eyes, and EIGHT presidential inaugurals. She still believes that humor gets us through peacetime, wartime, scoundrel time and economic down times.

Kate has been a frequent visitor to Madison, where she has enchanted, shocked and enthralled audiences from all sexual orientations and walks of life with her cutting edge comedy. Kate is also a columnist for the Madison-based Progressive Magazine, a frequent blogger at the Huffington Post and other progressive web outposts, and on her own incredible multi-media website, www.kateclinton.com . A prolific author, she has just published "I Told You So," a hilarious, bittersweet, politically acute survival guide.

Currently about to embark on her "Yes on K8" tour of the US and Canada, Kate's also recently released a CD based on her 2007 tour, "Climate Change," her 8th such comedy recording. This followed her highly-acclaimed 2006 documentary, "Kate Clinton: the 25th Anniversary Tour," a behind-the-scenes look at her landmark tour--and her story in giving up the life of a high school teacher for a life on the public stage--which features generous excerpts from her stand-up performances. On August 29th, she'll be hosting a gala event in Provincetown, Mass. showcasing her longtime colleague and friend Lily Tomlin.

Please join us for a wide-ranging and highly-entertaining conversation with Kate that will revist highlights of last year's presidential campaign, and look forward to new developments, including an update on gay marriage victories and defeats. Kate is that rare activist/entertainer who sees the Big Picture, and uses her humor to educate and inspire action. From health care to Sarah Palin, from GOP hypocrisy to Obama backtracking, no subject is sacred. We welcome your participation in our conversation at 608-321-1670.

Above: Kate is pictured with her longtime partner, Urvashi Vaid, whose many roles have included being former Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and her current role as Executive Director of the Arcus Foundation. Like Kate, Urvashi is someone also well-known to Madison audiences, ever since she wowed us with her rousing call to action as the keynoter at the 1991 Gay and Lesbian Visibility Alliance march on the steps of the State Capitol.