Ricky Tucker is a writer, educator, and culture critic based in New York City. His work explores the imprints of art and memory on narrative, and the absurdity of most fleeting moments. He has written for the Paris Review, the Tenth Magazine, and Public Seminar, among others, and has performed for reading series including the Moth Grand SLAM, Sister Spit, Born: Free, and Spark London. Tucker currently teaches creative nonfiction at The New School and Design Writing at Pratt Institute, both in NYC. He was chosen as a 2017 Lambda Literary Emerging Writer Fellow for creative nonfiction, and a 2023 finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in LGBTQ Nonfiction. His L.A. Times best-selling debut, And the Category Is…Inside New York’s Vogue, House, and Ballroom Community (Beacon Press) was one of Pitchfork’s 15 Best Music Books of 2022. It is available online and in stores.
In this interview with Odu Adamu, the co-founders of the Arbert Santana Ballroom Freedom School discuss Black gay organizations, the Ballroom scene, and the role of spirituality.
Must the artist struggle in order to create works that move the culture? Writer Ricky Tucker explores this question with Charly Dominguez, NYC artist and Ballroom community organizer.
