As Philadelphia gears up for OURfest , a city-wide celebration of love, pride and the LGBTQ+ community happening this weekend, one powerful event set the tone with rhythm, vulnerability, and truth.

At Stir Lounge, tucked just off Rittenhouse Square, the lights were low Tuesday night, but the energy was electric. The mic was open, the spotlight was warm, and voices honest and unfiltered filled the room for "Loud & Proud," a National Coming Out Day poetry slam.

"Poetry is sort of like the most distilled and … honest form of literature," said Boston Gordon, co-producer of the event and founder of You Can't Kill a Poet, a long-running LGBTQ+ poetry series in Philadelphia.

Gordon has spent the past 11 years cultivating spaces where queer voices aren't just welcomed, they're amplified.

"Wh

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