By Onnie Stone
“Donny, you have a loud mouth, why not use it?”
This is how one of Donny Winter’s mentors encouraged him to use his voice. And use it he did.
His poetry consistently tops Amazon’s LGBTQ+ Poetry and Nature Poetry lists, and has earned Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize nominations.
In his first collection of poems, “Carbon Footprint,” he details his experiences before coming out and during coming out. In his second collection, “Feats of Alchemy,” he writes about the experiences after coming out, and what it can be like to navigate that.
“They’re not only navigating that visibility, but they are also navigating being part of the LGBTQ+ community itself,” Winter said. “They are coming to terms with who they are.”
His third collection of poems, “Casting Seeds,” puts on the lens of childhood to describe the experience of growing up LGBTQ+.
Winter has been shaped by experiences fighting homophobia and self-doubt. Needing to navigate this, he turned to writing as a means of self expression. His path toward activism and self-acceptance began as a vlogger. As is the case for many queer people, social media was a kind of refuge for Winter.
“It felt good to be able to talk about important topics and to be vulnerable that way,” Winter said. Social media became the first space he could embrace his queer identity.
As a gay man, feeling the need to hide was a familiar feeling for Winter. When he first started teaching at Delta in 2016, he found it difficult to share aspects of his personal life and his niche in LGBTQ+ poetry. Seeing queer students in the classroom made him rethink the message he was sending to students. By hiding his identity, what was he saying about being LGBTQ+?
“As an educator I am literally walking representation, and I have the power to do what I would like with that representation,” he said. This marked the start of another chapter for Winter.
“I decided from there-on out to start doing– to start being more transparent. To start being true to myself,” he said. “I wanted to convey the message that you’re honoring and celebrating yourself by doing so– and celebrating your work too.”
He goes beyond his teaching at Delta and SVSU, supporting and inspiring queer people and writers in his community.
In 2022, he became co-chair of Delta’s Prism Alliance. The Prism Alliance is an organization working toward making Delta a safe environment for LGBTQ+ people. As co-chair, he works to keep the college aware and accountable of current LGBTQ+ issues. His role allows him to curate a safe, welcoming community for queer students.
“I’ve always wanted to involve myself more locally in local LGBTQ+ organizations,” Winter said.
PFLAG is an organization that supports and advocates for people who are LGBTQ+. Since joining the Board of Directors at PFLAG Great Lakes Bay in 2023, Winter has helped keep the Great Lakes Bay region educated on LGBTQ+ issues. There, he helps start important conversations about these issues.
He’s spoken at several creative writing workshops. His speeches typically center on poetry and queer topics. At these workshops, he reaches people of all ages, often working with schools.
As a queer author, these workshops are a way for him to connect with other queer people in the community. During one of his talks, he took a conversation about concerning book-banning statistics and turned it into a gay poetry reading.
“It usually turns out wonderfully, and I really enjoy the experience,” Winter said. His most recent talk was about why the coming out story is still so important. These conversations give Winter another chance to connect with people in the community.
“Don’t be afraid to be your full, authentic self,” Winter said. His lived experience is his message to others.
“Activist” is a title Winter grew into, not out of. While he got his first taste of activism through the internet, it was in college that he really leaned into his activism. One of his greatest inspirations for his relentless spirit was his late friend, Ace London.
“He would always… kind of encourage my activist side a little bit,” he said about his friend. London would always tell him, “Donny, you are who you’ve been becoming.” For Winter’s “very young LGBTQ+ brain,” those words left an impact.
“It made me realize that if I’m to grow not only as a person, but also as a writer, an educator, activist, all that jazz, I have to be very transparent with myself about what I’ve gone through,” he said. London’s message is carried on through Winter’s work. Be it through writing, local activism, or teaching, his transparency inspires people.
“Donald Winter is no doubt the best professor I have ever had,” said one of his students. “I feel very grateful that he became a teacher and blesses Delta College with his presence.”
“I feel like I have found my voice, and there’s this degree of fearlessness that comes with that,” Winter said. “I feel like, not only am I seen, but I’ve overcome that constant desire to want to hide.” This fearlessness is what he communicates in his authenticity. For him, the LGBTQ+ community has given him a place to belong.
Donny is a spectacular man and I’m proud to see him emerge into who he is meant to be.