A hushed, reverent silence fell over the crowd, as soon as a woman with short, spiked hair and glasses approached the podium. Vermont author and artist Alison Bechdel, the night’s speaker, took the...

On the wall is a large drawing of a human form cleaning out a litter box looking directly at the viewer, daring viewers to come inside and take a look. The figure is a self-portrait of Alison Bechdel....

In the UVM Recital Hall, the blue light of an e-cigarette glowed against the dark of the stage. It brightened and diminished, mirroring the cadence of its user’s accent-inflected speech. Art Spiegelman...