Birds Flying South
Book Reviews, Author Interviews, Literary Trends, and the Latest in Queer Culture.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Goodbye For Now
Thank you for the support over the last year! I've loved writing this blog, researching obscure LGBT trends, and reading amazing YA books. As many of you know, I just launched a new online magazine called T(OUR), an exciting literary project about true experiences in the queer community. I'm taking a break from the blog to put all my efforts into the magazine. I hope our paths continue to cross on the interwebs in other ways. Keep being awesome! Thanks again.
Over and out,
Catherine
Photo credit: hollywoodlostandfound.net
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Taking On an Army
Maddow doesn't know how to fix the problems within the US military, but she offers eight "to-dos" at the end of Drift - solutions like raising money for each new war and shrinking our nuke supply. One of her suggestions expands on "Colin Powell's cautionary 'Pottery Barn Rule' - you not only own it if you break it," she says, "you own it if you build it too." Simple stuff. Common sense. The sort of thing you shouldn't have to say.
Maddow and her book have been well received on this book tour, especially in Seattle. How many other authors get a standing ovation at Town Hall before saying one word? "It's so nice to actually see an audience," she told the sold-out crowd last week. "Usually if people are watching me talk, I can't see them."
In person, Maddow is just like her book: witty, honest, and completely endearing. As she talked onstage about her different career steps, Maddow impersonated herself being drunk, which was almost as funny as her impression of Ronald Reagan having a temper tantrum while writing in his presidential diary. More than anything, she seemed genuinely interested in conversation as she opened up the room for questions. She talked about social justice. She talked about how Dick Cheney can be both a villain and a man to be admired (her book bears the dedication: "To former vice president Dick Cheney. Oh, please let me interview you"). Maddow discussed the ways in which her book will hopefully provoke more conversation about the military. "There are lots of ways to worry about nuclear weapons, and I worry about them all," she said. "Which makes me no fun at a dinner party."
Though American politics are dear to her heart, Maddow admitted to me in a post-reading interview that she didn't enjoy the book-writing process or "the nuances of procrastination" that came with it. "I needed to commit to starting to write," she said. Her distaste, though endearing, doesn't show in the text. Drift resonates with an overwhelming sentiment: Our military situation sucks. So let's fix it."
(My article is also featured in the April 25, 2012 issue of The Stranger.)
Photo credit: images.nymag.com
Friday, April 20, 2012
Mothers Mothering Daughters, Daughters Mothering Mothers
Gloria's tale of emerging queerness is riveting, and Chana's accounts of Gloria's pain, depression, and journey through a cruel therapy program are heartbreaking and heartfelt. She inserts comic relief in all the right places, like secret jokes at a funeral. When Gloria admits her pro-lady tendencies and confirms she has no interest in men, Chana says, "Well, Mom, I hate to tell you, but you're not bisexual, you're a lesbian," to which Gloria is "pretty damn nonchalant: 'Guess so, honey.'" Many of Chana's discoveries about Gloria's life unfolded through a series of radio interviews between the mother and daughter that Chana recorded in 1974 for KPFA-FM in Berkeley. (You can listen to original interview clips on the Riding Fury Home website.)
It is Chana's childhood that sticks with you. Her journey seemed to go backwards, starting with when she was forced to run a household as a young girl. "First, I was the mother and she was the daughter," Chana said to the crowd at Elliot Bay Book Company for her reading last night. "When we came out, we were like two teenagers. Then, when I needed it, she mothered me."
(You can also read my review on The Stranger's website.)
Photo credit: www.goodreads.com
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Everything Reminds Me of Everything
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Tour de Force: Trash-Talking in Strangers' Basements with Dorothy Allison and Michelle Tea
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Inside/Out: Eileen Myles Does Jekyll and Hyde, Plus Snowflakes
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Powerfully Adorable: A Review of the Sharon Van Etten Concert
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Book Review: Rosecrans Baldwin's "Paris, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down"
Friday, March 16, 2012
The Q Review x2
OUR MISSION is to provide a platform for queer art and expression. We want to bring queer voices together as a collection of voices, as a deafening roar and unite LGBTQ artists under one title, one website, one letter: Q.
We chose “Q” because we aim to include everyone. “Q” literally stands for Queer, the all-inclusive identifier from the alphabet soup, LGBTQ. So whether you write poetry, or create graphic illustrations – gay, lesbian, or simply queer – your voice is welcome inside The Q Review.
We intend to bring the greater Chicago area and the rest of the world a formal, regular, and cohesive publication to spread queer thought, creativity, and to nourish the growth of the queer arts community as a whole.