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Whirlwind Past Two Days
Mar. 28th, 2008 10:08 amFirst of all, the GLBT reading at Intermedia Arts was... "interesting," as we say here in Minnesota. Hanging out with the literary types often reminds me why I tend to identify as geek first and queer second. But, I'll get to that.
If you've never been to Intermedia Arts it's a rather strange, consciously URBAN place. It's on Lyndale, a very busy street, on the edge of Uptown (the sort of high-end part of town that has aspirations of "grittiness.") To wit, the Intermedia Arts building is very industrial looking, which they highlight by allowing graffitti artists a venue to do their thing in on the walls that surround the parking lot. The interior is also less than welcoming. There's an art gallery to on side and a sort of empty, open space from which there are a number of doors that lead to the poetry library, the public bathrooms, the performance space, and a small reception area that's far from the door in a corner. Nothing about the building says, "Hey, come on in, have a seat, enjoy the show!" In fact, unless you've been there before, it's kind of hard to figure out where you're supposed to go for the performance.
Plus, it always looks closed.
Every time I have a reading at Intermedia Arts I find myself pulling into the lot thinking, "Is this the right place?"
I ran into a couple of people I knew right away 'Becca and her girlfriend, whose name I just lost, and my former SASE/Intermedia Arts mentee April. That was nice. I wasn't expecting to see anyone I knew. I no longer make Shawn go to these things, if only because that way we save on babysitting fees, but also she's heard me read so many times. Then, just as we were about to start my dear friends Gerriann and Barb came in -- which I wasn't expecting at all, which was a whole lot of awesome.
The other reader with me was Elizabeth Di Grazia, a memorist, who writes primarily about raising two adopted children as a lesbian mom. She was a good reader and I found a lot to relate to in her writing.
Then there's me. I read a very short excerpt from "ishtartu," which appears in PERIPHERY: EROTIC LESBIAN FUTURES. It's science fiction, and, more to the point, it's *my* science fiction so it's weird and kind of humorous and... nothing at all like the sort of things I think people read at the GLBT series. Plus, during the somewhat awkward Q&A section (what? There's a quiz???) it became clear that some people in the audience had never HEARD of science fiction, much less read any. I shouldn't be surprised. But, you know, I try to insulate myself from mundanes.
It's not like anyone was rude or said anything particularly agregious, but it was just one of those moments when I remember that day all those summers ago when I found myself at a lesbian potluck thinking, "What do I have in common with these women -- other than things that are really rather private? I'd much rather find a bunch of fellow geeks at a convention and argue about the latest Battlestar Galatica episode than sit here pretending I LIKE eating tofu pups."
But it was all made better by coffee afterwards with Ger and Barb.
Then, yesterday morning it was off to the Public Library Association Conference where RWA had a booth in the trade show's "dealer's room." Unlike most of the other vendors, RWA had FREE books for give-away. I must have signed the entire box of DEAD SEXY in about fifteen minutes. I wrote a little bit about my experience at PLA over at Tates' blog under the title, "Never Yell 'FREE BOOKS' at a Library Conference."
Last night was Wyrdsmiths. I was disappointed that we had to switch venues (Black Dog had a fundraiser), and Eleanor Arnason couldn't make it. She's just finished one of her fabulous BIG MAMA stories and this one involved a darling, feathered arctic allosaur named "Alfred." I drew her a picture of him on her critique. I may actually have to scan it before I give it to her, because Alfred ended up having a cute expression in my doodle.
Now, I can breathe for a little while. Tonight I have no plans, other than to catch up on EastEnders and Dexter with Shawn. I may even do a little writing, but I finally found out that Tate's deadline isn't until June 1. So, I have a little time to just sit before I have to freak out about the fact that I should really be finishing that up soon.
If you've never been to Intermedia Arts it's a rather strange, consciously URBAN place. It's on Lyndale, a very busy street, on the edge of Uptown (the sort of high-end part of town that has aspirations of "grittiness.") To wit, the Intermedia Arts building is very industrial looking, which they highlight by allowing graffitti artists a venue to do their thing in on the walls that surround the parking lot. The interior is also less than welcoming. There's an art gallery to on side and a sort of empty, open space from which there are a number of doors that lead to the poetry library, the public bathrooms, the performance space, and a small reception area that's far from the door in a corner. Nothing about the building says, "Hey, come on in, have a seat, enjoy the show!" In fact, unless you've been there before, it's kind of hard to figure out where you're supposed to go for the performance.
Plus, it always looks closed.
Every time I have a reading at Intermedia Arts I find myself pulling into the lot thinking, "Is this the right place?"
I ran into a couple of people I knew right away 'Becca and her girlfriend, whose name I just lost, and my former SASE/Intermedia Arts mentee April. That was nice. I wasn't expecting to see anyone I knew. I no longer make Shawn go to these things, if only because that way we save on babysitting fees, but also she's heard me read so many times. Then, just as we were about to start my dear friends Gerriann and Barb came in -- which I wasn't expecting at all, which was a whole lot of awesome.
The other reader with me was Elizabeth Di Grazia, a memorist, who writes primarily about raising two adopted children as a lesbian mom. She was a good reader and I found a lot to relate to in her writing.
Then there's me. I read a very short excerpt from "ishtartu," which appears in PERIPHERY: EROTIC LESBIAN FUTURES. It's science fiction, and, more to the point, it's *my* science fiction so it's weird and kind of humorous and... nothing at all like the sort of things I think people read at the GLBT series. Plus, during the somewhat awkward Q&A section (what? There's a quiz???) it became clear that some people in the audience had never HEARD of science fiction, much less read any. I shouldn't be surprised. But, you know, I try to insulate myself from mundanes.
It's not like anyone was rude or said anything particularly agregious, but it was just one of those moments when I remember that day all those summers ago when I found myself at a lesbian potluck thinking, "What do I have in common with these women -- other than things that are really rather private? I'd much rather find a bunch of fellow geeks at a convention and argue about the latest Battlestar Galatica episode than sit here pretending I LIKE eating tofu pups."
But it was all made better by coffee afterwards with Ger and Barb.
Then, yesterday morning it was off to the Public Library Association Conference where RWA had a booth in the trade show's "dealer's room." Unlike most of the other vendors, RWA had FREE books for give-away. I must have signed the entire box of DEAD SEXY in about fifteen minutes. I wrote a little bit about my experience at PLA over at Tates' blog under the title, "Never Yell 'FREE BOOKS' at a Library Conference."
Last night was Wyrdsmiths. I was disappointed that we had to switch venues (Black Dog had a fundraiser), and Eleanor Arnason couldn't make it. She's just finished one of her fabulous BIG MAMA stories and this one involved a darling, feathered arctic allosaur named "Alfred." I drew her a picture of him on her critique. I may actually have to scan it before I give it to her, because Alfred ended up having a cute expression in my doodle.
Now, I can breathe for a little while. Tonight I have no plans, other than to catch up on EastEnders and Dexter with Shawn. I may even do a little writing, but I finally found out that Tate's deadline isn't until June 1. So, I have a little time to just sit before I have to freak out about the fact that I should really be finishing that up soon.