ivan e coyote – Bookish Butch

The ‘work in progress’ is …progressing and some reading thoughts

Winner in the GLBT category

Hello you all,

rainy day here,

in my beautiful ugly.

Please don’t think,

I’m complaining,

I’m not,

give me rain over,

sticky dank heat,

any day.

My work in progress,

is progressing,

more and more notes,

adding up,

a memory stick full of pictures,

hell,

I even created a twitter account,

check it out,

join me,

https://twitter.com/bookishbutch

Austin Kleon’s book,

Show your work,

suggested it was,

the favorite social media,

of writers.

Early days,

but,

I can see enjoying it,

and,

it will help with impulse control,

“gotta’ control yourself,

or those 140 words,

can get you in trouble

🙂

I just finished reading,

Gender Failure,

by Ivan E. Coyote and Rae Spoon,

a must read people,

will give you much to ponder,

and,

make you laugh and cry,

lots of emotion,

lots of thought,

two astute minds,

collaborating to serve up,

a truly excellent book.

I think you all know,

the love and respect I have for Ivan,

a butch idol of mine,

respect brother.

Rae Spoon,

I am less familiar with,

but,

equally impressed with,

the journey and grit that lead to this,

place,

yes,

impressive.

It brought forth many questions,

I never realized,

I had about the trans experience,

if I can put it this way, but, actually that kind of, a ridiculous way of putting, because the experience is different for everyone,

all part of the vast,

human experience.

It made me think,

and,

feel,

and that is what I value,

above all else,

in a book.

I saw their show,

Ivan and Rae’s,

Gender Failure,

last year with my friend, Francoys,

and so looked forward to reading,

and discussing it with him.

Don’t think for a moment,

“well, I saw the show, I know what the book is about”

it is a very different ‘creature’

both are excellent and complimentary in my opinion.

The show left a lasting impression,

I have discussed it with people,

and,

pondered on it,

many times,

since.

The book opened up a door,

Fran Lebowitz,

one of my all time favourite writers and speakers,

discusses this concept in a talk on Jane Austen,

A book should not be a mirror but a door.

By this she means it shouldn’t be about you,

or recognizing yourself,

but, a door to another world,

another world view,

a glimpse into someone else’s,

human experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujjJlT9cCts

I have read all of Ivan’s work,

’tis love,

and,

now I want to explore,

more of Rae’s,

they appeal to me,

very much,

and,

force me,

in a joyful way,

to explore my thoughts,

confront my acquired ideas.

That rocks

🙂

Austin Kleon in his,

Steal Like An Artist,

and,

Share Your Work,

advises you to learn everything,

there is to know about artists who you love,

learn all their work.

I’ve been doing this for years, but, it is nice to see it articulated, I guess.

Ivan is right up at the top of artists and work I love.

A worthy book.

and this morning,

I came upon this,

on upworthy via face book

proof there isn’t only crap on fb

It added to my thoughts,

once you start,

chewing, marinating and pondering,

on a subject,

stuff turns up,

nice that,

so here is the link

http://www.upworthy.com/the-thing-your-first-grade-english-teacher-missed-that-you-should-definitely-know?g=2&c

Let me know what you all think,

about all this,

I’m off to steal and share.

Be well.

Later girls,

Ivan and Rae, :-)

It is a beautiful morning,

here,

in the big city,

sunny, warm,

gorgeous.

I’m on my second,

cup of coffee,

Thursday is,

a late morning for me,

I start late,

mom handles,

the morning at the bookstore.

So,

I get to sleep in,

take my time,

write my blog,

let the thoughts,

and,

ideas,

spin around,

freely,

and,

this morning,

they sure are spinning:-)

Last night,

was my much anticipated,

evening of Ivan.

I had been,

so looking forward to it,

since Dee mentioned it.

I had my apprehensions,

what if Ivan didn’t live up,

to the towering figure,

of butchness,

that I had constructed in my mind?

I know it’s silly, but, Ivan, to me, is some kind of standard, I don’t mean idol, I’m too old, for idols, but, you know, a standard- of butch and all that it means to me, dapper and gentlemanly, charming and not smarmy, funny in a smart self-deprecating way, ah shucks and a tie. I needn’t have worried, she was all that and more.

Last week when I heard about this show,

I knew I had to go,

I could have gone alone,

but,

it’s more fun to share.

My love isn’t in town,

the ex was driving to the States,

to spend Thanksgiving with her girl,

my friend the librarian lives in Toronto,

my friend the prof is way too busy,

see,

I could have gone with others,

but,

I wanted to share this,

with someone I care deeply about,

and,

of a similar generation,

so we would have a similar experience.

You know,

same landmarks and sign posts,

a common cultural and generational,

landscape.

So,

I asked my friend,

Francoys,

the anarchist,

he’s heard me gush,

about Ivan,

he’s my friend,

my bud,

my go to guy,

damn,

he’s like the girlfriend,

every butch needs,

( obviously not in the romantic sense, right?)

He knows more about imposed,

gender,

than I do,

we love and respect each other.

He was the perfect choice,

we always have a good time,

together.

When I asked,

he responded,

enthusiastically.

I knew we had ‘lift off’,

to a good evening.

Francoys met me,

at the bookstore,

he stops by every night,

on his way home.

We headed out to Laurier metro,

which is in the Mile End,

the hippest and ‘gayest’ ,

part of the city,

right now,

quick aside, both my parents were born and partly raised in the Mile-End, which used to be a working class and immigrant neighbourhood, now it’s hip and expensive, but, man, it still has great ‘bones’

I figured we’d grab,

a quick bowl of Vietnamese noodle soup.

(love that stuff, not too filling, just right, for whatever you need, whatever ails or fails you)

alas,

we couldn’t find a place for that,

we walked around a little,

but,

we didn’t have much time,

and,

we didn’t want to fill up.

Then,

I remembered,

that beneath,

the venue,

Sala Rossa on St-Laurent.

is a Spanish restaurant,

a social club restaurant,

with hearty food.

We had an amazing pumpkin-chorizo soup,

yum,

just enough with some crusty bread,

and,

not too much,

to grog us out.

After our homey peasant soup,

we went up the stairs,

in plenty of time,

to get a table,

and,

order a libation,

Francoys had his usual,

G&T and,

I had a local brewery brew,

St-Ambroise,

a delicious dark,

not too dark,

beer,

the stage was set,

all the elements were there,

for a perfect time.

As we sat down,

Ivan walked by,

on her way to the bathroom,

I smiled,

and,

she smiled back,

asked me how I was doing,

I said great,

and,

she thanked me for coming,

I told her I wouldn’t have missed it,

for the world,

she looked back,

and smiled,

more and bigger

🙂

She was everything I had learnt,

from her writing,

and,

You Tube clips,

good looking,

charming,

friendly,

in a discreet Canadian way,

in a butch way,

( I don’t know how clear that is, or if it makes sense, but, that’s how I saw it)

Not as tall as I imagined,

I don’t know if it’s just me,

but,

I always imagine,

people as taller,

she’s not short,

but,

she’s not tall,

you know,

average height:-)

After about twenty minutes,

this is Montreal, you have to wait a little, there will be late comers!

The show started,

I wasn’t familiar with Rae Spoon,

I mean I knew the name,

knew they were a singer,

originally from Alberta,

now living in Montreal.

What a treat,

gifted storyteller,

in their own right,

must buy Rae’s book,

and,

a clear voice,

of such depth,

and,

years of layers,

and,

yeah,

pain.

Ivan is a writer and a storyteller,

in her forties,

Rae a singer and writer,

in their thirties,

both share and explore,

each other’s,

genre,

means of expression,

and,

different generational,

perspectives.

It works so well,

they illustrate so well,

how,

gender fails,

all of us.

The show is funny,

and,

touching,

makes you a laugh,

a little,

and,

cringe at past memories,

a little.

Not an ouce of failure,

great show:-)

At intermission,

twenty minutes,

because as,

Ivan said,

“it’s Montreal and you smoke”

Francoys and I went out,

to grab some air,

and,

yes,

some smoke and carbon monoxide

<wink>

I asked him what,

he thought of it,

he said,

‘Wow’

he had trusted me,

but,

didn’t quite know,

what to expect,

he loved it,

it spoke to him.

We both bought a book,

when we went back in,

the young man,

at the table,

was more familiar,

with Rae’s work,

and asked me,

which of Ivan’s books,

I had read,

I told him,

‘all of them,she’s the best’,

he looked at me,

and smiled,

I made him promise,

he would read one.

I told him I was glad to ‘discover’ Rae,

and,

I would be buying theirs as well

Just in case you think, my pronouns are messed up, they aren’t Rae uses the ‘they’ pronoun, being neither he or she and both, I like that.

Francoys and I,

might have been amongst,

the oldest people,

there,

and,

you know,

it didn’t matter,

we were amongst,

‘our’ people,

regardless,

of age,

and,

gender,

a bunch of happy,

stimulated,

thought provoked,

entertained,

gender failures.

Later girls,

When I grow up….

It’s a grey cloudy morning,

of the October variety.

I don’t mind,

I feel good,

my friend Pierre,

webmaster extraordinaire,

fixed the pesky problem,

with the blog,

just to be clear,

you all were never in danger,

of contamination,

it was a Google alert brought on,

by a spam,

left on the blog,

incredible amount of spam,

you gotta wonder

!!??!!

any way,

it’s fixed,

BB is back

🙂

It’s been slow and odd,

at the bookstore,

remnants of full moon,

weird Fall weather,

cold,

hot,

rainy,

grey,

everything within three days.

So, instead of obsessing on that,

or the blog,

limited success with these but, still…

I have been reading,

Ivan E. Coyote’s,

latest collection of stories,

One In Every Crowd,

Fun aside, recently when I visited the Queer Book Fair here in Montreal, Queer Between The Covers, I bought both this book and, Persistence: All Ways Butch And Femme, from Arsenal Pulp Press’ table and as we strolled the rest of the book fair, I was carrying the books and met the artist who created both book covers, Elisha Lim, she was very pleased that both books had her art:-) At the Anarchist Book Fair, I had also purchased her Zine, The Illustrated Gentleman, which is an adorable twist on GQ, Butch style. She does nice work, you should check her out, at http://elishalim.com/

Getting back to Ivan,

you all know,

I love her work,

her written work,

since I have never seen her perform,

someday, I hope.

Ivan’s writing speaks to me,

directly to,

my butch soul.

This collection is no exception.

A few of the stories,

have been published,

previously,

in other collections.

At first,

I thought,

oh, I’ve read this, too bad,

and then it felt,

like I was visiting with a good friend,

talking about the old days,

what Bruce calls ‘Glory Days”,

and,

catching up on what’s been going on,

with her,

in her life,

talking about her Grandma passing,

her quitting smoking,

her new and marvelous love,

bitching together on,

how Harper is ruining Canada,

and,

how the Christian Right,

is messing with our American cousins.

Catching up,

reminiscing,

butch to butch.

That’s what it feels like to me,

when I read Ivan,

shooting the shit,

with a pal,

a sister,

a brother.

I’ve never met Ivan,

I probably never will,

so?

doesn’t make our ‘relationship’,

any less,

‘intimate’.

That’s what great books,

give you,

connection.

Now,

I am way past the age,

of needing guidance,

from a butch who’s been around the block,

but,

I think the young LGBTQ people,

that Ivan wrote this for,

well, mostly,

will benefit,

from knowing,

that there are uncle Ivans,

out there.

Who live their lives as they wish,

who write,

and,

perform,

and earn a living,

who come from families,

that love and support them,

and,

those who don’t have families,

like that,

can find them,

make them,

that many of us,

exist.

Some of us,

are messed up,

some of us,

are well adjusted and happy,

we just are.

It’s good to know,

that High School,

even for those of us,

who do fine,

or pass,

whatever the case may be,

isn’t the end all.

I had a supportive family,

like Ivan’s,

we didn’t have to talk about this stuff,

it just was.

High School was fine.

I’ve said it before,

I’m lucky.

I’m not sure I would have needed,

Ivan’s book,

but,

it would have been,

nice to have,

just as it is now.

Be it for an example,

or a warm familiar presence,

it’s good to know,

that the Ivan’s of the world,

are there,

and writing to us,

comforting,

and,

inspiring.

A must add to your collection,

in my humble opinion,

and,

something to give to a kid you know,

who feels different,

nothing preachy or academic about this book,

a talk with your favourite uncle.

Some of them might even think,

when I grow up…

I’m gonna be like that

🙂

Later girls,

***the header is an homage to what is quite possibly my favourite book, 84 Charing Cross Road**

The Summer of Ivan

It’s been a hot week,

and a little bit slow,

at the bookstore,

and in my life.

When, it’s really hot,

I don’t sleep well,

and,

when,

I don’t sleep well,

I get cranky,

and,

slow.

Last night was cool,

and I slept,

like the proverbial baby:-)

Funny when I’m cranky,

or a little bit down,

I do a lot of reading,

which stimulates,

my thoughts,

and,

helps me emerge from,

my doldrums,

provided,

it’s the right kind,

of reading,

for my mood.

The Gladwell,

helped me think,

and,

perhaps,

consider a new path,

for the future.

A fabulous book,

can’t recommend it,

strongly enough,

it’s ten years old,

and,

yet,

so fresh.

But, this Summer,

has been,

the Summer of Ivan.

In the last week,

I have read,

three of her books,

add,

to the two,

I had read,

previously,

it is almost,

the entirety,

of her oeuvre.

I think Ivan,

has arrived,

in my life,

at the right time,

she speaks to me.

Her openess about,

being a butch queer,

and,

what it really means,

the good,

the bad,

the ugly,

rings so true.

I don’t mean her,

life and her path,

ressemble my own,

she hails from The Yukon,

and I’m from Montreal,

she now lives in Vancouver,

I’m still in Montreal,

she’s famous,

I’m not:-)

She’s a writer,

I want to be,

but,

her search for,

understanding,

who she is,

and getting,

the message out,

to youth,

and everyone,

that yeah,

we may be different,

but,

there are many of us,

and we love,

our family,

Grandmas,

extended family,

dogs/cats,

girlfriends/partners,

and,

have learned,

from our parents.

So,

just how different are we?

We don’t question your rights,

and,

reason for being,

why question ours?

But,

mostly Ivan,

makes me smile,

and think,

about my butchness,

and how sometimes,

I question it,

she helps give,

myself permission,

to embrace,

my label,

and my stereotype,

as well as,

trancend it.

I’ll have to catch,

one of her performances,

or maybe,

write her,

a fan letter,

wait,

maybe,

I just did:-)

I love Ivan,

like a brother,

or a sister:-)

Just wanted to tell you all that.

Later girls,

Library visit, Coyote and Schoemperlen, women to read

Today was a scorcher,

or as the Fonz would,

have said,

scorcherino:-)

Forgive the seventies flashback, please:-)

I took the metro,

to the library,

not too busy,

a pretty sunny day,

and the last of,

the long weekend.

The metro felt like, I would imagine a Turkish bath to be like, never been to Turkey or a Turkish bath, but, my body thinks, sweltering, hot and sticky.

The library was cool,

the magic of,

air conditioning,

Hallelujah!!

I took out,

a few Donna Leon books,

for mom,

she loves those,

set in,

Venice,

mysteries,

and I got myself some,

Ivan Coyote,

I’m crushing on her,

stuff,

bad.

I read her,

as a strong butch voice,

since we are,

of similar age,

it really speaks to me.

I was lucky to find,

two of her story collections,

I haven’t read,

Missing Her,

and,

The Slow Fix.

Coyote has this,

strange effect on me,

she makes me want to be,

a better writer,

or give up,

writing,

this effect is,

sometimes,

simultaneous,

Hmmm,

food for thought:-)

As I was heading out,

of the library,

I spotted these,

used book seller,

stalls,

and I can’t help,

myself,

when I see such things,

I gotta look,

it’s a disease.

I’m glad I stopped,

I picked up,

three books for two bucks.

Tom Brown’s School Days,

a sort of ratty copy,

of this children’s classic,

it’s a title that has,

intrigued me for years.

This copy,

has a name,

on the first page,

James C McGill,

July 3rd 1919,

I just had to rescue it,

from oblivion,

for James’ sake.

Another book,

was one of those,

college course type books,

Nine Modern Classics: An Anthology of Short Novels.

It includes,

Tolstoy,

Dostoevsky,

Conrad,

Kafka,

and,

Faulkner,

a good book to have.

To hold or sell,

should I choose to sell,

it’s a no brainer,

I’ll get my two bucks back,

just for that book,

but,

I didn’t buy it,

with that intention,

I’ve never read,

Kafka or Conrad,

and I figured,

this way,

I can try both.

The book that really excited,

my imagination,

was a pristine,

hardcover,

first edition,

of,

Our Lady Of The Lost And Found,

by Diane Schoemperlen.

Ms Schoemperlen,

is a fine,

Canadian Writer.

This novel,

won the Governor General’s Award for Fiction.

The GG’s as they are now,

often called,

are probably and arguably,

Canada’s most prestigious,

Literary Prizes.

I read this book,

a few years ago,

it was published,

in 2001.

It is a book,

of maturity,

originality,

and tongue in cheek humour.

A must read,

in my opinion.

Since, reading it,

I have bought all,

of the lady’s books,

new,

and in hardcover,

I don’t do that with,

many authors,

pretty much,

John Irving,

and,

Diane Schoemperlen.

She deserves to be read.

I’m going to re-read it soon,

and tell you,

what I think,

it left quite an impresion,

let’s hope,

it sticks:-)

Well it’s late,

I better get some sleep,

while it’s cooler,

Later girls,

Library visit, rambling and a blog you should read.

It’s not raining,

but,

if ,

the level,

of dampness,

in the air,

is any,

indicator,

it should start,

pretty soon,

AGAIN!!

Just so,

you don’t think,

I’m the only one,

who talks,

about,

rain,

and weather,

and to add,

a little bit,

of credence,

I feel a bad moon a risin’ I feel trouble in the air I know we’re in for nasty weather don’t come around tonight it’s bound to take your life there’s a bad moon on the risin’- Credence Clearwater Revival <wink, nudge, wink>

to my theory,

of Canadians,

being,

obsessed with,

the weather,

you should read this,

http://fcs2.wordpress.com/2011/05/27/love-stuff/,

of course,

it’s not only,

about the,

weather!!

It’s a lovely piece,

by,

a funny,

thoughtful,

writer,

who makes me,

think,

and makes me,

smile.

Do yourself a favour,

check it out:-)

This morning,

I had cabin fever,

so I headed for,

the library,

usually busy,

on a rainy Sunday,

but,

today was,

freebie day,

for the,

Montreal Museums,

so the hoards,

who usually,

invade,

the library,

were invading,

the museums:-)

I was right,

quiet at the library,

the metro?

woo hoo,

that was,

another story,

hot and humid,

crowded,

times like these, I think maybe the suburbs wouldn’t be so bad, usually lasts half a second:-)

I survived,

the trip,

and met up,

with my friend,

the tycoon,

we meet there,

once in a while,

and usually grab lunch.

I took out,

Annie Dillard’s book,

The Writing Life,

it came highly,

recommended,

and I got myself,

Ivan Coyote’s novel,

Bow Grip,

I really liked,

Close to Spiderman,

I like her perspective,

and wanted to,

Coyote, Judaism and Soul food

Wow,

what a morning,

honestly,

it’s the only appropriate,

word,

wow.

Sales yesterday,

were amazing,

I don’t want to be greedy,

but,

if the whole week,

was like that,

I’d be grateful,

I’m thinking,

of doing,

a little,

ex parte,

communication,

with,

St-Jude,

can’t hurt,

right?

My reading lately?

Sporadic,

all over the map,

examples?

In the last week,

I have read,

an Ivan E Coyote,

a book on Judaism,

for proselytes,

which it turns out, means Gentile converts. who knew?

and a book,

of Great American Poetry,

like I said,

eclectic!

The Ivan Coyote,

is a book of stories,

Close to Spider Man,

and was given to me,

by someone,

near and dear,

to my heart,

she described it,

as more,

vignettes,

than stories,

and,

I agree,

small slices of life,

growing up,

a tomboy dyke,

in the Yukon,

a funny, tender,

read,

not sentimental,

or cutsey,

simple evocative,

language,

The women smelled of gift perfume, the men of new sweaters.. Iced window panes seperated us from the bitter white of winter outside. Everyone I’d ever known was still alive- from Walks Like

I can smell,

the new,

Shetland wool sweater,

itchy and warm,

and hear,

my grandfather’s laugh.

or this,

I was an accomplished tomboy by this time, so I was used to hating my clothes- from No Bikini

visions of a,

pink,

fleece lined jacket,

my mother,

brought home,

from a,

a shopping,

expedition,

eek!

I liked,

this book,

I like this writer,

I want to read more,

I will.

The book on,

Judaism?

Well, it literally,

fell off the shelf,

in the religion and,

spirituality section,

and I thought,

to myself,

what do you really,

know about Judaism?

Not a lot,

and,

fifty-six pages,

matches my current,

attention span,

so why not,

I’ve learned a bit,

and I enjoyed it,

and,

now,

I know the difference,

between,

reform and orthodox Jews.

The poetry?

well,

it’s good for the soul,

and my soul,

can always use,

nourishment.

Later girls,