Reading Michelle Tea

Xtras arts and entertainment editor Gordon Bowness caught up with author Michelle Tea at this years Writing Outside the Margins Queer Literary Festival. Bowness asked Tea about her series of memoirs.

Michelle Tea is the author of four memoirs, including the Lambda-winning Valencia and the illustrated Rent Girl; the poetry collection The Beautiful, and the novel Rose of No Mans Land. She created the legendary Sister Spit all-girl open mic and performance tours of the 90s, which have been revived under the name Sister Spit: The Next Generation and is currently dragging a whole new ear of queer-centric female-ish performance literature around the US. Tea is the creator of Radar Production, a literary non-profit that produces readings in San Francisco and beyond.

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• Michelle
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[ownschooled]

I dont get her whole act. I bet she never shuts up at parties.

[clintcatalyst]

I hope the reply section of YT comments works and lists this response 'below' yours, continentalvictory—though I've included your screen name (obviously!) in the event it doesn't.

For what it's worth, Michelle's boyfriend at the time used to be her *girlfriend.* They were together throughout his transition, but T never felt the need to explain—or potentially exploit—him as FTM.

Unfortunately, Queer isn't among the pull-down menu on any social networking site I'm aware of...  All Best, C

[clintcatalyst]

I fucking love you, Michelle! In some ways, it seems like just last week that you trudged over to 857 Divisadero to pick up the huge stack of galleys for Passionate Mistakes (God, I hate not being able to utilize italics!) that one of my roommates had pilfered. Ah, from the days of exchanging shoddy chapbooks to here: where a clip for "Related Videos" pops up on the 'Tubes, and I'm watching you via computer—down in L.A...

x o x o x

[RainbowStarSparkle]

shes so badass.

[continentalvictory]

It says on the Rent Girl book that she had a "boyfriend" when it came out. Her abandoned myspace page says she's single & unsure of her orientation. She seemed so confident in her lesbianism in Rent Girl that I find it a bit disappointing that she's now another anti-label type...

[anabop]

<333