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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1986)
thor, editor, co -founder of Seal Press, teacher. Like m ost o f us she runs out o f tim e — to w rite, to w ork on the press, to prom ote the books. T h e re ’s not as m uch tim e for friends, o r “delicious little Italian m eals; I just kind of w ork a lo t” Seattle has com e to m ean just Sisters of the Road: one of our own by PM . Scott A young black prostitute is killed in Seattle: an o th er m ay have seen the killer and fears for her life. Into the sticky threads o f the public and private lives o f these girls stum bles Pam N ilsen, with her own sexuality, intents and prejudices to sort o u t S o goes the new Barbara W ilson novel, Sisters o f the Road, a sequel to the popular M urder in the Collective. W ilson has sum m o n ed a rew arding array o f characters and arranged a com plex interplay o f ideas and issues under cover o f a m urder mystery. “It doesn’t seem like people are talking seriously about issues now," W ilson rem arks, "but they do w ant to be entertained. So, if you can find a way to keep people interested yet get som e ideas in th e re . . . that’s pretty im p o rtan t” And W ilson has chosen the m odest vehicle o f a mystery, with gripping plot and characters and fast-paced action, to explore w eighty is sues: the nature o f prostitution, w o m en ’s sex uality; g u ilt and responsibility; the nature of tru s t o f com prom ise; lesbian sexual behavior, and relative realities. T h e story began brew ing because o f the G reen River m urders. It’s been noted that if th e victim s o f those m urders were white, m id dle class, "good" w om en there w ould be m o re o f a hue and cry about finding the killer, an d W ilson recognized that sam e co m p la cen cy and jud g m en tal attitude in herself. T h in k in g abo ut w h y she felt that way led to her w riting Sisters o f the R oad T h e b oo k called for “a huge am o u n t o f research," the author rem em bers. Since im p o rtan t characters are teenage prostitutes, street kids, W ilson visited drop-in centers, m et w ith social workers, activists, and prostitutes them selves. She also hung out on the streets and “a lot o f really foreign places,” im m ersing herself in her su b ject "I try to look at an issue from a lot o f d ifferent sides and let real people talk about it” W ilson said during a recent phone inter view. “I thin k about it a lot and em otionally try to c o m e to term s with it So when I start out I d o n 't really know how I'm going to feel about it I really adm ire fem inist theorists and the w om en w ho w rite passionate letters to the editors proclaim ing one point o f view or another. And I’m always convinced by each o ne I read," she laughed. "But th at’s not m y purpose." W ilso n ’s writings are read by m ainstream audiences, but she considers herself p rim ar ily a lesbian fem inist w riter and her w ork m ir rors th a t experience. T h e issues she addres ses are those that interest her as a fem inist; and the love interests are lesbian. W riters o f rom ance and love scenes these days m ust w ork hard to avoid cliches, after all, ro m ance is one o f the m ost over-dis cussed areas in any m edium . Yet until recently, lesbian loving has been veiled — discreet and careful not to offend heterosex ual sensibilities. It is an integral part o f m uch o f W ilso n ’s w riting, however. T h e honest d ep iction o f a lesbian fem inist lifestyle or b e lief system is a responsibility about which she is very conscious. “It’s difficult because we d on’t have any m odels,” W ilson m aintains. "W e have to look a t ourselves and try to describe w hat w e’re feeling. I th in k som e o f the w riting has suf fered in term s o f style; it’s still to o new and w e're still to o angry. B ut this is a really fertile period fo r all o f us trying to grapple with our ow n sexuality and with living as lesbians in th e w orld we do.” O n e thing that has helped W ilson is being co -fo u n d e r o f the Seal Press in Seattle. A m o n g the earliest things published by the press was one o f W ilson’s own books. She sees th at now as having been very im p o rtan t being able to validate herself, not waiting aroun d fo r som eone else to do it And being self-published has allow ed her a sense of safety about w riting personally and about inti m ate issues. Seal Press is intended to allow o th er w om en an outlet for their w ork and that sam e feeling o f safety. “Ju n e A rnold was a fiction w riter who started D aughters Publishing Co. She had really strong ideas about w om en publishing them selves and learning how to publish. She was afraid that the trend o f publishing w o m en w riters w ould die dow n — and I think w e’re actually seeing that n o w — that w om en w ould once again be left with their books out o f print and no control. She was interested in the w hole idea o f w om en controlling the pro cess. T h a t was really inspiring to me," W ilson recalls. A n oth er m ajor publishing interest of W ilso n ’s is m aking the writings o f w om en of o th er countries available in English. M ain stream A m erica presses aren’t interested in taking the chance o f publishing those works, she says. T hey’re interested in exporting A m erican books. But W ilson is convinced we need th e cross-ventilation o f ideas, and Seal Press has em barked on a “translation series." T h e y hope to publish four translations a year alth ough given the obstacles, the effort in volved and their other projects, that m ay be a little am bitious, W ilson adm its. “B u t it’s just been going tw o years and [ besides Egalia s Daughters by Norw ay’s G erd B ran ten berg) w e’ve published a Danish w om an and an Egyptian novel. Next year w e’re co m in g out with an anthology of Jap anese writers and also a m urder mystery fro m Spain, a fem inist thriller." W ilson herself is read perhaps as m uch in E u ro p e as she is in the states. For Murder in the Collective, approxim ately 9 ,0 0 0 copies w ere sold here versus 8 ,0 0 0 in England. In E n g lan d , however, she m ay be better known. "I was taken real seriously in the kinds of reviews I g o t for Murder in the Collective',' W ilson rem em bers. “T h e London Times re view ed it and it was num ber two on the al ternative best seller list they publish every w eek. S o it was 'The Nam e o f the Rose by U m b e rto Eco; Murder in the Collective by Barbara W ilson; In Love and Trouble by Alice W alker.” B arbara W ilson and her book were in ex cellent com pany. plain w ork. In E u ro pe, however, W ilson is seen as som ething m ore. As part o f her business, and one o f th e special pleasures in her life, she travels: G erm any, E ngland, N o rw ay.. . . She's visited publishers from m any countries. And as one o f the few, the very few publishers in the U.S. interested in works by authors from other countries, W ilson is sought after and catered to. This kind o f attitude is still surpris ing to her. O n e o f the first o f Seal Press’s translations was a book from Norway, and the head ed ito r o f a N orw egian publishing house to o k her to lunch; N orw egian papers print articles abo ut her. "T h e re ’s still a part o f m e th at thinks, If he only k n e w .. . . ’ B ut they’re interested in selling books and no one wants to publish N orw e gian books," W ilson reports. “So when I com e on the scene they’re totally enthusiastic. It’s real funny. I’m like the savior o f N orw egian literature in Norway. And I guess th at’s kind of a kick. T h a t’s pretty far away fro m m y life here in Seattle.” W ilson figures th at although 9 ,0 0 0 copies o f Collective w ere sold, it was read by at least five tim es th at m an y people. As an author, it’s w onderful to have th at m any readers. As a fem in ist it bothers her since loaning instead o f ow ning m ay be another indicator that w o m en are still grasping the bottom rungs of th e eco n o m ic ladder. And as a publisher it w orries her because it represents a loss o f revenue. It is expensive to buy a book fro m a fem inist press, W ilson adm its. They d o n ’t have the m ass m arket capabilities of, say, Doubleday. “B u t I d o n ’t th in k people know how m any w o m en they’re supporting w hen they buy a book,” she says sadly. “T hey’re supporting w o m en ’s bookstores, alternative bookstores, th e presses, the people w ho w ork there, and th e w riter — all by plunking dow n the 8 or 9 dollars.” It’s a pro b lem fo r w hich there seem s no solution. S o W ilson will keep w riting and pub lishing, reveling in her role as international fem inist, co n tinuing to deal w ith the prob lem s and issues th a t confront m any o f us and b ringin g to the U .S ., through the m ed iu m of th e w ritten w ord, the experiences o f other fem inists. It w ould seem th at W ilson, too, is a sister o f th e road. B arbara Wilson w ill be in Portland to pro m ote her new book this m onth. Friday, Nov. 21, she w ill be a t Catbird Seat for an auto graph party from 3 3 0 -5 3 0 pm and at A W om an s Place for another signing from 7 3 0 -9 0 0 . Saturday, Nov. 23, she w ill be at M urder by the Book (on H aw thorne) from 4 -6 p.m . w ith a reading beginning a t5 0 0 . A SECOND OPINION! Preventing Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and AIDS Related Com plexes can be as much a matter of good health as safe sex practices. Good Health starts with NUTRITION. At the Wellness Center, we can help you determine vour nutritional balance and how you can upgrade your general state of health. Boosting your general resistance to disease bv balancing your nutritional profile may be the most important step vou ever take toward GUARDING YOUR HEALTH We can help. For details call THE WELLNESS CENTER Bruce R. MacFarland, NMD, RNC Lynelle McCue, counselor 3331 N.E. Sandv Blvd. 2 3 1 -7 2 4 4 t 10 Just Out. NOYOnrli)^r;^86