22 JUStlOUt
AUGUST 17.2007
Kathleen Bryson's writing has been described
as "like Margaret Atwood on acid."
considered moving to Canada in pursuit of
marriage equality.
Morgan Hunt tries to keep her mystery novels
engaging, zippy and realistic.
realized she had the key to unlock the door to
her own creativity.
Queer Oregon authors dip into the pink ink
ble to move with ease between media, Kathleen
Bryson is one of those multifarious talents that
Portland attracts like moths to a benevolent flame.
She is binational, bisexual and bilingual, and she is or
has been an author, editor, actor, director, painter, not
grrrl, model, anthropologist, linguist and abundant storehouse of
arcane information. (A few days after I interviewed her for this
article, she joined my little crew for the filming of a short movie
at the Washougal River; during the course of the day she cursed
in Finnish, discussed the finer points of Neanderthal cranial
formation with my male lead, and cook off her high heels to scuf
fle barefoot down a steep rocky slope.)
Somewhat controversially, Bryson has publicly espoused
a social-constructionist view of sexuality that considers both homo-
and heterosexuality to be the result of complex social and environ
mental factors rather than inherent genetic traits. While this might
seem threatening or even perfidious to some who base their
identities on an assumption of biological determinism, it is in fact
more radical and less apologetic than the sentiment informing
mainstream gay and lesbian political ideology. For instance, in
a 2002 interview with Rainbow Network, the biggest queer Web
site in the United Kingdom, Bryson asserted, “I choose to be queer,
and I’m proud of my choice. I’m sick of gay people saying, ‘It’s not
my fault,’ like being queer is something to be ashamed of.”
It was during her enforced exile in Britain in the late ’90s, in
the midst of a visa imbroglio, that Bryson wrote her first novel,
Mush, which was published by Diva Btxiks in 2001. Reviewers
and readers variously described it as “stunningly gixxl," “beauti
ful and compulsive” and “like Margaret Atwood on acid” while
cautioning that it was “definitely not for those who like to read
about fluffy bunnies and sip a cup of Horlicks before bed.” It won
her a two-txxik deal, the first fruit of which is Girl on a Stick (She-
Devil Press, 2007; $16.95 softcover).
The protagonist of Girl on a Stick is Clementine Logan, a jaded
American with flame-red hair sojourning in London at the turn of
the millennium, who forms an intense relationship with a beautiful
Norwegian boy named Per. (Warning: Plot spoilers ahead.) Their
relationship seems on the verge of tearing both of them apart
throughout the course of its three-year slow-motion car crash, with
indiscretions, infidelities and histrionics on both sides. Super
imposed over the sexy ups and delirious downs of their stormy
coupling are Clementine’s disturbing childhixxl memories of abuse
Kathleen Bryson celebrates the release of her subversive love story Giri
on a Stick.
Find Your Diamond
in the Pearl.
JUDITH
ARNELL
JEWELERS
.
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Located In The Pearl District
320 NW 10th Avenue
Between Everett & Flanders
JudithArnellJewelers.com
503.227.3-437