An entrancing collection of irreverent and flamboyant essays.
A collection of essays that defies genre and gender.
In her latest work of nonfiction, Tea (Modern Tarot: Connecting with your Higher Self Through the Wisdom of the Cards, 2017, etc.) collects her thoughts about queerness, femininity and feminisms, and gender identity. As the title indicates, this book is not a traditional iteration of the author’s intellectual history. Rather, Tea includes texts she has performed at conferences, readings, and ad hoc events as well as essays previously published in the Los Angeles Review of Books, n+1, xoJane, and other venues. Her tone is often unapologetic and abrasive; as a result, she is highly effective in communicating the difficulties and wonders of queer communities. In the most compelling essay, “How to Not Be a Queer Douchebag,” the author writes, “we are the rest of the world, we’re not so different, so let’s lighten up, but I also believe, really believe, that we’re special. We occupy a special place in our cultures, we always have and we still do. I think we have a greater opportunity to transcend bullshit and be generous people, I think we have a greater awareness and that this can bring about transformation on all levels of our lives and culture.” Tea’s authentic voice, infused with punk aesthetics, creates a literary environment that magnetizes and keeps readers spellbound to her line of inquiry. Later, she writes, “we broke, female queers may be called upon to protect ourselves at any minute, and the safety of numbers were always more effective than a pocket book.” The fine balance between idealism and realism makes this text echo with powerful conviction. With a textual presence evocative of Kathy Acker, Tea continues to lead the conversation in queer studies, though her approach is by telling the stories she knows are true: her own.
An entrancing collection of irreverent and flamboyant essays.Pub Date: May 8, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-936932-18-4
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Feminist Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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