August 2004
« Previous Month
Next Month »
"My views of being involved in abortion politics for so many years and in two different countries is that often the people who are the most involved tend to be people who have had to come to their view of pro-choice via a journey. It hasn't been completely obvious to them that abortion is the right thing to do. They had to really think about it, work out the issues, and actually weigh up the arguments. That was definitely my experience because I came from a family where it was accepted unquestionably, that this was something that needed to be available. I don't question, I think it should be available, and I think every woman deserves the freedom to choose. But I suppose I just didn't feel that was all there was to say about it."
by
Jessa Crispin
"But we think there is a class of people out there like us, people who like complex, character-driven fiction, but who also aren’t afraid to admit that when Duran Duran’s "Rio" comes on the car stereo, they don’t change the channel. Or who sometimes blow their entire Saturday afternoon on a Real World marathon. It works both ways, I think -- the supposedly low-brow is sometimes smarter and more interesting than it’s given credit for, and the supposedly high-brow can be fun and entertaining. Unfortunately, people often start with a misconception that whatever is good in art will by necessity not appeal to a broad audience."
by
Matthew Lesh
Perhaps the biggest rockstar event of the year was the Bill Clinton book signing tour. But at the bookstores his entourage descended upon, chaos and disgruntled customers were left in his wake. One bookstore employee, after recovering from the exhaustion and sun exposure, reports.
by
Ben McLeod
Book covers prick the senses. Like old, hoary Roman seers, we can divine the fleeting notion of a book with a quick glance if the designer was skilled enough and the publisher willing to see through an aesthetic vision. And there are desperate calculations behind all of this. Why did the publisher put a naked girl on the cover? Why does this cover stink? Judging a book by its cover, a cliché that is frowned upon in polite society, is a rollicking way of answering these questions and then some.
by
Sharon Adarlo
11:50 AM: Last question of the panel -- "Why doesn't Superman read the Bible?"
"BECAUSE HE'S JEWISH!" I nearly shout.
And then I run away to the heathens.
by
Liz Miller
"I'm totally against gay and lesbian shelves in bookstores, and I think they will become especially useless and people's queer identities evolve. At this point, as a queer girl with a boyfriend, I wonder about the assumptions being made about me if I get pigeon-holed 'gay'. At the same time, the queer community, in particular the female queer community -- to make a giant generalization -- has given me any sort of career that I have now, and I appreciate that so much!"
by
Jen Crispin
"I think almost every issue has something of me in there, and some more than others do. Demo most certainly isn't autobiographical, but it’s as close as I am likely to ever get. "Breaking Up" draws upon every failed relationship of my life, going back to when I was 20, and "Stand Strong" shares the same type of turning point as I experienced when I was younger. But are any of these characters supposed to be me? No."
by
Michael Farrelly
