Although I do not like the Edmonton Queen: the Final Voyage anymore than I did before, I really enjoyed the visit of Darrin Hagen to our class last Tuesday. Darrin Hagen was exactly like I had imagined him (well, except he wasn’t in drag, of course): funny, eloquent and with a bright personality. He is an entertainer as well as a writer. He attracts people’s attention and it is hard not to notice him. I can just imagine him on stage carrying on his one-am show and have no doubt that it is entertaining to watch him on stage.
But apart from the entertainment factor I found it very fascinating to learn more about an Edmonton writer and converse with him about his texts. It is always interesting to learn more about a writer and his techniques as well as the reasons why he writes at all and Darrin Hagen did not disappoint. In fact, I was especially glad he talked about the 10th anniversary edition, because I had already asked myself what’s the point behind an anniversary edition.
If you’re interested in literature and writing as I am, you can learn a lot from a published author. Sadly we usually do not get the opportunity to meet the author of a book we read and ask him questions, so I am very glad that we grasped the opportunity with both hands in this case. I wish that were possible more often.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agee with you. I met the author of one of the books we had to read for a race and racism in literature class and it was so disapointing. He had written about being half chinese and half white and growing up in Edmonton and figuring out where he belonged and and and and . . . anyway long story short, he turned out to be just as racist as peole were to him. He talked to us about Natives in Vancouver and said that THEY were all angry people and how he never looked THEM in the eyes out of fear of having a knife pulled on him. I couldnt believe it. So I agree with you that its great to meet authors but sometimes when you do, your thoughts of the type of person they might be are shattered. It was such a waste. Even if you didnt enjoy the Edmonton Queen that much, at least the Hagen was honest about himself. Thats one of the things that sets him above ignorant people like the author I had to meet for another class. Hagen was very honest about the thing he did/does and the life he leads. I'm glad to see the the author behind a life story isn't a fake. Not to say that I am sure Hagen embellished a little but you get the idea :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said also. It was so refreshing to hear from someone who was honest and straight forward with a bit of flare. It was one of the more interesting author sit ins I've had, at least he didn't read off straight to the book!(it may have been a tad dull and a bit fanciful) It would be very educational if we could have more authors into our classes though, I always wonder what a person is actually like after I finish reading their work and it is a shame students do not get that opportunity more often. In complete agreeance in other words. ^_^
ReplyDeleteI felt really privileged to hear him speak about is book and his experiences.
ReplyDeleteI felt this way for two reasons.
The immediate reason is that it's not every day that I get hear the author of a book that I really liked speak.
The deeper reason is because I feel that it's really important that younger gay people listen to the stories of fermented old queens like Darrin Hagen.
All old queer people, kings, queens...everyone... offer insights into queer history. In some ways they are queer history. Without that history a community can't really define or understand where it wants to go. I think this is a real issue facing the GLBTQ community today. I feel a lack of direction in the community and this is in part due to the fact that we younger fags, dykes, bi's, trannies and others didn't and still don't pay enough attention to our elders.
Since the history that Darrin Hagen represents takes place in Edmonton it makes it that much more relevant to me. This history is part of the foundation for the current community that I am a part of. It has a direct impact on my life and the lives of other gay men, lesbians, transexuals, bisexuals and queers that currently live in Edmonton.
Darrin Hagen coming to class made me feel like I was paying homage to the queens of the past and in so doing understanding and preserving a small piece of history.
I agree, meeting Darrin was fantastic. I was also wondering how he decided what to put into the anniversary edition, and it was nice to hear him explain how he whittled down all the information.
ReplyDeleteAn Lorin, I completely agree about young gay people learning the history of the gay community. Other than this book, I really have no idea how the gay community in Edmonton has progressed over the years, and that there is no communication or link between the older generation and our generation. I think we need to know where we came from to appreciate where we are.