The first story in boYs, You can keep one thing, describes this old butcher shop in Bill Quay, in the industrial northeast of England - new lamb, sawdust and suet. The story takes place in the 1960s and the butcher, Sharp's, was there until a couple of years ago, when it was bought by community spirited artist Clare Satow, whom I met as she busked with her friend and accordion at Newcastle's tyneside Sunday market. My dear wish is to find Clare and ask her if she would play accordion while I read the story at Newcastle's fantastic Side Gallery and cafe next summer. Are you there Clare? How about it? I love the way you invited local people to contribute their memories to your community textile map of Tyneside, and how, when I visited Hainingwood Terrace, you were giving a young girl from the street a swath of exotic sari silk to use in the piece. It inspired me to start my own community art/textile project with young people here in Newfoundland, which we call The Crochet Hour. We make one-of-a-kind wearable art pieces, and plan to have a show in June. Amen for childhood, and mentors, and lengths of silk from India and Kathmandu!
1 comment:
from those suggested, my title pick would be boYz...though i find titles fairly imponderable in the abstract, without knowledge of the writing...my only concern with it would be a possible chicklit pigeonholing (and again, pigeonholes may sell books, but don't serve them ultimately). (authors rightly worry about titles--the first words of their books--but i think their importance, once the book is met, diminishes rapidly. do you wish your friends--or anyone you know--had different names? granted, there is that "once". a big once...) boYz is catchy. mike.
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