Alvin Orloff's Blog - Posts Tagged "memoir"
I was not prepared for the weirdness!
The English eccentric, Quentin Crisp, once said that, "Only a lie is boring," and I believe that truer words were ne'er spoke. I wanted my memoir, "Disasterama!" to be exciting, so I told the truth about my louche and feckless youth as a club kid, hustler, and somewhat delusional cultural activist. When, after 56 rejections, it was accepted by Three Rooms Press for publication in the fall of '19, it was a dream come true. Like most dreams, though, my impending publication contains contains elements of confusion and surreality that raise all sorts of questions for the waking mind.
Take my book cover, for instance. It shows me all right, but 1990 me: 29 years younger, 55 pounds lighter, and sporting a mohawk hairdo that is decidedly not, like my current 'do, steely gray. Will people even recognize me? Will my punk-y clothes look as corny and/or historical to youngsters as barefoot hippies in bell bottoms and tie-dye look to me? I can't wait to find out.
And what about the sex? I don't describe anything graphically, there's no thrusting and throbbing, but I do lay the facts bare. If my relatives read it (and I suspect some of them will), will they be disgusted and think less of me? Will they laugh and tease me? Or will they be embarrassed and simply not mention anything? Time will tell.
Finally, what will become of the ghosts haunting my mind? I wrote the book to appease the departed spirits of all the guys I grew up with who died of AIDS back in the '80s and '90s. Will they be happy with the results? They won't be able to let me know how they feel in person, of course, but I fully expect they'll tell me in my dreams.
Take my book cover, for instance. It shows me all right, but 1990 me: 29 years younger, 55 pounds lighter, and sporting a mohawk hairdo that is decidedly not, like my current 'do, steely gray. Will people even recognize me? Will my punk-y clothes look as corny and/or historical to youngsters as barefoot hippies in bell bottoms and tie-dye look to me? I can't wait to find out.
And what about the sex? I don't describe anything graphically, there's no thrusting and throbbing, but I do lay the facts bare. If my relatives read it (and I suspect some of them will), will they be disgusted and think less of me? Will they laugh and tease me? Or will they be embarrassed and simply not mention anything? Time will tell.
Finally, what will become of the ghosts haunting my mind? I wrote the book to appease the departed spirits of all the guys I grew up with who died of AIDS back in the '80s and '90s. Will they be happy with the results? They won't be able to let me know how they feel in person, of course, but I fully expect they'll tell me in my dreams.
