JANUARY 17, 2006 After Andrea
My introduction to this year's Best American Erotica 2006 is a memorial piece, titled "After Andrea."
I'm referring, of course, to Andrea Dworkin, who died last year, leaving many mixed feelings behind her.
I'll be reading from Dworkin's work- yes, you read that right! - on Jan. 28th, at the San Francisco Public Library, at an event in homage to writers who died the past year:
Writers Remembered 2006 A Celebration of the Writers Who Died in 2005 January 28, 2006 1 - 4 PM Koret Auditorium, Main Library
Dworkin and I had a history as political adversaries, the opposite ends of radical feminism. Still, I always thought we had some unique things in common. She had to be the only other person in the world besides me who would step off a plane in any country and say, "What does the pornography look like here?" We both found porn to be a prescient cultural lens.
When I looked at BAE this year, I wondered... how many of the authors in this story collection were directly influenced by AD? How many were inspired to 'roll their own' after sampling her wares? I looked at their names and saw that at least half of them must remember rather vividly being on the wrong end of the AD's firing squad.
I decided to ask all of them, "What- if anything- of Dworkin's influence made a difference with you?" [...]