Description
Fiction. LGBTQIA Studies. Who, or what, is TJY? In this neon-lit chronicle of the rise and fall of literature's first pop star, the diva's trauma memoir collides with the twisted coming-of-age narrative of his adolescent fanboy, ornamented by the gilded prose poems that constitute the diva's song. The result is a queer exploitation, rather than obliteration, of whatever remains of the distinction between high theory and lowbrow culture, conjuring a space where Lady Gaga meets Valley of the Dolls meets Dennis Cooper meets Deleuze, set to a soundtrack by LaToya Jackson, and where camp's gestural pathos is tugged joyfully into the digital age.
"It's totally time for TJY—a pop star who is also a literary theorist."—Kathleen Rooney
"In much the same way that literally millions of people claim they were at Woodstock, or that tens of thousands will tell you they saw the last Sex Pistols show at Winterland, people will one day tell such untruths about their presence at the reading where Tim Jones-Yelvington debuted his LIT DIVA EXTRAORDINAIRE persona. And I am telling you right now: I was there, and now I am Tim Jones-Yelvingtoning down the Sequined Way. You should join me. Better late than never."—Martin Seay
"In STRIKE A POSE, the prismatic voice/voices/personas/identities of TJY simultaneously reveal and occlude, self-praise and self-deprecate, are joyful and bitchy and vulnerable and demanding. It's like taking a glittery walk in consciousness/memory/fantasy, and it's so good."—Vanessa Angélica Villarreal
"STRIKE A POSE smartly, hilariously reimagines the kunstlerroman as a (lit) celebrity memoir. The result is preposterous, provocative, and affirming!"—M. Milks
Author Bio
Tim Jones-Yelvington is a Chicago-based writer, multimedia performance artist, and nightlife personality. In addition to STRIKE A POSE, he is the author of two short fiction chapbooks—Evan's House and the Other Boys Who Live There (in They Could No Longer Contain Themselves, Rose Metal Press) and Daniel, Damned (Solar Luxuriance Press), and one full-length fiction collection, This is a Dance Movie! (Tiny Hardcore Press). He is the author of two poetry chapbooks, Become On Yr Face, (New Michigan Press, winner of the 2016 DIAGRAM chapbook contest), and Colton Behavioral Therapy (Gazing Grain Press and a finalist in their 2017 contest). His work has appeared in Black Warrior Review, Puerto Del Sol, Harpur Palate, and others. From 2010-12, he guest edited [PANK]'s annual queer issue.
Author City: CHICAGO, IL USA