On Wednesday, February 25, 6 authors will gather at Indy Reads Books as part of The Downtown Writers Jam, Vol. 3: Jam & Juice fundraiser hosted by The Geeky Press + Indy Literary Pub Crawl. Join us for the Jam at Indy Reads Books (free) and then stop by the Juice at Indy Fringe Theater ($15 tickets). All proceeds go to Indy Reads.
Meanwhile, we wanted to introduce you to our first author: Elise Lockwood.
Elise started writing at a very young age, but insisted she wanted to be a veterinarian until she realized she was much better at visualizing the inner life of a veterinarian than things like calculus. Her journey as a writer continued at DePauw University where she was lucky to have many fantastic professors who pushed her to develop the skill. She received DePauw’s Chad Kostel Memorial Award in Writing in 2013.
You can find her on Twitter or on Instagram.
At The Downtown Writers Jam
What’s the name of the piece from which your DWJ story comes? “Snatch and Release.” (Pending title. It’s better than the first few I came up with, still not great.)
What was the question or idea that sparked that original piece? I am constantly having conversations with my female friends where we berate certain parts of our bodies that just do not listen to us. I started wondering what it would be like if they could talk back. Would they listen? Probably not.
What should the audience expect from your storytelling at the Downtown Writers Jam? Well, a lot of dialogue. My best attempts at playing more than one character and making them discernible rather than caricatures or funny voices. Also some frank talk about female anatomy, so if you’re uncomfortable with that, this is a great chance to educate yourself.
Get to Reading
Best book or long-form writing we should read, but probably haven’t? And why? M. Butterfly, by David Henry Hwang. This is a gorgeous play based off of a classic opera – Madame Butterfly. Except in this world, Madame Butterfly is a male Chinese spy disguised as a beautiful woman and her lover is a French diplomat who never realizes she isn’t actually female. It’s a fascinating study of gender, racism, and love made all the more poignant by the fact that it is based off of a true story.
If you’ve already read that, read Yellow Face, also by David Henry Hwang.
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