#alysia abbott

[codyfernuk]

Cody Fern for the premiere of “Fairyland” in LA 🤍

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

Have you read Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father by Alysia Abbott (2013)?

YES

NO

Voting ended onApr 30, 2025

[thecuriouscreepyfriendlywitch]

Mais l'histoire ou le poème a aussi une sorte d'énergie ou de vie qui lui est propre. Par exemple la langue, ou l'étoffe, dont un poème ou une histoire est faite, arrive à l'auteur déjà "chargée". Cependant, la langue en elle-même ne suffit pas à construire un dictionnaire si un auteur ne lui confère pas cette forme. Donc une bonne histoire ou un poème ne peut aboutir que lorsqu'il existe un équilibre ou une relation convenable entre l'énergie ou l'esprit indépendant, chargé, de la langue, et un auteur qui met cette énergie en forme tout en en respectant l'indépendance.

Fairyland, Alysia Abbott

[rainbowtheque]

Fairyland

Titre : Fairyland Autrice : Alysia Abbott Roman Genre : Contemporain Édition : 10/18 - Nombre de pages : 432 pages Âge conseillé : Adulte Résumé :

En 1973, après la mort de sa femme, Steve Abbott, écrivain et militant homosexuel, déménage à San Francisco. Avec sa fille de deux ans, Alysia, il s'installe dans le quartier de Haight-Ashbury, le centre névralgique de la culture hippie. Là où Joan Baez a pris le micro dix ans plus tôt pour appeler à lutter contre la censure et en faveur de la liberté d'expression. Là où les représentants officiels de la Beat Generation - William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Neal Cassidy - annoncèrent l'avènement de la révolution psychédélique. Steve Abbott découvre une ville en pleine effervescence dans laquelle la communauté gay se bat pour ses droits, il rejoint la scène littéraire de l'époque et fréquente cette génération de jeunes gens bien décidés à tout vivre, tout expérimenter. Commence pour le duo père-fille une vie de bohème, ponctuée de déménagements, de fêtes et de lectures de poésie à l'arrière des librairies. Alysia Abbott revient sur les aventures de son enfance alors que le virus du sida ronge peu à peu la ville. Identités représentées : 

Gay et bi Thématiques présentes : 

Militantisme, lutte pour les droits LGBT, SIDA, littérature, San Francisco des années 70, poète, amour filial (père et fille) Avis de Cordélia :

Un de mes livres préférés. J’ai énormément aimé le fait que ce soit le regard d’une fille sur son père militant et séropositif. On découvre San Francisco. Moi j’ai pleuré à la fin tellement c’était touchant (et triste aussi, évidemment on sait comment ça finit…)

[robertogreco]

“When I was in high school, he said our needs mixed "like fire and oil." It was a way to understand how what was going on with us and explain to me how he viewed parenting. Parenting is like authorship. An author works with language, but language comes charged. Words have their own meaning and associations and the author has to balance shaping that language with the already-charged nature of that language. Language completely unfettered—that is, words without any order—wouldn't make any sense. As a parent, he didn't want to squash my energy but he also knew I needed some order. I think it's a universal issue in parenting: how much do you take control and how much do you let your child make their mistakes?”

Alysia Abbott on her father Steve Abbott in an interview with Hope Reese (2013)

[pochiyo]

Elle s’est mise à balayer le lino, élimé, « comme si toute les questions en suspens dans notre vie pouvaient être rassemblées dans une pelle à poussière et jetées à la poubelle. »

Steve Abbott cité par Alysia Abbott, “Fairyland”

[sfplhormelcenter]

A bit About Abbott

Poster/Publicity, 1977

Steve Abbott (1943-1992) was a poet, critic, editor, novelist and artist. He holds a unique place in San Francisco's literary world as one of the founding editors of the bay area's newsletter Poetry Flash and as the editor of the literary journal Soup. He counted among his friends Dennis Cooper, Aaron Shurin, Kevin Killian and Allen Ginsberg. Abbott was raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, graduated from the University of Nebraska, and attended Emory University. In the mid-1960s, he was involved with the Students for a Democratic Society. And, in 1968, he declared himself a conscientious objector.

Soup cover

He married Barbara Binder in February 1969 and came out publicly later the same year. Their daughter, Alysia, was born in December 1970. Tragically, in August 1973, Barbara was killed in an automobile accident. The following year, Steve and Alysia moved to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, where Steve became involved with the literary scene. Abbott was a frequent contributor to The Advocate, The Sentinel, and the Bay Area Reporter. He participated in many poetry readings, and, in 1981, he organized the Left Write conference. Steve was also a respected critic and the first to use the term "new narrative" to describe the work of Bruce Boone and Robert Gluck.

Left Write! transcripts

The Steve Abbott Papers (GLC 77) contain correspondence, subject files, works by Abbott, publications and writing by others, photographs, and computer disks. The correspondence includes some letters to family members, friends, poets and writers, and publishers. Of particular interest are the letters to his wife Barbara which include an illustrated letter written to their daughter Alysia. Notable correspondents include Dennis Cooper, Aaron Shurin, and Allen Ginsberg.

Clipping regarding draft trial

The subject files contain materials gathered about and documenting Abbott's different interests. Of note are the conscientious objector materials and clippings, reviews of some of Abbott's published work, Abbott's posters and publicity for readings. Abbott's work forms the largest part of the collection. It includes draft, manuscript and final printed copies of his poetry, stories, essays, and books. Wrecked Hearts, The Lives of the Poets, Holy Terror, View Askew, Holy Titclamps, and Stretching the Agape Bra are all represented in the collection. There is also some artwork in the form of cartoon/comics, drawings, and collage. His writing covers a variety of subjects from the Watts riots in Los Angeles to the future of gay culture in the years following the AIDS crisis. My favorite piece is "The Touching Ballad of Princess Lulu Magoo," a handmade book, illustrated and written by Abbott for his daughter Alysia. The drawings are beautiful and mounted on pages torn and stained to simulate aged vellum. The fable is a lovely example of Abbott's innocent approach to complex concepts.

Page from The Touching Ballad of Princess Lulu Magoo

As a writer, critic, editor, artist, conscientious objector, bisexual husband, gay father and single parent, Steve Abbott could have found himself narrowly delineated by labels. Fortunately for us, he colored outside the lines and defined his own artistic and intellectual landscape. Abbott died of complications due to AIDS on December 2, 1992. His novel The Lizard Club was published posthumously. Last year, W.W. Norton and Company published Alysia Abbott's Fairyland: a Memoir of My Father (New York). The memoir draws in part from the Abbott Papers (at the library) and from his journals (which are retained by his daughter). Her website www.steveabbott.org contains a wealth of interesting archival material about his life and their relationship. If you'd like to find out more about Steve Abbott, please come take a look at the Steve Abbott Papers (GLC 77) which are available through the San Francisco History Center, 6th floor, Main Library. The photographs are available during the hours for the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection.

[books-i-once-read]

Make a list of what kind of life you want (don't worry "can I do it, get it" whatever-just honestly list what you want regardless of whether it seems unrealistic or not). Then: prioritize.

Fairyland by Alysia Abbott