Living Legend Visits Ithaca!

cornell campus-- Alison Bechdel, graphic artist, spoke on campus last night. She is famous for her comic strip, "Dykes to Watch Out For". Last year, her first graphic novel, Fun Home (now available in paperback-- buy it!) was published. In a nutshell, it tells of growing up with a closeted gay father obsessed with restoring their home --the town's funeral parlor-- to its Victorian glory.

Interesting trivia! Alison's hometown is not far from where Karen's family lives. Karen asked Alison what became of the home she wrote about. Answer: She had heard a gay couple was going to buy it (a fitting next incarnation for the Fun Home!), but isn't sure if that happened. Currently, a Mennonite family lives in it. The New York Times did a piece on Alison and this house when Fun Home came out, but Alison said no emotional revelations occured.

"Dykes to Watch Out For" celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year! Karen figured out she has been reading it for 23 years. The early editions are now almost impossible to find in bookstores (why? No independent bookstores left on the face of the earth!) so we are looking forward to the anthology of all the old strips which is forthcoming this Fall.

At the reception, Karen entertained Alison by telling her how she read Fun Home continuously-- and it was always new-- while she had a her concussion a few years ago.

All in all, Alison was as smart, funny, approachable and nice as you might think she would be. She has a new graphic novel coming out in 15 months and is kind of nervous about finishing it!

Let's all support her by buying her stuff!

Now, some bitchy comments on Cornell's event coordination capabilities:
1. Why, when the venue had no fewer than four microphones cluttering up the podium, could no one from Cornell ensure one was working?
2. Ever hear of giving a speaker some water or refreshments?
3. Why did the crabcakes at the reception smell so bad?