![]() Stray City is set in Portland, Oregon, with much of the novel taking place in 1999-2000, and in the acknowledgments you write, “this book is a homesick love letter.” Why did you want to write about this particular, almost mythical time–“the old Portland,”–and its queer community? ![]() I love books with a strong sense of place, especially queer novels. I spoke with Chelsey just before Stray City’s publication. Johnson writes beautifully about a particular time and place-a queer space of refuge and possibility-with nuance, insight, and wit, and creates unforgettable, compelling characters. Stray City is a hilarious, smart, and complicated novel about queer identity and community and self-discovery, and about the homes we leave and the homes we create. To recognize someone anywhere you go.” But things take an unexpected turn after she hooks up with a cis-man and gets pregnant. ![]() I’ve never known anything like it and won’t again. ![]() A card-carrying member of the Lesbian Mafia, Andrea creates a new life and home in Portland, where she finally feels like she belongs: “We knew each other. ![]() Chelsey Johnson on Her New Novel ‘Stray City’, Her Musical Influences, and Capturing the 90sĬhelsey Johnson’s brilliant debut novel Stray City (Custom House, March 2018) follows Andrea Morales, a young queer woman who escapes Nebraska in the late 90s to attend college in Portland, Oregon, where she immerses herself in the lesbian community and punk culture. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |