Lynn Crosbie (photo by James Pattyn)
Celebrated Canadian author Lynn Crosbie visited York University on Tuesday, Jan. 31 as part of the Canadian Writers in Person series to talk about and read from her novel, Where Did You Sleep Last Night (2015).
Crosbie is a cultural critic and the author of several books of poetry, including Liar, Miss Pamela’s Mercy, Villainelle, and Missing Children.
The post-punk mystery and romance entitled Where Did You Sleep Last Night envisions Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain come back to life to go on a romp through a magical world filled with music, sex, drugs and adventure. The protagonist Evelyn Gray, a teenager struggling with bullying and a negative body image, finds in Kurt Cobain an escape from her everyday life. The book is an account of a fan girl’s connection to her idol, as well as a tribute to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love.
In her visit to York University, the author noted that the ideas for her projects “emerge from an obsession usually.” As she wrote the book, Crosbie said she listened to Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged and Hole (Courtney Love’s band). The novel depicts this obsession with music, celebrity and fame.
Crosbie has written about celebrities before. In 1997, Insomniac Press published her controversial book on the Canadian criminal Paul Bernardo, Paul’s Case.
Where Did You Sleep Last Night is more than an exploration of celebrity status in culture, it is also a story about exciting, painful, transformative, all-consuming love.
On Feb. 14, Canadian poet Madhur Anand will visit York University to talk about A New Index for Predicting Catastrophes (2015).
Readings are free and open to any member of the public. For more information, contact Professor Leslie Sanders at leslie@yorku.ca or Professor Gail Vanstone at gailv@yorku.ca. All readings are held Tuesdays from 7 to 9pm in 206 Accolade West Building, Keele campus.