Michelle Tea, editor of several anthologies and author of 5 novels, a collection of poetry and a few memoirs--including
The Chelsea Whistle, which I recently read in my narrating nonfiction class--was the featured speaker at the
USF MFA author series last week. Tea's tiny stature belies her enormous (as in boisterous & generous) personality. Bringing a theatrical presence to the stage, she's quite comfortable in her own tattooed skin, delivering prose with a sharp tongue, quick wit and speedy pace.
Tea, who has lived large, doesn't shy away from edgy topics, particularly on gender and sexuality--from her graphic memoir
Rent Girl (illustrated by artist
Lauren McCubbin of
Kitchen Sink magazine), about Tea's past experiences as a sex worker, to her edited anthologies including
Best Lesbian Erotica 2004 and
Baby, Remember My Name: New Queer Girl Writing.
