romanticized reasoning

On The Road

2009-10-03T15:49:00.000-07:00

On the road once again with Sister Spit, this time it's the US and a few Canada stops. I need to blog more, there are so many tour stories! Right now we are in Prescott, Arizona. I love college shows because college students actually buy tons of merch. That's my food cash for the next day, people. We had this big discussion in the van yesterday about how people just don't believe they should have to pay for art and performance (because so many people tried to wrangle their way into our L.A. show for free), but people will totally pay for a stupid movie or whatever, like corporations deserve your money and not actual queer artists in the community. Touring is so expensive in itself and it's also one of the only ways writers can make a little cash, so thank you college kids who want to decorate their dorms with creamsickle posters and buy all our books. Loves it.

And here's a nice word about my book from an amazon review:

there's always the "conceptual problem" with queer theory; it's grand for the academic world but begs for the reality of experience. talking about sex/gender/sexual desire and the intersections of race & class needs to be done, but that discussion becomes moot when it does not move into the personal. what's more democratic-- and i use that word in terms of access-- is the reality of the queer lived experience.

argo is able to take the queer vernacular of every-day and shape a solid book that is not only a pleasure to read but is also politically important: she addresses the notions of home & family; shifting identity; class & sex work; desire & performing gender. her characters aren't cardboard representations: like cruzer, a queer of color who's got family money (and thus monetary privilege). they're also given autonomy: the ability to name themselves, speak for themselves, and create their own communities.

argo examines -- and creates a literary feast -- out of the way queer lives are Really Lived: often messy & contradictory.

and this tastes good, too, like a creamsickle when yr stoned on a hot summer day.

Love this GoodReads Review

2009-08-27T00:22:00.000-07:00

A fellow writer Faith Reidenbach wrote it. She gave the book such a caring, intelligent read. She also told me this story: "Today I was having my regular morning walk with my 69-year-old neighbor (a married straight lady who grew up in Kansas), and out of the blue she said, "I'd like you to loan me that Creamsickle book." I hemmed and hawed and said, "You know, it's pretty graphic, Mary Ann." But she said firmly, "I want to read about those bois, is that how you say it? I think I'm one too."

Wow I found that so fucking adorable. Okay now the review:

"It’s unusual to encounter literary lesbian fiction that's also a guilty pleasure, but both terms apply fairly to this book. The Creamsickle itself is full of trash--it's an unheated, lopsided flophouse in the Mission district of San Francisco that has an "ever-revolving door." Over the years, it’s been occupied by revolutionaries, "hippie fags and fairies," grunge lesbians, and now The Crew, three 20-something skateboarding bois who have made the house their "ultimate bachelor pad." Their procession of lovers are not mere lipsticks lesbians but "fierce girls," the "tough bunch of femmes with razor heels and sharp tongues" who can handle the neighborhood. The novel is more about queer family--creating it and maintaining it--than about individual relationships, and the house plays a Mansfield Park-like role in the story. The Creamsickle is available in paperback ($14.95) and as an e-book ($10.95) from www.bellabooks.com.

Poetry-loving Georgie is the most romantic and also the most sensible of the three bois. We meet her when she’s lovesick over a heroin-addicted girl, but she’s smart and strong enough to move on soon. She makes wise-beyond-her-years observations about herself and her friends, often wry or hilarious, like this one that made me LOL heartily in recognition (of myself and a previous partner): "Soda was the ultimate subletter of hearts......the first three months Soda was the best live-in lover a girl could possibly have. She usually didn’t have a job so whatever girl she was currently f*cking became her part-time employment. Girls would try to promote her to full time or permanent status, but she made sure to keep herself at entry level." Georgie’s literal transformation in the novel comes when, unemployed and broke, she adopts an outwardly femme identity and warily takes a job dancing in a strip club.

People in my demographic (50-ish, suburbanite) may need to read this novel with a cyberdictionary of urban slang and a cyberglossary of skateboarding terms at hand. (My favorite new word, which I did manage to figure out on my own, is bromance, for a butch/butch relationship.) The effort was worth it to me in order to get inside a world of young queer women who divide themselves into bois and girls, tops and bottoms—except when they don’t. Georgie sets a good example for readers in acknowledging that she doesn’t understand all the family dynamics, notably the feelings of my favorite character, a friend of hers who is considering transitioning (becoming more fully biologically male). I appreciated her discussions with that friend and from other characters who have conversations along the lines of "I don’t get dating a transboy. I mean, what’s the difference from a man?"

Most of these characters are working poor and are just getting launched in life. For example, the official end of Georgie’s relationships is simply "the divvying up of the sex toys," and in an 8-speaker argument about same-sex marriage, no one comes close to imagining why most older couples want it. But the only thing that made me feel apart from the characters was their constant alcohol and drug abuse, which after a while just seems sad and boring. Georgie is not an addict, though, and she relieves the irritation with self-aware comments like "I find a direct link to the amount of coke everyone is doing to how dramatic they all are being."

Argo avoids all the mistakes that too many lesbian writers make with regard to sex—-saving it for one or two "dramatic" scenes, only alluding to it, describing it almost clinically, or ignoring it altogether. References to sex start on page 1, and Argo often covers a lot of ground in a single sentence that contains the verb f*ck. The book’s only major flaw is disjointedness. Some of it reads like performance pieces or stories strung together, with girls appearing on the scene and leaving again with no strong narrative thread. However, this didn’t keep me from staying keenly interested in what happens to the 3 main characters and to the houe."s

Bloody Art

2009-08-27T00:16:00.000-07:00

by Katie
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5077144
http://kiki.typepad.com/

inspired by my 90's queer activist look for the Radar fashion show thingy

Getting psyched for tour...

2009-08-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

Summer Reading

2009-07-31T12:13:00.000-07:00

New Interview Up

2009-07-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

Interview with Diva Direct

Posters!

2009-07-12T16:28:00.000-07:00

Sister Spit U.S. October

Sister Spit Europe September

Free Lit!

2009-07-02T13:11:00.001-07:00

Buy The Creamsickle!

2009-06-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

Support your local independent bookstore and buy it there. They can order it for you
just ask! If you want to buy it online try to support independent
publishers like www.bellabooks.com. Our local bookstores are struggling so show your love!

I'm having a release party at Mission Hill Saloon on July 11th. Michelle Tea, Kirk Read, Len Plass and Sara Seinberg will be reading from The Creamsickle, perhaps in hilarious voices. If you miss that come to my
reading at Modern Times Books on July 22nd! That would be an excellent
time to get a signed copy from an awesome local bookstore.

Thanks for supporting! Rhiannon

Meet The Crew. Georgie—a hopeless romantic with a weakness for
punk-rock-girls even if they consistently trample her heart. Cruzer—a
Mexican-American photographer, the tough kid, who chases love all the
way to the East Coast. Soda—a gender queer heartthrob from the Midwest,
who dreams of pirate ships, moustaches and femme foxes.

Welcome to The Creamsickle, the ultimate bachelor pad, a lopsided
Victorian in the Mission District, home to this rascally crew of
charming skater bois who hop from one bed to another in pursuit of sex,
love or just the next new thrill. This is a San Francisco you have
never seen, an eclectic landscape of dyke clubs and dyke havens, along
with the exotic Minxy, a wonderland where baby butch Georgie enters the
femme-centric world of strippers for the most comical gender-bending
education of all.

Discover today's world of young queers, a world where personal
identity is in constant flux, where gender exploration can be
performance—or a life saving transition. Beneath the sex, music, drugs
and drama, you'll find something true and timeless: a search for love,
for queer family, for meaning, for connection, and affirmation.

Flyers for the Opening

2009-06-09T21:39:00.000-07:00

Sneak Peak!

2009-05-28T16:57:00.000-07:00

some outtakes from a few of the photo shoots i've done for the popsicle project. we've done 35 shoots so this is just a taste... come to the show june 23rd at the lex to see em all!

The Radar Spectacle

2009-05-02T11:36:00.000-07:00

Radar is throwing a benefit this May in order to raise funds for the first annual Radar Lab, a free queer writer's retreat in Mexico. Please come and support this amazing opportunity for broke artists! I am one of the lab participants and I am thrilled to be able to take time away to work on my next novel, and to soak up all the inspiration that will come from being amongst other artist in my community.

Saturday, May 30, 7pm
a.Muse Gallery, 614 Alabama St.
$20/ticket
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/66883 or at the door!

Featuring Dorothy Allison, ZZ Packer, Eileen Myles, Marga Gomez, Suppositori Spelling + music by Yes Alexander!
Hosted by Ali Liebegott + Michelle Tea
Food (courtesy Dolores Park Cafe)
Drink (courtesy Lagunitas + more!)
Art Auction (artwork by Chris Duncan, Xylor Jane, Peter Pizzi, Sara Thustra, Eric Drooker + more!)
Raffle (Alla Prima, Pauline's Pizza, Last Gasp, Seal Press, Daniel Handler, Dog Eared Books, Books Inc. + more!)
*Benefiting RADAR Lab, a free queer writers retreat!

Radar Lab Fellows:

KIRK READ performance artist, memoirist, teacher, literary organizer. SF
MELIZA BANALES poet, memoirist, fashion designer, teacher. SF
NATALIE ILLUM poet, memoirist, literary organizer. DC
NICOLE J GEORGES illustrator, zinester, memoirist, teacher. PDX
LUCY CORIN novelist, short story author, teacher. BERKELEY
ELAN performance artist, playwright, filmmaker, zinester. SF
SARA SEINBERG novelist, poet, photographer, literary organizer. SF
SAMUEL TOPIARY performance artist, video artist, dancer. BROOKLYN
RHIANNON ARGO novelist, future librarian. SF
MYRIAM GURBA fiction writer, teacher. LONG BEACH
ENRIQUE URETA playwright. SF
PAGE MCBEE novelist, memoirist, teacher, arts organizer. OAKLAND

Homo A Go Go 2009 Confirmed Artists!

2009-05-01T17:31:00.000-07:00

I'm one of them. I'll be reading and showing visuals of the Popsickle Project...

SOMARTS/The Eagle/ Thee Parkside Days and Times TBA

Girl In A Coma, Mirah, Purple Rhinstone Eagle, Katastrophe, Hunx and His Punx, D.a.v.O., Krylon Superstar, Partyline, Tara Jane O'Neil, Tender Forever, The Pickup Pattern, Sgt. Sass, Pariah Piranha, Lovers, Argyle Miss, Jenna Riot, Amy Kasio, Dorian Wood, Mon Cousin Belge, The Younger Lovers, Benni E, Puce Moment, Madame Morte, Alexander Crumbsnatcher, Athens Boys Choir, Lenelle Moïse, Team Gina, Dave End, Yr Heart Breaks, Nomy Lamm, The Casual Lust, Light Leaks, Tori Fixx, Jeremy Gloff, MKG FRNDZ, Warm Streams, The Judy Experience, Kirk Read, Rhiannon Argo, Clint Catalyst.

Boots for Tula Preview

2009-03-12T18:40:00.001-07:00

MAGICAL

The Creamsickle is being typeset this week!

2009-02-26T15:04:00.000-08:00

Yay!

And Cristy C. Road has started drawing the possible cover art. Can't wait to see it!

And I've been improving my website bit by bit:

www.rhiannonargo.com

Cristy C. Road gets it.

The Creamsickle Photo Project

2009-02-02T11:05:00.000-08:00

Has begun!

Kris in DP

Whiskey and Jinx on Portland porch

Angie on Mission rooftop

The Popsicle Project is a collaborative project between several queer photographers including Amos Mac, Elisa Shea and Rhiannon Argo. All photos involve queers and Creamsickles. The project will eventually be a website offering delicious eye candy that will showcase a hot and diverse community and will surely combat even the worst cases of seasonal affective disorder. Please get in contact if you would like to show the series in your gallery.

www.amosmac.com
www.elisashea.com

Reading in Portland

2008-12-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

Check out this lovely threesome!

CRISTY C. ROAD, RHIANNON ARGO, & NICOLE GEORGES
Friday, January 18th, 7PM
@ Powell's Bookstore, 1005 W. Burnside.- Portland, OR
We are reading together again! Its a SISTER SPIT Reunion!

From the Portland Mercury:

Cristy Road: Bad Habits, Rhiannon Argo: The Creamsickle and Nicole Georges: Invincible Summer Volume II
When: Sun., Jan. 18, 7:30 p.m.
Phone: 503.228.4651
Graphic artist Cristy Road discusses her uncensored and largely autobiographical tour of an underground world; Rhiannon Argo discusses and reads from her debut novel, a tale of an adrenaline junkie tomboy and her skateboard crew; and Nicole Georges reads from her collection of comics issues #9-14.
Powell's City of Books
DOWNTOWN 1005 W Burnside St.
503.228.4651

come to a benefit for SISTER SPIT:THE NEXT GENERATION

2008-11-19T16:31:00.000-08:00

Monday, November 24th
at Femina Potens * Market Street @ Sanchez
8pm * $10
no one turned away
but if you got it
we need it
mary.

starring

EILEEN MYLES! all the way from nyc! author of countless books including the poetry collection Sorry, Tree; the novel Cool for You and the story collection Chelsea Girls!
ALI LIEBEGOTT! author of The Beautifully Worthless and The IHOP Papers, both of which have won awards!
MELIZA BANALES! author of the poetry collection Say It With Your Whole Mouth!
RHIANNON ARGO! author of the forthcoming novel The Creamsickle!
DANNY -EL LUTE- LEVESQUE! sissy spit!
hosted by MICHELLE TEA, who might read something too. we'll see.

Sister Spit: The Next Generation is an all-girl literary performance tour.
We're hitting the road April 2009 with Beth Lisick, Ariel Schrag, Cristy C. Road, Sara Seinberg, Ben McCoy and Kirya Traber. All donations are tax-deductible.

SPREAD MAGAZINE

2008-11-15T20:32:00.000-08:00

New issue out now. Excerpt from the Creamsickle inside.

Get it here:

http://www.spreadmagazine.org/

The cover for Art XX which is out now and is awesome!

2008-09-27T16:05:00.001-07:00

Order it at ArtXXmagazine.com!

I interview Nicole J. Georges inside plus there is a piece I wrote called evicted house.

The film of my story Boots for Tula needs a Sound Guru!!

2008-09-18T15:07:00.001-07:00

Sound Designer needed for short 16mm narrative film

Body: Seeking a sound designer to create a full soundscape to enhance the spatial and emotional characteristics of "Boots For Tula," a 20-minute narrative film.

"Boots For Tula" is a story of entanglement, electrocution, and raw queer desire. The film is based on the short story of the same name by Rhiannon Argo, which was published in Michelle Tea’s anthology "Baby Remember My Name" (Carroll and Graf: 2007). It was shot on a CP-16 on location throughout the city of Chicago and upon completion it will be widely circulated in film festivals and queer art communities.

Expectations:
-record and edit ambient sounds
-foley in sound effects, both diegetic and non-diegetic
-procure and edit in music
-mix sound to account for spatial, emotional, and time changes
-master the final sound mix using Pro-Tools

Qualifications:
*Must have access to Pro-Tools and digital sound recording devices.

*Must have previous experience and extensive knowledge of sound design for narrative film, with particular knowledge on foley recording and editing.

*Must be queer and trans positive, and familiar and invested in queer community.

*Must have a great imagination and excellent communication skills.

Compensation:
-negotiable: we are in the process of applying for finishing grants.

-for sure: compensation for supplies, DVD copies of the film, and your name on all the publicity.

****Please email letter of interest and CV to malicamalya@gmail.com, and have a DVD of your reel ready to mail.

Malic Amalya uses 16mm film to investigate fluctuations in perception of memory, identity, and relationships. His films and videos have screened across North America, including in the Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, the Olympia Film Festival in Washington State, the Atlanta GLBT Film Festival, and TIE Cinema Exposition in Montreal. He took his MFA in Moving Image from the University of Illinois at Chicago and currently resides in Seattle.

www. malicamalya. com
www. myspace. com/diamondsatdusk

Rhiannon Argo is a San Francisco based writer who will rough you up with her words. Her stories have been published in "Baby Remember My Name: New Queer Girl Writing," "It's So You: 35 Women on Fashion, Beauty and Personal Style," "The Lowdown Highway Anthology," Transfer Magazine, and in dozens of her own hand-made chapbooks. In 2007 she took her tales on the road for an entire month with the new wave of Sister Spit and in 2008 was awarded a scholarship to the Lambda Literary Foundation's retreat for emerging LGBTQ writers. Her first novel "The Creamsicle" will be in late Spring 09.

www. rhiannonargo. com
www. sisterspitNextGen. com

bang bang

2008-09-11T18:32:00.001-07:00

BANG IT OUT!

2008-07-16T20:52:00.002-07:00

at BottleCapp

next Thursday, July 31st
7-10pm
(show at 8pm)

Solo performance by:

Yes Alexander!

Reading by:

Rhiannon Argo!

Michelle Tea!

Bottle Capp gallery is at 180 Capp Street. Third floor. Lotsa room. Full bar. Fancy piano and old cigarette machines.
You will love this space!

$3-5 bucks sliding scale.

NOTAFLOF.

All proceeds benefit me raising the last little bit I need for Lambda Foundations Literary Boot Camp for emerging LGBT writers, which I won a partial scholarship for… Also, I’m leaving the next day for a month so come say buh-bye. Also, Yvette’s goodbye party is afterwards at the Lex so you better come out anyways, because she has worked there for like 10 years or something, so you should come to BottleCapp, and then go send her off right...

BottleCapp:

I am Reading at The Radar Salon Series!

2008-06-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday, June 11th...

I'll be reading and revealing secrets...

the radar SALON series:
conversations + revelations

with special guests

RHIANNON ARGO, zinemaker, author of the novel Switch, veteran of the Spring 07 Sister Spit: The Next Generation spoken word roadshow. Rhiannon has pieces in the anthologies Lowdown Highway, Baby Remember My Name and It's So You.

THEA HILLMAN, author of the collection Depending on the Light and veteran of the Hell on Heels femme performance tour. Thea's most recent book is the memoir For Lack of a Better Word, and she writes the blog Easy As Pie.

Hosted by Michelle Tea

at the Three Dollar Bill Cafe
The Center
Market at Octavia
7:oopm
Free

Come see me perform at Deep Lez Potluck!!!

2008-06-10T11:29:00.000-07:00

The Deep Lez Potluck and Performance Night is a formal hand fasting of radical lesbian feminism and urban queer and gender queer politics. It's a celebration with bands, films, spoken word, fashion show, body painting, macrame and tea leaf readings. Films at 7 pm sharp, get your vegan potluck on, make some crafts, consciousness raise, let go and let goddess. Performance at 8:30 with Gretchen Phillips, Lesbians, Nomy Lamm, Jenna Riot, Pickup Pattern, Julia Serano, Ophelia Stringer, Meliza Banales, Celeste Chan, Rhiannon Argo, Elan Gerie, Machine, Trinity of Poon Joey Cupcake, Saturn Ray Turn and many more! DJ's kicking some sisterhood is powerful ass! Come widen the circle for ALL deeply lez identified lezzies of the past, present, and future and friends.