News

Yes, the new issue of ODDA, the celebrated international fashion magazine, features an extensive interview with Laura Albert! Eduardo Gión discusses a range of topics with Laura, from her early writings to the JT LeRoy books and the realm of gender fluidity. We could tell you lots more, but read this rad piece for yourself, right HERE!

Laura’s newest article is an interview with model and actor Jeremy Meeks for Man About Town magazine, with photographs by Steven Klein. This is Jeremy’s first interview and first cover shoot, and you will be knocked out by it! Click the link below to read this amazing encounter between Jeremy and Laura:

JeremyMeeks-BringThePain

May is the time for a pair of special events with Laura Albert in California’s Bay Area.

A few days ago Laura received this email through the website:

You talk so much about celebrities, celebrity and how much you want to be a celebrity.  It seems as though you’ve been trying to make a trade with celebrity for a long time.  That transaction will never go well, for anyone, let alone you.

She sent this response, which she wants to share with you all:

Oh I know this very well. And the process I went through being JT and the way media created this celeb culture around JT very much enforced my awareness of how hollow celebrity worship is. I feel our culture sells the idea of fame as a fix for our suffering, whatever it might be. I hid and did the work of writing in my room. In the same way I believed food might fix me — it numbed me — fame is another distraction and it does NOT fix anything. Oh I know this. I really do not talk about it much at all, but it is very much the lingua franca of our culture. I am asked about it a lot. Believe me I would rather talk about most anything else. My books are NOT pop culture books, but they do go into the desire to be loved, to be seen, to be needed — to feel important, that your life matters. To feel connected. The desire to find a self.
My work deals with gender fluidity, trauma, abuse. I suggest you read the work — this is what interests me. Please do not mistake what is written ABOUT me with what my true focus is and has been. The trade was never ever for celebrity, at all. It was going to artists I was moved by, it is what I did in the punk scene — I rejected celebrity worship. Being a celebrity, existing in that realm? Nothing could be further from that as my organizing principal. If it were, then when I was outed I would have jumped on all the offers that were thrown at me to create myself as one. I did not. I even got into a lawsuit because a movie company wanted to make my story but I said NO to Hollywood. Please read the work, the essence of it all is there. I do appreciate your coming to me with your concerns instead of posting anonymously. You opened a chance for dialog and that is rare.
Sincerely, Laura

As our regular readers no doubt noticed, we had to change plans for the Toronto opening of Author: The JT LeRoy Story on November 2 and 3. We originally announced personal appearances at the theater for audience Q&As, but had to change to Skype sessions at the last minute. And now we also have to announce with regret the cancellation of laura’s appearance at Book Court in Brooklyn, which had been scheduled for November 6. We’re sorry friends, but you just can’t Skype to a book signing… We further regret to announce that Laura’s appearance at the Stockholm Film Festival has also been cancelled – but she will be Skyping to them too, so watch this space or the website’s Author page for the precise date and time.

The explanation is simple: The day before her flight to Canada, Laura had a small accident and fractured a bone in her left foot. We’re saving the cool X-ray photo for this month’s newsletter, but here’s Laura pictured below, showing up the next day for a radio interview, boot and all.

Watch the website for news of when her Brooklyn appearance will be rescheduled. In the meantime, we offer here as consolation Laura’s awesome new interview on Q with Tom Powers from CBC Radio.