Michael V. Smith is a multihyphenate force of nature: a novelist, poet, improv comic, filmmaker, drag queen, performance artist, and occasional clown. In “My Body is Yours”, his first work of nonfiction, Michael traces his early years as an inadequate male―a fey kid growing up in a small town amid a blue-collar family; a sissy; an insecure teenager desperate to disappear; and an obsessive writer-performer, drawn to compulsions of alcohol, sex, reading, spending, work, and art as a means to cope and heal.

As an artist whose work focuses on our preconceived notions about the body, Michael questions the very notion of what it means to be human. He also asks: How can we know what a man is? How might understanding gender as metaphor be a tool for a deeper understanding of identity? In coming to terms with his past “failures” at masculinity, and with an aging father he is only beginning to come to know, Michael offers a new way of thinking about breaking out of gender norms, and reconciling with a dangerous childhood.

“My Body is Yours” is A memoir about fathers and sons, breaking out of gender norms, and reconciling with a dangerous childhood. Toronto fans get a couple chances to hear Michael read excerpts from his new book, and have an opportunity to purchase a copy.

Friday, May 1, 2015 | two shows: 7pm + 9pm

Videofag – 187 Augusta Avenue

Cabaret Reading – Michael will be reading from his memoir as his racy drag persona Miss Cookie LaWhore

Sunday, May 3, 2015 | 2:00pm

Glad Day Books

598A Yonge Street

Michael will be reading from his new memoir.

Click here to learn more about Michael, or visit Arsenal Pulp to order his book online.

 

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment, and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors, and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats. Reach out - bryen@thebuzzmag.ca