Ivan! Coyote!

GC and I went to our first Dusty Owl gathering yesterday, to hear Ivan E. Coyote tell some stories. We arrived at the last minute and got the last two chairs. The person next to me struck up a conversation and then introduced herself as Ivan.

Ivan! Coyote!

Now the thing is, I knew virtually nothing about Ivan Coyote when I walked in there, but by the time I left I was completely enchanted by her. I wanted to buy ALL her books and her CD and get on her mailing list and follow her around the country like a groupie and watch her tell stories. I bet I could watch her tell the same three stories a hundred times and never get bored.

I love the way she looks at people in the audience. She doesn’t just make eye contact, she locks it in, then she delivers a sentence or two or three, and then she lets go, sometimes with a subtle wink or a raised eyebrow or a slight nod, before moving on. It’s riveting. And she’s brilliant and hilarious, with an instinct for timing, and she collects belt buckles and she’s from the Yukon, and even though you can tell she knows exactly what’s going on, she’s still got a soft spot in her heart for the kind of men who don’t know exactly what’s going on, like the old-timers smoking outside the taverns in Whitehorse.

Well, you know, I totally fell in love with Ivan Coyote. I even joined the Facebook Group Admit it you have a crush on Ivan E Coyote, which describes her like this:

“Women and Men, straight and gay, love Ivan. She’s funny and handsome. Likes to walk dogs and play street hockey, has good manners in a restaurant and is charmingly self-depecating. She’s a hunk in handyman’s clothing, can talk like a mechanic, and knows what a latte is, and knows how to make a romantic spaghetti dinner. She’s nice to children but can drink you under the table. If she was booking a trip to France, she would probably pick a fabulous Bed and Breakfast. On top of all this, she is a literary treasure and wonderful culture-making dynamo.”

And as if all that weren’t perfect enough, she knits too!

I wish I’d known about her earlier, because she’s been in Ottawa all year as Carleton University’s writer-in-residence. She’s been teaching writing courses right here in Ottawa. And she’s leaving at the end of this month and moving to Vancouver. I’m heartbroken.

But there’s good news too. She’s launching and reading from her new book, The Slow Fix, at Venus Envy on Thursday November 20th, and we’re all invited. And as an extra added bonus, my favourite local blogger-pornographer, Megan Butcher, will be reading with her.

Let’s ALL go!