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3. Christine Stark | April 19, 2012 at 10:11 am |

   I saw the work you do and I thought you would be interested in my recent novel, *Nickels: A Tale of Dissociation* (see below). It has been nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. I really want to let survivors and advocates know about the book, and I would be much appreciative if you wanted to help promote it, link to it, etc.
   Many thanks,
   Christine Stark
   http://www.christinestark.com

   Nickels: A Tale of Dissociation
   Christine Stark with introduction by Anya Achtenberg

   Nickels: A Tale of Dissociation follows a biracial girl named Little Miss So And So, from age 4 into adulthood. Told in a series of prose poems, Nickels’ lyrical and inventive language conveys the dissociative states born of a world formed by persistent and brutal incest and homophobia. The dissociative states enable the child’s survival and, ultimately, the adult’s healing. The content is both heartbreaking and triumphant. Nickels is the groundbreaking debut of Minneapolis author and artist, Christine Stark.

   “Christine Stark has crafted a language and a diction commensurate with the shredding of consciousness that is a consequence of childhood sexual abuse. She brings us a wholly original voice in a riveting novel of desperation and love. Nickels is narrated by Miss So and So, as her mother names her, from the ages of 4 to 26, a character so compelling I never wanted to stop hearing from her. She names herself crazygirl, but the reader sees a different truth: there’s humor and cunning and ferocious love alive in those who survive. Stark enables the reader to inhabit the intricacy and chaos of this potent inner landscape, and we have not seen this before. Every sentence vibrates with a terrible beauty. Every sentence brings the news.”
   –Patricia Weaver Francisco, Telling:A Memoir of Rape and Recovery

   “To be taken into the mind of a child can be an enchanting adventure, but to be taken into the mind of a child who is abused, confused, and taken for granted is a lingering, livid journey. Stark’s s poised yet cerebral writing style stays with you long after you have delved into the first chapter and regrettably finished the last. She has vividly exposed a world that unfortunately exists for many. I applaud her fortitude to bring an olden – too long ignored – truth out of the darkness with blazing, innovative light.”
   –MariJo Moore Cherokee/Irish/Dutch Author of The Diamond Doorknob; When the Dead Dream, and A Book of Spiritual Wisdom – for all days.

   “Stark has done something in Nickels that deserves our attention. She has not only remembered, but she has resisted the impulse to editorialize. Instead, she has given us the pure voice of the survivor, and in doing that, she compels her readers to experience the world fragmented, distorted, with fragile islands of comfort and familiarity through the eyes and limited context of the child. And then she enables us to grow up along with that survivor, collecting and integrating the fragments of self along with her protagonist. Thank you, Ms. Stark, for what must have been a descent into some kind of personal hell to recover this fictional Eurydice , this survivor with no name, whom you have led back up into the light of publication an indictment and a torchbearer.”
   –Carolyn Gage, Author of The Second Coming of Joan of Arc and Selected Plays

   In Nickels, Christine Stark, powerfully portrays the story of abuse and its impact on our lives. This beautifully written and compelling story leaves you wanting more. It’s riveting; a book that will capture you from the beginning and carry you through the end. Everyone should read this book.
   –Olga Trujillo, Author of The Sum of My Parts

   “…These brilliantly written pieces stimulated the board into a lively discussion of language, point of view, and politics, and resulted in a resounding `yes’ from everyone on the importance of using these two pieces together, as point-counterpoint on the themes of violence against women and the nuanced and challending process of surviving that violence.”
   –Minnie Bruce Pratt, Creative Writing Editor for the Feminist Studies Editorial Board

   “Take a dark journey with Christine Stark, deep into the dungeon that is incest. Follow crazy girl as she fights for her dignity and sense of self-worth. Then cheer when she finally finds the strength to say: `I know my name now and you do not frighten me.’”
   —Julian Sher, author of Somebody’s Daughter: The Hidden Story of America’s Prostituted Children and the Battle to Save Them

   “The judging panel believes Christine Stark’s work is both art and metaphor. She creates story and mood using a stream of consciousness style. The writing is rhythmic, and lyrical with conscious and authoritative use of various techniques such as repetition. In Christine’s story, the perpetrator behaves as if his act, and assault, is one of mundane evil. This story alludes to the reality of society’s marginalized—vulnerable to everyday evils—mundane for some, not so for others. The panel applauds Christine’s writing talents, her willingness to take a risk by composing a raw, provocative piece designed to invite us to consider the nature of mundane evil from several unexpected points of view.
   –Sandra Lloyd, The Pearls Writing Group

   Stark has done something in Nickels that deserves our attention. She has not only remembered, but she has resisted the impulse to editorialize. Instead, she has given us the pure voice of the survivor, and in doing that, she compels her readers to experience the world fragmented, distorted, with fragile islands of comfort and familiarity through the eyes and limited context of the child. And then she enables us to grow up along with that survivor, collecting and integrating the fragments of self along with her protagonist. Thank you, Ms. Stark, for what must have been a descent into some kind of personal hell to recover this fictional Eurydice, this survivor with no name, whom you have led back up into the light of publication an indictment and a torchbearer.
   –Carolyn Gage, The Second Coming of Joan of Arc and Selected Plays

   “Nickels: A Story of Dissociation is exceptionally difficult to encapsulate in a few paragraphs. It is a singular book that merits every reader it can get , not only because of the subject of the book – worthwhile in itself – but because of Stark’s artistry in writing it. When readers put the finished book down, they’ll never look at nickels again in quite the same way.”
   –Michael Northen, coeditor of Beauty is a Verb: The New Poetry of Disability

   “Stark’s writing achieves something altogether new. It allows us a glimpse into the perceptive, multidimensional, and startlingly rich dissociative mind, in which the past can suddenly seem more real than the present and even the smallest detail can trigger overpowering memories, so that the impossibly hopeful conclusion feels all the more earned and satisfying.”
   —Katie Hae Leo, Four Destinies

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37. Fresh! | June 15, 2010 at 3:16 pm |

    Congratulations on your new site!!

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39. admin | June 13, 2010 at 2:34 pm |

    Hi all — so sorry for any inconvenience with the contact form! I’ve updated it, and it should work fine now -

    best!
    Jen

40. admin | June 13, 2010 at 1:07 pm |

    Hi Chloe!

    Thanks so much for this comment, and for letting me know about the trouble! Yes, there’s still space available — I’ll send you an email message to follow up!

    all best,
    Jen

41. chloe jhangiani | June 12, 2010 at 10:55 pm |

    I tried several times to sign up for the next “writing the flood” workshop…but the computer wasnt letting me do it. Is there still space?