Alien: The Strange Life and Times of Mendelson Joe

217 Pages·2000·10.23 MB·English

by  Mendelson Joe

A L I EN
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A L I EN
THE STHE STRANGETRANGE
I IFF AMI IFF AMU TTMFQU TTMFQ
OF MENDELSON JOF MENDELSON JOEOE
AS TOLD TO NADIA HALIM
ECW PRESS
Copyright © ECW PRESS 2000
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form by any process — electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise — without
the prior written permission of ECW PRESS.
CANADIAN CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION DATA
Mendelson Joe
Alien : the strange life and times of Mendelson Joe
ISBN 1-55022-426-3
i. Mendelson Joe. 2. Painters — Canada — Biography. 3. Musicians — Canada -
Biography. I. Halim, Nadia M. (Nadia Maria), 1970- . n. Title.
ND249.M446A2. 2000 759-H 000-931726-0
Cover and text design by Tania Craan
Cover art by Mendelson Joe
Layout by Mary Bowness
Printed in Canada by University of Toronto Press
Distributed in Canada by General Distribution Services,
325 Humber Blvd., Toronto, Ontario M9W yc3
Published by ECW PRESS
2120 Queen Street East, Suite 200,
Toronto, Ontario, M4E IE2
ecwpress.com
The publication of Alien has been generously
supported by The Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council,
and the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing
Industry Development Program. Canada
Dedicated to my heroes
Rosalie Bertell, June Callwood,
Lisa Cherniak, and Lisa Simpson.
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PREFACE
In 1998 I sent Jack David at ECW Press a sample of my third manu-
script, "A Man and His Philosophy," formerly "A Man and His
Penis." Though Mr. David rejected me as an author, he countered
with the idea of "speaking a book." And so I did speak.
If I were to name all the people who've inspired me with their
love, support, wisdom and silliness, I'd probably still be naming
because I've lived a life-times-twenty — or so it seems.
I must thank those who gave their time (time is lifetime) aI must thank those who gave their time (time is lifetime) and talknd ta
to Nadia Halim and helped make this book have dimension; they
gave my little life light and light is everything if you're a painter.
Finally, to have been born so lucky (Canada has to be Luckyland
unless you're aboriginal or really poverty-stricken), I believe it's my
job, my truth to state that our democracy — the democracy that
afforded me the freedom to dare to be me — is in jeopardy. Jeopardy?
If individual citizens remain silent and passive while visionless
greed-driven politicians lead us beyond the beyond of astray, the
health of our democracy not to mention our actual physical and
psychological healths (health and environment are one and the
same) will atrophy and we'll become genetically modified slaves
existing in America's Canada's Wonderland . . . you get my drift.
That's jeopardy.
Very finally, if we rape our Mother enough she won't look after
us. Maybe I'll shut up for a minute. Health.
M. Joe
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