Splice of Life - Charles Jensen
Product Details:
Paperback : 274 Pages
ISBN : 9781951631338
Cover design: Gwen Grafft
About the Book:
Movies and memory intersect in this compelling and unconventional memoir from queer writer, film aficionado, and Jeopardy! contestant Charles Jensen.
Splice of Life follows Jensen from his upbringing and struggles with sexual awareness in rural Wisconsin to his sexual liberation in college and, finally, to the complex relationships and bizarre coincidences of adulthood.
Exploring what it means to be male and queer, each essay splices together Jensen’s lived experiences with his analysis of a single film. Deftly woven, Splice of Life shows us how personal and cultural memory intertwine, as well as how the stories we watch can help us understand the stories we all tell about ourselves.
About the Author:
Charles Jensen directs the Writers’ Program at UCLA Extension and was designated a Cultural Trailblazer by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. He’s the author of three poetry collections and seven chapbooks that cross the boundaries of genre and form. A cinephile and bookworm since childhood, he studied film and creative writing at the University of Minnesota and Arizona State University. Originally from a small town in Wisconsin, he lives in Long Beach, California, with his partner Bill, and is a proud Jeopardy! second runner-up. Find out more at his Linktree.
“A brilliantly clever and original autobiography/film dissection teeming with ingenious wordplay, well-crafted characters, intricate plot developments, subtle song references, and introspective meditations on Jensen’s cathartic journey…truly satisfying. Charles Jensen is my hero.”
“Weaving together his own powerful experiences with examinations of current films, Jensen makes a clear and compelling point that what we experience culturally influences our personal opinions and choices…a must read for anyone who understands how it feels to be on the outside, looking in, for anyone who has hoped against hope to fit in, for anyone who looked at the “popular” kids and wished they’d been among them…”
“Equal parts memoir and film criticism, Splice of Life is a bruising coming of age, coming out, and coming into one’s own chronicle that rifles through everything from Mean Girls and Scream to Westworld and Black Swan to stress how formative filmgoing (and keen-eyed cinema analysis) can bleed into our own sense of self.”