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Firebird: A Memoir
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Firebird: A Memoir Paperback - 2000

by Mark Doty

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In his autobiography, poet Mark Doty tells the story of how he became aware of his sexual orientation at the age of ten, and of one family's dissolution through the corrosive powers of alcohol, sorrow, and thwarted desire.

Summary

In Firebird, Mark Doty tells the story of a ten-year-old in a top hat, cane, and red chiffon scarf, interrupted while belting out Judy Garland's "Get Happy" by his alarmed mother at the bedroom door, exclaiming, "Son, you're a boy!"Firebird presents us with a heroic little boy who has quite enough worries without discovering that his dawning sexuality is the Wrong One. A self-confessed "chubby smart bookish sissy with glasses and a Southern accent," Doty grew up on the move, the family following his father's engineering work across America-from Tennessee to Arizona, Florida to California. A lyrical, heartbreaking comedy of one family's dissolution through the corrosive powers of alcohol, sorrow, and thwarted desire, Firebird is also a wry evocation of childhood's pleasures and terrors, a comic tour of American suburban life, and a testament to the transformative power of art.

Reader reviews for Firebird: A Memoir

From the publisher

"A beautifully written, hallucinatorily evocative memoir of growing up gay in baby-boom America." -- Newsweek

In his powerful autobiography, Firebird, Mark Doty tells the story of a ten-year-old in a top hat, cane, and red chiffon scarf, interrupted while belting out Judy Garland's "Get Happy" by his alarmed mother at the bedroom door, exclaiming, "Son, you're a boy!"

Firebird presents us with a heroic little boy who has quite enough worries without discovering that his dawning sexuality is the Wrong One. A self-confessed "chubby smart bookish sissy with glasses and a Southern accent," Doty grew up on the move, the family following his father's engineering work across America-from Tennessee to Arizona, Florida to California. A lyrical, heartbreaking comedy of one family's dissolution through the corrosive powers of alcohol, sorrow, and thwarted desire, Firebird is also a wry evocation of childhood's pleasures and terrors, a comic tour of American suburban life, and a testament to the transformative power of art.

First line

In 1959, in Memphis, Tennessee, my sister, Sally, became a Rain Girl.

From the rear cover

In Firebird, Mark Doty tells the story of a ten-year-old in a top hat, cane, and red chiffon scarf, interrupted while belting out Judy Garland's "Get Happy" by his alarmed mother at the bedroom door, exclaiming, "Son, you're a boy!"

Firebird presents us with a heroic little boy who has quite enough worries without discovering that his dawning sexuality is the Wrong One. A self-confessed "chubby smart bookish sissy with glasses and a Southern accent," Doty grew up on the move, the family following his father's engineering work across America-from Tennessee to Arizona, Florida to California. A lyrical, heartbreaking comedy of one family's dissolution through the corrosive powers of alcohol, sorrow, and thwarted desire, Firebird is also a wry evocation of childhood's pleasures and terrors, a comic tour of American suburban life, and a testament to the transformative power of art.

Details

  • Title Firebird: A Memoir
  • Author Mark Doty
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 224
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Harper Perennial, New York
  • Publication date 2000-09-19
  • Features Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780060931971 / 0060931973
  • Weight 0.45 lbs (0.20 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.06 x 5.42 x 0.57 in (20.47 x 13.77 x 1.45 cm)
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 1950's
    • Chronological Period: 1960's
    • Cultural Region: South
    • Demographic Orientation: Urban
    • Geographic Orientation: Tennessee
    • Sex & Gender: Feminine
    • Sex & Gender: Gay
    • Topical: Coming of Age
    • Topical: Lgbt
  • Category Biography / Autobiography
  • Library of Congress subjects Poets, American - 20th century, Poets, American - 20th century - Family
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 99015619
  • Dewey Decimal Code B

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Firebird: A Memoir
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Firebird: A Memoir

by Doty

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780060931971 / 0060931973
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Description:
Perennial, 2000. Hardcover. Good Condition. Has used bookstore stickers. Text appears clean, but may contain some marks that we missed. Cover Has Shelf, Edge and Corner Wear, Looks nice. 200 pages. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilo. Category: Biography & Autobiography; ISBN: 0060931973. ISBN/EAN: 9780060931971. Pictures of this item not already displayed here available upon request. Inventory No: 1561062243. . 9780060931971
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Firebird: A Memoir
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Firebird: A Memoir

by Doty, Mark

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New York: HarperPerennial. Fine copy. 2000. 1st. softcover. 8vo, 200 pp. .
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Firebird: A Memoir
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Firebird: A Memoir

by Doty, Mark

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780060931971 / 0060931973
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Firebird: A Memoir – A Heartbreaking and Comic Autobiography of LGBTQ Identity,...

Firebird: A Memoir – A Heartbreaking and Comic Autobiography of LGBTQ Identity, Family Alcoholism, and Art's Power

by Doty, Mark

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Firebird : A Memoir

Firebird : A Memoir

by Mark Doty

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780060931971 / 0060931973
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HarperCollins Publishers, 2000. Paperback. Good. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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Firebird : A Memoir

Firebird : A Memoir

by Mark Doty

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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Firebird : A Memoir
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Firebird : A Memoir

by Doty, Mark

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780060931971 / 0060931973
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HarperCollins Publishers. Used - Good. Former library copy. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.
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Firebird : A Memoir
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Firebird : A Memoir

by Doty, Mark

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Condition
Used
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780060931971 / 0060931973
Quantity available
1
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Item price
A$11.87
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Description:
HarperCollins Publishers. Used - Very Good. Pages intact with possible writing/highlighting. Binding strong with minor wear. Dust jackets/supplements may not be included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.
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Firebird: A Memoir
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Firebird: A Memoir

by Doty, Mark

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  • Paperback
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Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780060931971 / 0060931973
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Harper Perennial, 2000-09-19. Reprint. paperback. Used: Good. 5.31x0.51x8.00. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
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Firebird: A Memoir
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Firebird: A Memoir

by Doty, Mark

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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