Postcard from a cougar
Henry Hoke (Photo courtesy Myles Pettengill) Author Henry Hoke takes a look at LA daily life, through the eyes of a queer mountain lion GREGG SHAPIRO | Contributing Writer GreggShapiro@aol.com here’s no disputing that queer writer Henry Hoke has one of the most eclectic voices in contemporary literature.
For example, the glue that held his 2022 memoir Stickers together was the adhesive of the back of the titular objects. And in Hoke’s new novel, Open Throat (MCD/FSG 2023), we see daily life in Los Angeles through the eyes of a queer mountain lion.
Alternately surreal, sexy, serious and satisfying, Open Throat is a quick and insightful read. Hoke recently made time in advance of his book tour to answer some questions. Gregg Shapiro: During the pandemic lockdown, many elements of the natural world began to be present again, including animals returning to or flourishing in their natural habitats.
Is Open Throat any way inspired by that? Henry Hoke: Yes, especially a reverie/vision of a human-free world that comes late in the book, and which I wrote post-pandemic, in the revision process with FSG.
