I am so often wrong, about everything. I was attending a book conference in Chicago, and I was invited to participate in an event called “The Laugh’s On Us.” I assumed that this was a gay event, for the following reasons: the title, the fact that it was scheduled on or near Gay Pride Day, and the lineup of other speakers, which included Ross, the popular gay intern from the Jay Leno show,and Paula Poundstone, the terrific comedian. The room was filled with smart, welcoming, comfortably dressed women and gay men. When it was my turn at the podium, I read a section from Gorgeous, my YA novel, dealing with the comic travails of a gay movie star, and then I made an impassioned speech regarding the recent Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage. The crowd was appreciative, but as I was babbling, I realized that this was simply an event devoted to comedy, and that the smart, welcoming, comfortably dressed women and gay men were librarians.
November 19, 2013
