Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > All Things Brokeback: Books, Interviews and More

Annie Proulx recognized for Leadership by National G/L Task Force

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Jeff Wrangler:
I hadn't heard that news about Annie Proulx. Thanks for posting it, Lynne!

Toast:
Proulx said:

"People don't really disturb the ancient traditions of rural places, and that's too bad," she said. "You really have to take a look at what's not right, and not support the status quo.''

Lynne:

--- Quote from: Toast on May 15, 2006, 11:13:05 pm ---Proulx said:
"People don't really disturb the ancient traditions of rural places, and that's too bad," she said. "You really have to take a look at what's not right, and not support the status quo.''

--- End quote ---

That's a very good picture of Annie - thanks for posting it!  It's very hard to believe she's 70!

I could not agree more with the second part of Annie's statement - that choosing to do right must supercede supporting the status quo.  I want to think she must have had specific 'traditions' that need disturbing in mind.  I would like to believe that there are still some traditions in rural America that have their place and offer comfort.

In my own rural life, I am trying to think of examples of (what I consider) worthy traditions, but I'm afraid that the only ones I'm coming up with hearken to my grandparents day, nothing recent.  Most of the traditions I'm remembering involve churches and funerals, though there does seem to be a willingness to help neighbors in need.  I know that is not the sole property of rural areas only, though.  I'll have to give it some more thought.

I can think of only two gay people I knew about in some capacity while growing up in the 70's.  One gay kid in jr high and high school was flaming and very in-your-face about his sexuality.  He was reviled by most and a continual source of amusement by others.  He always acted as if he couldn't care less, but I always thought that he must be in a great deal of pain.  The other guy I knew well in high school - one of the very best students - was very private about his sexuality - a nice guy, really, but somewhat arrogant (perhaps a defense mechanism?).  He ultimately was ostracized from his family and their business (> 50 yrs old insurance agency in town).  The last I hear, he is happily living in the SF Bay area.  Good for him.

I've learned about several more people's homosexual orientation since those high school days.  You have to wonder how growing up in a more accepting environment might have changed things for them...

-Lynne

Lynne:
I have been in communication with DCLuke, a member of Dave Cullen's Ultimate Brokeback Forum, who had the opportunity to attend the awards dinner and meet Annie Proulx personally.  It sounded like such an amazing experience!

Lucas wrote a terrific first-person account of the experience that was featured on The Daily Thread within UBBF: 

http://davecullen.com/forum/index.php?topic=8873.msg239029#msg239029

And he generously gave me permission to post his report here in its entirety.

-Lynne

UBBF Member, DCLuke, Meets Annie Proulx

What a lucky guy!  DCLuke, one of our involved members and a great volunteer, had an encounter with Annie Proulx recently and favored us with his account:

On May 6, 2006, the National Gay Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) honored Annie Proulx at its Leadership Awards gala dinner in Washington, DC.  My employer was also receiving an award that evening for its charity work and I was fortunate to be in attendance. 

Shortly after arriving at the pre-dinner cocktail reception, I began to eagerly scan the room looking for Annie Proulx.  I imagined that she would be crowded by fans, but much to my surprise I found her standing alone.  I introduced myself and thanked her for sharing her literary gift with the world.  Brokeback Mountain touched me so deeply and I tried to convey that to her as best I could, but it was difficult to find the words to describe such deep emotion without sounding awkward.  I then told Annie about the Ultimate Brokeback Forum.  She pumped her fist in the air when I told her about the DVD campaign and the special focus on placing the DVD and story in rural libraries.  She thought that the DVD campaign was a great way to share the story with a broad audience.  Some other people approached Annie, so I congratulated her on her award and left her so that she could mingle with other well-wishers.

During remarks preceding the presentation of the Leadership Award, NGLTF Executive Director Matt Foreman noted that “Annie Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain has forever changed the way millions of Americans view our love and lives.”  A short video was then shown in which Annie explained that the short story is her favorite literary medium because “every word, every comma counts,” making a solid short story a true artistic achievement. There were also clips from the LOGO Special The Making of Brokeback Mountain in which Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal discussed their admiration for the story and script.

Annie began her remarks to the audience by saying, Grassroots is a term that I have heard a lot this evening.  Tell you what, I know where there are a lot of grassroots.  She then described the physical environment of Wyoming with a long string of adjectives, words that conjured images positive and negative, comforting and lonely.  Annie explained that within this harsh, beautiful, and at times, mean land, there exist two closets.  One is for people who don’t engage in the traditional man-woman missionary position sex.  The other is for Democrats. After a few additional remarks about the political climate in her state, Annie concluded her speech with the following observation, “People don’t disturb the traditions of rural places and that’s too bad. You really have to take a look at what's not right, and not support the status quo.”

Annie’s speech, both content and delivery, contrasted sharply with the other speeches delivered that evening, among them speeches by Representative John Conyers and Senator Russell Feingold.  Unlike the bombastic political speakers of the evening, Annie spoke so softly that for the first and only time of the evening a hush enveloped the audience.  Annie was not a dynamic speaker.  She chose her words carefully and her voice contained little inflection. She only touched upon gay rights and politics, preferring instead to speak about Wyoming as the flint that sparks her imagination and gives form to her work.  Annie is an author, not an activist, and if we want to draw political or social inspiration from her stories, then that is our prerogative.

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