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Mental Health Counselor

P.O. Box 13
N. Montpelier, VT 05666
(802) 454-1432

SUSAN M. MURRAY

LANGROCK SPERRY & WOOL
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
15 SOUTH PLEASANT STREET
MIDDLEBURY, VERMONT
05753

Bunumrron OFFICE: AREA CODE: 802

275 COLLEGE STREET TELEPHONE: 3896356
Bununcrron. VERMONT 05402 Home Pi-ioNE: 877-3165
302-864-0217 FAX O: 3B8r6l49

When Holly is Near:

Continued from page 1

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Carol L. Thayer, M.D.
Family Physician

Community
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Georgia Health Center

RR #2, BOX 1 160 0 Fairfax, VT 05454
Tel: 802/524-9595 3%. .

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1'30 Prim Road - Colchestcr, VT 05446

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(Photo courtesy of Burlington City Arts)

Holly Near

this -- the connection to community. The “Heart
Music” begins before the concert. There's a
wonderful communion that begins in the lobby,
friends that haven't seen each other, an energy. The
frenetic energy of the audience washes off during
the concert, and something begins to happen in the
community.

OITM: A safe space.

Holly: Right wing bigots do not show up for this;
it's a form of self—censorship. But there's a
downside to that. People think I'm political. But it
can also be for people who disagree; they can be
intelligently challenged and still don't have to
agree. But it's not a safe space in that I challenge
people. I get letters from people who say they
were dragged to a concert by friends and it brought
up issues of gay child, or gay parent, or Vietnam.
It brings up stuff, so it's not safe that way. I have
no intent or desire to wound anyone. My work is
to challenge and educate, heal and inspire,
entertain. And keep a high quality as an artist.
People who disagree won't feel attacked. It's a
good entry level concert. But I don't withhold
anything!

OITM: We're both old enough to have seen the
politics swing back and forth from liberal to
conservative. For instance in the 70's, women
could get an abortion without trouble; now armed
guards have to be at the doors for safety. And then
the horror of the AIDS epidemic.

Holly: I wish that when I was young, I'd had a
better sense of history. If I had (only) known that I
was signing up for the journey. There is no
nirvana. The world can't be changed

permanently  (But) there is no rest around these
issues. We have to defend women's right to
choose. We've seen plagues before. It's horrific,
but we always learn something. We can't live in
despair. Our children are in trouble, and we have
to help! They live in poverty, and violence, and
abuse.

OITM: Do you feel that the 12 years of
Republican presidents is partially to blame?

Holly: The people that voted for them were more
interested in tax breaks. I want to live in a country
where the bottom line is people don't go hungry.
We had laws against child labor, and child labor is
back again.

OITM: The early women's guilds were responsible
for child labor laws.

Holly: Right! But people see this and don't want to
do anything, even if they think it's terrible. When
you deal with the issues of children, you have to
deal with the issues of class, race, sex, and
violence. All our decisions have to be made on
how it will affect the children. Native Americans
use the next seven generations as a yardstick for
making decisions.

OITM: What else would you like us to know?

Holly: It's important to know that independent
music has very little media access. And that we
need the word of mouth. So go out to the concert,
have a hot date, but bring 3 or 4 people. When
people make an effort, it builds community. Bring
a teenager who says "Holly who?" or an older
person who was on the front lines years ago and
can't get out anymore. Pick them up and bring
them. Keep them part of the community.

Holly Near will be appearing at Memorial
Auditorium in Burlington, Thursday, March 7th, at
7pm. Tickets, ranging from $15-$22, are
available by calling (802) 863-5966. If the concert
passes you by, her tapes and compact discs are
available through her Redwood Records label. For
more infomtation, write to Holly Near, Box
10408, Oakland, CA 94610. V

____________.____
The Man of the House

Stephen McCauley

Simon & Schuster
Reviewd by Anthony S. Galbraith

In a time when dyfunctional families are the norm,
when higher education leads you nowhere but into
great debt and when there’s "twelve step meeting
for every type of problem imaginable, Stephen
McCauley’s third novel, The Man of the House,
fits right in.

The story is set in Cambridge, Massachusetts
where Clyde Carmicheal lives and works. When
his old friend Louise arrives with Ben, her twelve-
year old son, Clyde not only takes on re-
sponsibility for their dog but also serves as inter-
mediary for his housemate Marcus, who’s just
been informed that he’s Ben’s father. While trying
to encourage Marcus to break the news to Ben,
Clyde must also advise his incurably insecure sis-
ter, Agnes, on how to handle their world-class cur-
mudgeon of a father who may or may not be suf-
fering from a terminal illness and Agnes’s,
teenaged punk daughter. *

McCauley has written a fine. witty contemporary
novel that is both humorous and realistic. The
characters are tragic and true—to life. We all know

people like these, and most of us will be able to in-
dentify with them.

The most powerful and touching aspect of the nov-
el is the interplay between Clyde and his cold, un-
forgiving father. While all the people around him
spin out of control and threaten to take hint with
them, he tries to resolve his relationship with his
father. Even here, McCauley has the refreshing
ability to give the most serious scenes a humorous
and completely believable touch. A

The Man of the House prives to be a smart, funny
novel that is a lament for the way a winner—take—all
society can distort and impoverish the fates of real
people trying to break the downward trajectory of
their lives.

Steven McCauley grew up outside of Boston. He is
a graduate of UVM and the Writing Program at
Columbia University. He now lives in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. He will be reading from and sign-
ing his novel The Man ofthe House at Chassman
and Bem. Saturday. March 8 at 7:00pm. V