It is the second weekend of the Edinburgh International Book Festival and the excellent events involving talented authors and writers continue. Juliet Jacques is a transgender writer and journalist whose topics include trans-identification and the role of the media in transgender issues. Her latest book is called Trans: A Memoir and is a powerful and honest account of her life to date and highlights the various causes she believes in. In her memoir Jacques emphasises the intolerance that she has encountered in liberal and feminist media and this makes this key event at the Book Festival an interesting and engaging one.
The event is hosted by Glasgow based novelist and journalist Kirsty Logan and she starts the discussion by having an indepth conversation about music. Juliet Jacques is clearly passionate about various topics. Football, cinema, television and music are all referenced in her book. She highlights the music and lyrics of Morrissey and The Smiths and how they spoke to her personally at times of frustration.
Juliet also talks passionately about a book she is trying to write about the troubled openly gay football player Justin Fashanu. He tragically took his own life and his journey from talented youth player to troubled adult was described with a delicate passion by the author. Unfortunately Jacques has been unable to gain adequate access to the early life of Fashanu and this has caused her to abandon the project for now. The story is an interesting one and an obvious obsession , so it is hoped she can finish her book and the success of Trans: A Memoir will no doubt help this.
Todays event is subtitled ‘In Praise of Gender Fluidity’ and takes place in a strand at the book festival named A Changing Society. These events look at contemporary life and how society has shifted over the recent years. The programme is diverse in nature and topics include a look at how videogames are affecting people’s lives and also what the future holds for UKIP post-brexit. Today’s event with Juliet Jacques was thoughtful, touching and thoroughly engaging and definitely highlighted the excellent range of events at the Edinburgh International Book festival.