One Man's Trash: Stories

In Close to Spider Man—which won a Danuta Gleed Literary Award—readers were introduced to the crystalline storytelling voice of Ivan Coyote. The talent evident in that first collection is confirmed with One Man’s Trash, a series of connected stories about being queer, searching out new frontiers, and being on the road.

The characters in One Man’s Trash make evident the child in all of us, when heroes and superheroes won the day.

Including the hilarious account of an attempted lesbian wedding in a Las Vegas chapel, and a touching tale of being beguiled by an uncle’s independent-minded girlfriend, these are stories about being on the road: to the northern tundra or the southern desert, through cities and towns, on horses, in trucks and vans, with friends, family, and lovers. In achingly personal tones, Ivan Coyote paints beautiful and honest portraits of life, the road, and the spirits within.

Praise for Close to Spider Man:

"Blissfully rich . . . [a] thoroughly entertaining . . . surefooted, humorous take on misfit love and familial solidarity."—Publishers Weekly

"Coyote’s debut short story collection is powerful. . . . These stories consistently detail the pain of being mis-understood, of living and trying to love where one doesn’t fit in, and doesn’t want to. Their beauty is in the sheer emotion they provoke."—Lambda Book Report

Ivan E. Coyote is a Vancouver writer and performer who first came to attention as a member of Taste This, who collaborated on the award-winning book Boys Like Her.