Michael V. Smith makes Progress

Courtesy of David Ellingsen

Michael V. Smith likes to keep himself busy.

The award-winning author, who recently published his second novel Progress, is also a filmmaker, performance artist and occasional clown.

And as if that doesn’t take up enough of his time, Smith also teaches creative writing at UBC’s Okanagan campus and moonlights as a drag queen named Cookie La Whore.

“I write mostly what comes to me,” said Smith. “Sometimes it’s poetry, sometimes fiction, sometimes it’s making a short video. Mostly, I like being occupied and I like diversity, so I just go anywhere and everywhere.”

But Smith considers Progress to be one of his greatest accomplishments. “I think Progress picks up many ideas from Cumberland [Smith’s first book] and does better by them. It’s a more sophisticated conversation. The characters’ stories are more layered and complex and interwoven.”

Progress tells the story of Helen Massey, a woman whose town is about to be flooded by a government agency. The same day she witnesses a horrific accident, her runaway brother Robert re-enters her life.

Smith, who was shortlisted for the Journey Prize in 2007 for his short story “What We Wanted,” has become a vibrant talent in the BC arts community and was once described as a “pillar of the gay community” in Xtra West. His work was recently anthologized in Persistence, a collection of queer literature compiled by fellow author Ivan E. Coyote and her wife Zena Sharman.

Smith said he has a close relationship with the queer arts community. “Other queer artists in BC have been a real rock for me. I’m a lucky man to have met such great people in Vancouver, committed to creating inclusive, supportive communities of care,” he said. “It’s a great gift to be blessed with wonderful friends.”

Smith values inclusiveness both in his life and in his writing, and isn’t specifically targeting a queer audience with his new book. “I’m after any old audience, really. I’ve always written with a general public in mind. I see myself as a community-builder so I write stories for my community, which are the folks on my block and the people in my country, really.

“If the book appeals to you, you’re the person I’m writing for. I’m not fussy. Equal-opportunity. I grew up in a poor blue collar town, so it’s always been important to me to tell stories in a way that speaks to those lives, that respects the people and place I came from,” he said.

On November 10 at 2pm in Irving K. Barber, Smith will be reading his work as part of the Robson Reading Series. Admission is free.