Noisemakers 2000: Beastie girl

>> Awaiting Catherine Kidd's first novel

by JULIET WATERS

Bestial Rooms, Catherine Kidd's first novel, seems to be locked in a cage right now. She has a contract on her kitchen table with Patrick Crean, a small press that has published some pretty big names in the past (Barbara Gowdy, for one). But Crean is currently shifting distributors, so all projects are on hold. If things go according to schedule, look for Kidd's book in the fall.

The plot is difficult to pin down, since the theme has to do with the repressed family memories of a female narrator. But expect an invisible elephant, a refugee laboratory chimp and a character called The Buffalo Man. And keep in mind the title of her first chapbook, Everything I Know About Love I Learned From Taxidermy. While she's waiting on her publisher, Kidd, who's recently been living like a monk, will hopefully be more out and about as one of the premier spoken word performers on the beat. l