In a continuation of a trend of artists avoiding North Carolina in response to HB 2; the bill requiring people to use the bathroom designated to the gender listed on their birth certificate; House of Leaves author Mark Z. Danielewski, has publicly explained the reasoning behind skipping his upcoming Malaprop’s Bookstore engagement in a May 5 blog titled “Why I’m Not Going to Asheville, NC” on Huffington Post.
He explains his love for Malaprops. And he acknowledges that his action will have little impact on the bill. “After all,” he says, “a novelist cancelling a book-tour date doesn’t exactly rank up there with cancellations by the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam; or corporate disavowals by PayPal and Reddit.” But he goes on to explain his conscience guiding him away from any presence in the state. He says the he is essentially casting a vote against the NC law by boycotting any activity in the state:
It may amount to no more than one vote, but despite my longing to return to the place where my great-great-grandfather lived most of his life, I must join the growing numbers — which no doubt will include many of those who would have shown up at my reading at Malaprop’s — in support of North Carolina repealing a law that is ill-intentioned, ill-wrought and a disservice to the greater causes of tolerance and kindness.
Malaprop’s representatives have meanwhile been vocal in their pleas with authors to support them despite what they agree are negative repercussion from HB 2. Store manager Linda-Marie Barrett penned and op-ed to this effect for the New York Times last month.
Many of the commenters on the Danielewski blog are defending Asheville with a similar line of reasoning to the Barrett op-ed.
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