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I first met Drew Blood in about 1990. he came to Minneapolis to read
at Mayslack's, a bar where there was a beer-soaked literary scene in those
pre-poetry slam days. Razor, a poet friend of Drew's, was instrumental in
bringing him to town. I got some of Drew's books of poetry at A
Brother's Touch bookstore, I think before I met him. I guess it was around
gay pride time because I think I also saw him in Loring Park at the
pride celebration.
We kept in touch -- he sent me his chapbooks, and I reviewed them in my zine. I next saw Drew in the Spring of 1992. I'd moved to San Francisco at the beginning of the year, and drove down to Los Angeles for Spew 2, the 2nd Queer Zine Convention. I stayed at Drew's apartment in Riverside, though it was far from L.A. We went to the opening party. The lock of of my car's trunk got punched and Drew's backpack full of chapbooks was stolen. I'm sure the thieves weren't an appreciative readership. I visited Drew on a few more trips to Southern California -- his apartment held an amazing collection of Mission furniture, pottery, bakelite, and so on. He was a collector, both of punk ephemera, especially that related to his beloved Germs, and of vintage items. I did an interview with him, published in Holy Titclamps #15. I also published several of his poems over the years. It's frustrating that so many of Drew's wishes were never achieved. The recordings he wanted to do, the unpublished poems and third volume of his Germs clippings. But he also did a lot--he produced dozens of poetry chapbooks of his own writing and that of others. |