Joan Hawkins – författare

Downtown Film and TV Culture 1975–2001 brings together essays by filmmakers, exhibitors, cultural critics and scholars from multiple generations of the New York Downtown scene to illuminate individual films and filmmakers and explore the creation of a Downtown Canon, the impact of AIDS on younger filmmakers, community access to cable television broadcasts, and the impact of the historic downtown scene on contemporary experimental culture. The book includes J. Hoberman’s essay ‘No Wavelength: The Parapunk Underground’, as well as historical essays by Tony Conrad and Lynne Tillman, interviews with filmmakers Bette Gordon and Beth B, and essays by Ivan Kral and Nick Zedd.

New York, 1970s. Janet Sproule lives in an affluent neighbourhood and comes from old family money. Her privileged life is suddenly turned upside down when her sister is kidnapped and held for ransom by a group of urban terrorists. Her parents'' reaction to the crisis causes Janet to question everything she has always taken for granted. While she has a rich family life, a handsome, ambitious husband and two great kids, she is haunted by the feeling that something is missing. Then an old friend shows up out of the blue: Mimi Girard symbolises freedom, integrity and an alternative lifestyle that Janet comes to realise may be the missing link.  A stunning exploration of women''s lives in the 1970s with an LGBT twist, written in vivid, smart prose. 

Kate Stevens loves her husband, Harry, and their baby daughter, Cam. But a girl called Valery St. John exists within Kate, an alter-ego of verve and daring that has long yearned for adventure, lust and grief - in male terms. It takes a chance encounter with a beautiful, charismatic artist named Margo, to bring Valery, and the alternative lifestyle she represents, to the fore. Kate''s ensuing affair with the lesbian painter prompts a personal transformation, and proves a crucible for the relationship between herself and Harry. When Joan Hawkins'' debut novel was first published by GP Putnam in 1974, it was ahead of its time. Set in the turbulent days of the early 1970s, it explores a young woman''s journey of discovery as she finds herself at a personal crossroads in a period of massive social and cultural change. Themes of sexual exploration, gender identity, feminism and rebellion blend with a satirical take on the crumbling old order. The gray suits of tradition are being challenged by student protests, racial integration and the emergence of women in the workplace. Re-published in 2014 on its 40th anniversary, and with a new electronic edition now available in 2022, Underwater still bristles with passion