Mermaid in Chelsea Creek (36 page)

The feather in her fist, Sophie wrapped herself around the mermaid, clinging to her with all her might. The mermaid spoke into her ear as the water seemed to come apart around them. “Sophie,” she said. “Prepare yourself.”

The author would like to thank the San Francisco Arts Commission for its generous support of this project. Thanks to Beth Pickens, Ali Liebegott, and the Radar LAB, where much of this book was created, and to Eileen Myles for her feedback and support. Thanks to CEC ArtsLink, whose funding of my work in Poland allowed me to do research, and thanks to my Polish people for their assistance and enthusiasm: Anu Czerwinsx, Agnieszka Furla, Marta Konarzewska, Marta Wasik, and everyone at Ufa and Furia. To Daniel Handler and Marcus Ewert for being early readers and psychic cheerleaders. Much thanks to Lisa Brown for being pathologically kind and helpful. Thanks to Andi Mudd for being fantastic, and to Jason Polan for imagining the story so well, and to everyone at McSweeney's for their hard work and beautiful results. To Elizabeth Wales for her guidance. And to Chelsea, Massachusetts, for continuing to be such a surprising source of inspiration.

About the Author

Michelle Tea is the author of 4 ½ memoirs, 1 ½ novels, and a collection of poetry. Her memoir
Valencia
is an underground classic and is currently being made into a feature film by 21 different filmmakers. She is the founder and executive director of RADAR Productions, a literary non-profit which hosts the monthly RADAR Reading Series (voted Best Literary Series by
SF Bay Guardian
readers), the infamous Sister Spit Literary Performance tours, an annual poetry chapbook contest, and the Radar LAB Writers' Retreat in Akumal, Mexico. She is a former writer of horoscopes and a current reader of tarot cards.