Catherine Bush

Talking about Accusations

Love and Accusation Launch: September 17, 2013. I know the room was packed to the rafters. That Douglas Glover gave a lesson about aphorisms and spoke about Savage Love. That the Accusation Chorale went off without a hitch, thanks to Becky Blake, Darren Hynes, Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer, Leanne Milech and Shyam Selvadurai, who proved a remarkable spoken-word chorus. Some of the MFA crew were quoting lines from the Chorale to me over a week later, such as, “To say, I am innocent, invites people to imagine the opposite.” So it must have made an impression. Mike Hoolboom’s achingly beautiful trailer for the novel looked even more beautiful projected on the big screen.That I didn’t even set eyes on everyone who came out. That I signed a lot of books. But I’ll leave it to Susan Swan to give her description of the evening.
“Last night I heard fiction writer Catherine Bush talk about her new novel, Accusation, at her book launch. I was hypnotized. Why? A few weeks ago I was falsely accused by somebody very close to me and I felt struck through the heart. Bush says there is no return to the state of being unaccused. The accusation lives on inside you even though you know it is untrue. This is how I felt. Bush has put her novelist’s finger on something difficult and important. Can’t wait to read her new book. When were you falsely accused and did you secretly believe the accuser? I know I did even though I knew his accusation was wrong. How can you convincingly speak up for yourself in the negative, Bush asks. She says the accusation renders you as helpless as a child.”