People I Love- Sinead O'Connor

I love Sinead O'Connor. I have for a long time. She's the kind of crazy I aspire to, a crazy that comes from not filtering enough and from not being afraid. Which is to say, not really crazy at all. I've seen her a couple of times in concert and she's so there. And not just there to entertain you, but there to tell you what her songs say, to share with you where she is at that exact minute, what they are saying to her and to us in that atmosphere. I find it so heroic and inspirational and it's what I hope to have happen in every reading I give, even in every poem I write.

I love that she's been a lesbian, a Rastafarian, a Catholic priest, the Virgin Mary, and seemingly "got better" from all of them. I love her calling out the Catholic Church for pedophilia decades before anyone else (that was almost 20 years ago now. And if I ever meet Joe Pesci, I'll give him sucha smack. That fat fuck will remember it too.) I love that she isn't ashamed of telling the truth. I love her when I'm not ever sure what she's talking about. (The peeing dogs confuse me but I love the tone, the "on the edge-ness" of the whole piece.) Like Dolly Parton and Rosalyn Carter, I just feel better because she's in the world.

I love that she's had a running series in the Irish Independent about how she's in her 40's, horny, and unable to find suitable male companionship. This is the most graphic discussion of female sexuality I've read in awhile. The unexpurgated versions run on her blog but you can see parts of the series here where she discusses the possibility of fucking a truck she's so frustrated. I can't imagine the good people of Ireland reading these but I suspect they have taken Sinead at her barking best much better than we in the US did from the start.

And really, who would do this anymore? There isn't an artist now that would have the ovaries or the imagination. I still love what she's recording but I also love reading her blog. Keep up to date with her blog here. Hot Press has a new interview with her here that's totally worth checking out as well. She plays the Olympia in Dublin on the 18th of Dec so I hope that means she'll be back around our way soon.

And to end, one of my favorite moments with her. It's a living model of bravery and integrity.