Dirtbag Queen: A Memoir of My Mother

Playwright and actor Corren expands on his viral obituary of his mother, Renay Corren (1937–2021), in his wild and occasionally hilarious debut. Renay raised Corren and his four siblings on her own in Fayetteville, N.C., in an environment straight out of a John Waters movie: Corren and his brothers had nicknames like “Jewboy” and “Asshole,” and Renay often gambled or sold marijuana to keep everyone fed. When she came up short, Corren and his brothers stole food from wherever they could. Folded into Corren’s affectionate, off-color portrait of Renay—“a brilliant, beautiful, fat, horny, fertile, disrespectful, disobedient, book-obsessed gambling redhead who didn’t give two caramelized figs for society’s expectations”—is a tender account of his own coming-of-age, including his early discovery that he was gay while watching Donny Osmond on Donny & Marie. Given that Fayetteville was “a small, Southern town with very few gay safe spaces,” Corren made several attempts to move away, only to be drawn back into Renay’s orbit. Corren’s ribald sense of humor won’t be for everyone, but readers who go along for the ride will be moved to learn how his family endured significant hardships by sticking together. It’s a unique and memorable romp. Agent: Jennifer Gates, Aevitas Creative Management. (Jan.)