Olivia Costa
Ivan Coyote, Care Of: Letters, Connections, and Cures.
Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2021. $25.00.
Ivan Coyote’s Care Of: Letters, Connections, and Cures was written during the first wave of the pandemic, when the world first shut down and we all believed that we would only have to hunker down for a measly two weeks. The atmosphere of writing during a lockdown is familiar: readers can picture the cozy writing nook where Coyote sat in early 2020 when we all panic-bought canned beans and hand sanitizer. Coyote used the lockdown as an opportunity to write responses to letters, emails, and messages that they have been keeping since 2009. The letters are from people all over Canada, each with unique experiences but united by their respect and admiration for Coyote, who has helped the senders by sharing their experience as a transgender author.
Reading Care Of nearly two years into the pandemic only amplifies the need for a book about human connection and intimacy. Coyote makes the effort to reply to the letters that have impacted them the most; the ones that have made them think and laugh and cry—feel connected to the person who sent them. They discuss in the introduction that they have taken the time to craft their responses, and Coyote is respectful of the vulnerability of their senders. They know that the people who have sent them messages over the years want to be heard, and so they take time—sometimes even years—to perfectly craft their responses. While Coyote shares their own stories to provide comfort, in a way they have co-authored this book with the senders, which shows that they never assume that they’re the one true authority on the transgender experience. Instead, Coyote answers “as a storyteller—with [their] chest cracked open and [their] ears turned all the way up, and holding hope for you in one hand, and the other stretched out to help you up the hill.” It doesn’t matter to Coyote who these people are, where they came from, or what they have done in their life; they truly care about each and every person who has sent them a letter.
Care Of is the first book that I have ever read by Coyote, and I’ve been missing out. Their writing style reflects Coyote’s strength as a storyteller as it is a beautiful mix of conversational and poetic prose that makes you feel as if they’re reading the letters out loud to you. There are light moments where Coyote’s personality shines through, and you get a glimpse of who the author is and why so many people admire them. Coyote writes, “I met a full-grown adult human that same night at the theatre, a bill-paying, driver’s license-bearing, legally-drinking citizen who was born in the year 2000, can you imagine that?” As someone who is also a fully grown adult who was born in the year 2000, pays a phone bill, legally drinks, and can sorta drive, I was delighted—how relatable! Where there is light, there is also darkness, and I cried many times throughout the book. As Syd Lapan says in her letter to Coyote, I was “crying at the appropriate places and probably not appropriate places too.”
One such profound chapter is called Dear Florence, wherein Coyote writes a letter to their late grandmother. This chapter is the only one in the collection where Coyote is not responding to a letter; instead, they are writing one of their own to someone who can no longer respond. The vulnerability that Coyote displays throughout their letters is more pronounced here, perhaps because they do not have to worry about a potential response, allowing them to freely share their thoughts. While they tell personal stories in each of their replies to connect with the senders’ experiences, this letter shows Coyote completely unfiltered and baring their heart for the world to see.
Care Of is the type of book that you curl up with on a rainy day when the world outside has quieted, your dog is napping and warming your feet, and you can truly take the time to be alone and connect with the people in this beautiful collection. Once you’re finished reading it, maybe you should write someone a letter.
Olivia Costa
is a writer, editor, musician, and avid reader of all things fantasy. She is the Publishing & Web Intern for The Ampersand Review of Writing & Publishing. She lives in Mississauga, where she studies in the Honours Bachelor of Creative Writing & Publishing program at Sheridan College.