Jamie Brickhouse Remembers Mama
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“You a bitch or whore?” asks Jamie Brickhouse with a mischievous grin from across the lacquered coffee table in his trendy Chelsea flat in New York City. With his copper hair, black sweater, purple shirt, and indigo plaid trousers, it’s clear the author of the new book Dangerous When Wet (St. Martin’s Press) is accustomed to colorful accents, both on and off the page. As he pours from the silver teapot, curlicues of steam spill out of two china cups, each rimmed with broad bands of emerald and emblazoned with campy epithets. With his back against a velour throw, a zebra-patterned pillow under one arm, and his tabby Lotte Lenya at his side, we begin our interview about the native Texan’s first book, a campy yet touching memoir about his struggles with the bottle, his sexuality, and his mother, Mama Jean.