Beaver Dam French Club

An Explanation by Ivy Dillinger



"It was a new birth. I was renewing myself."
-Romain Gary
The Life and Death of Emile Ajar

"Like the experience of first authorship, writing under a pseudonym gives one the sense of discovering oneself by way of redefining oneself, even if it is only for the space of a single book. There is the possibility, however quixotic, of making a fresh start — in Romain Gary's words, "renewing" oneself — and not being held to severe account for it."
-Joyce Carol Oates
Pseudonymous Selves



Hi. I'm Ivy Dillinger.

If you're like me, you're a "mood" writer. Sometimes you feel like writing something serious. Something passionate. Something researched, well thought out. Other times you want to goof off. Experiment. Or write a poem, or something crude on a bathroom wall.

This is my space. For all that and more.

Who are the models in the park? They're me. They're both me. Am I Ivy? Am I Robert? Am I Oliver or Victor or Maven or the Kid? Am I someone else entirely?

Is it important?

I love romance and beautiful people doing beautiful things. I love danger and horrible people doing horrible things. I want to kick you in the face and then nurse you back to health. I love myself and I hate myself.

Sometimes I look like this...



Other times like this...



And sometimes, actually, most times, I'm a face in the crowd...



As for the name "Beaver Dam French Club," it surfaced from a game. "Beyond Balderdash," to be precise.



During the "what do these letters stand for" portion of the game (played with a group of close friends in Hoboken, New Jersey), the initials "BDFC" came up, and basically, I blanked. Totally blanked. Couldn't think of anything. Everyone else got their answers in pretty quickly, which added pressure. So just to keep things moving, I settled for "Beaver Dam French Club." It was the only thing that came to mind. Kinda dumb, but... it's got something. The rest is now history in the making!

"Beaver Dam French Club" - a perfect title for something ridiculous, a safe place for dangerous figments of imagination. A place for every mood, every thought. A place for fact and fiction.



Okay, enough of this long-winded, boring explanation! Start browsing and enjoy the Club!