Sibyl James, DIZZIER THAN GILLESPIE

'Dizzier Than Gillespie' is a bold, lyrical feminist novel set in Tunisia, where travel, friendship, politics, and a touch of magic collide.
About this Event

Poet and educator Sibyl James returns to the store for her debut novel, Dizzier Than Gillespie, which follows Delilah, a restless traveler and visiting professor, as she navigates friendship, feminism, US wars in the Middle East, and the status of Palestine, guided (and occasionally derailed) by a scandalous thirteenth-century saint with a taste for gin and tonic.

Dizzier Than Gillespie is a bold, lyrical feminist novel set in Tunisia, where travel, friendship, politics, and a touch of magic collide. When Delilah, an American poet, arrives in Tunis, she’s drawn into a vivid world of souks, cafés, women’s spaces, and quiet rebellion—guided by a fearless Tunisian friend and shadowed by the playful spirit of Saida Manoubia, a legendary folk saint who bends time and rules. Infused with jazz rhythms, sensual wit, and political edge, the novel celebrates women who claim space, defy silence, and live gloriously off‑beat.

Seattle writer Sibyl James has published 15 books/chapbooks of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and translation including The Adventures of Stout Mama, In China with Harpo and Karl, and most recently Plum Blossom Wine (Empty Bowl Press), Persephone’s Testimony (Bainbridge Island Press) and Dizzier Than Gillespie (Cune Press). She has worked as a writer in residence in public schools and has taught at colleges in the US, China, Mexico, and—as Fulbright professor—Tunisia and Cote d’Ivoire. Her writing has received awards from Artist Trust; Washington State, King County and Seattle arts commissions; and literary journal competitions.