Interview with Bo Dyp

Portrait of Bo Dyp. Photo: Cole Schmidt.

Originally published May 26, 2020.

Bo Dyp, Kwanxwalaogwa is a non-binary drag artist from the Musgamagw Dzawada’enuxw nation. Bo has developed their work as a medium for exploring their culture and intersectional position in body politics. Their practice is their healing process because they present raw dialogue—sharing the experience of living in Bo’s body. Kwanxwalaogwa, one who possesses thunder.

[Phone ringing]

Bo Dyp: Hello.

Kolton Procter: Hey, how’s it going?

BD: It’s going alright how are you?

KP: Good. You’re living with Val?

BD: Yeah I moved in a week ago.

KP: Okay, how’s that?

BD: It’s really hard.

KP: Oh really?

BD: Yeah. She drinks twice a year for a month at a time. So she drinks for her birthday month and her Christmas month and her birthday is coming up so she started drinking again. She can’t take care of herself at all when she is. So I’m here, doing it for her.

From Found You Magazine, this is “The Masthead” a space for us to get to know our contributors a little better. I’m Kolton Procter, the founder and editor of Found You. On today’s show: Bo Dyp. Bo is a non-binary drag artist who is well known in Vancouver’s drag scene. Their work often draws attention to difficult topics like the ongoing injustice toward Indigenous peoples and the land. These deeply emotional performances often leave audiences short of breath and unsure if they should applaud or grieve. When the virus hit, they thought it best to leave the city and keep closer to home.

KP: I mean first of all I just wanted to ask you how you’re doing because of, you know, the relocation and all that jazz.

BD: Um, yeah it’s pretty tough right now. It was going really well until Val started up again. Normally it takes her like three weeks to get to the shape she’s in right now but it’s only been a week.

KP: What is that sound behind you?

BD: Oh god. I’ll just go to my room. It’s the washing machine.

KP: Okay [laughs] I’m sorry…

It’s relationships like this that make Bo’s contribution to The Isolation Issue stand out. Val is one of the people Bo includes as part of their feature for the magazine. Anytime I’ve spoken with Bo, they’re not afraid to be frank and tell you when something could be better. It’s cathartic and often a part of their performances. Take for example their very first time performing in front of an audience.

BD: Like my first gig was me asking if I could do it on the day of. Because I was so filled with anger and I didn’t know where to put it. And when I got up and performed I just… let it all out. It was a big release of everything that had been built up from the two days before it.

KP: Have you been doing any drag-related stuff while you’ve been up there?

BD: Not much. I’ve performed with Commercial Drag twice and I’ve performed for an online Zoom party for Indigiqueer people. So those are my only three performances. Otherwise, I’ve painted my face a few times and then painted the people who I painted.

As part of their contribution, Bo has included photos, poetry and diary-style writing entries. When they say “paint,” they’re talking about makeup and other materials applied directly onto a person’s face. It’s drag we’re talking about here.

BD: I painted some of the people who are closest to me who live here and I tried to paint them in a way that reflected either what I know about them or our relationship. I painted Val like a Dzunukwa, which is a Sasquatch but also known as the wild woman of the woods and Val is a wild woman [laughs]. And I painted my dad like a warrior and I used old man's beard, which is lichen, because he is an old man [laughs]. Yeah it was a different experience for all of them. With Val, it relaxed her and she almost fell asleep. With my dad—I don’t think my dad was really into it but he puts up with lots from me [laughs].

KP: I just wanted to ask you if you could suggest something to reccommend for the listeners to check out.

BD: Unrelated to drag, something to check out is what’s going on on Wetʼsuwetʼen territory on the Yintah. There’s a lot of injustices going on being policed by Canada, by the RCMP and by those working for CGL. There is a couple of Instagram accounts that are good to check out that keep people informed. There’s Ta'Kaiya Blaney, Sii-am Hamilton, there’s Gidimt’en Checkpoint.

KP: On a final note, would you read Val’s poem?

BD: Yes.

KP: I think that would be a nice little sneak peek for the audience.

BD: Okay. I was going to work on it after dinner and maybe change a bit of it, but I’ll read it anyways.

Poem for Valerie
by Bo Dyp, Kwanxwalaogwa

wah-um, water
she breathes wah-um
& when she dies we will dance together
I am her wild rose
creature, methodical
hummingbirds & butterflies
my most favourite creature
I love you honey bun & wonder how my liver is doing
she’s old & we’re tired & we love to raise hell
to be cremated
ashes shed in the creek beside the treaty office — with her wild roses
i will bury her happy pill
for four days & four nights I will be with her at the old lot
tobacco through the fire
vodka through the soil
when she dies we will dance together
my ancestors, the trees
yaaau naen!
she’ll whack you with a shovel
& feed me gloop soup
onions
potatoes
seaweed, salmon & t’lina
fierce fire, redbone
this is for you
auntie, elder, friend, frog keeper
& the absolute love of my life
my oh my sweet sweet Valerie

That concludes our very first episode of “The Masthead.” The poem you’ve just heard is included in Bo’s contribution to The Isolation Issue. Check out the full story there, along with many others. Right now we are just over a week into our crowdfunding campaign in an effort to print the issue. If you can, please consider supporting us by pre-ordering a copy via our Kickstarter campaign and also on our Instagram page @foundyoumag.

“The Masthead” is a production of Found You Magazine, a quarterly print title exploring themes of contemporary life through vulnerable and deeply personal storytelling. We are currently based on unceded Coast Salish territory commonly known as Vancouver, Canada. This episode was written and edited by me, Kolton Procter. A big thank you to Bo for being our first-ever guest on the show. Cover art for this season by Jack Kenna. Music courtesy of Smileswithteeth. Check out the shownotes to find further information on anything or anyone mentioned in this episode. “The Masthead” will be back with a new guest soon. Thanks for listening.