Shoot the Arrow: A Portrait of The World Famous *BOB*

Photography. Literary Nonfiction. LGBT Studies. SHOOT THE ARROW is a collection of Amy Touchette's intimate black-and-white photographs of the onstage and offstage life of celebrated New York City burlesque dancer The World Famous *BOB*. A central figure in today's neo- burlesque movement, the self- described female-female impersonator is known for her over-the-top blonde bombshell image. Touchette used 24-hour photo sessions and exclusive access to The World Famous *BOB*'s private life to produce a deep, unique, and moving photographic biography of a woman pursuing dreams of glamour and fame. Photographed strictly on 35mm film, Touchette's pictures of The World Famous *BOB* on stage, backstage, in her daily life, and during private moments at home, are rich and beautifully real. Also containing the words of The World Famous *BOB*—plain-spoken words that appear on the page as purely extracted un-distracted and un- distracting prose—giving account of her gender evolution from an isolated farm girl in the California Valley, to a rebellious runaway taken under the wing of San Francisco's drag queen community, to her current incarnation as spiritual transsexual performer in New York City's burlesque revival, SHOOT THE ARROW is an unusually penetrating and authentic portrait of contemporary life.