Monday, February 19, 2007
Talks in Puddle Town
A few "Talk of the Book Town" pieces, and scrapple from the notebooks, since last posting.
Today, a write-up of Shannon O'Leary's Pet Noir appearance at Portland's The Press Club. I asked O'Leary after her reading/multimedia show whether she was on speed-dial for every animal disaster that turns up in the media. She laughed and said yes, though she'd never been asked that before. I refrained from sharing any personal animal disaster stories, although I would imagine few do. Also on hand: MariNaomi and Alixopulos. Both read. Both had good stories to tell.
The Press Club owner Kevin plans to host more readings, contacting publishers like Akashic, Manic D, and other smaller indies to let them know that if they ever get sick of Powell's, he's got a little space for them.
Last week, Suzan-Lori Parks proved that you can say m8therf8cker at a Portland Arts & Lectures event without the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall expelling you. However, that brief profanity barely registered in a motivating hour-plus talk that exhorted those in the audience to just do it/have it their way. The talk paralleled last fall's New Yorker profile, which was more interesting after having seen Parks. Plans are for Portland Center Stage to stage her "365 Days/365 Plays" next July.
The day after Parks' reading, I laid out $50 for Ted Conover, Erik Larson, Mary Roach, and Lauren Kessler. The talk had something to do with journalism and narrative. To sum up, Kessler said she could lie, and no one would ever know, but she doesn't. Larson said old libraries are full of lots of great detail about the lives of the dead. Roach said to find the most interesting person related to a topic and then follow them around. Conover, who I was most interested in seeing, seemed the least comfortable. It's been a long time since Rolling Nowhere. He is now at work on a piece about Nigeria, in his continued ambition to immerse himself in situations that most people would spend effort extracting themselves from. Afterwards, Jack Hart (managing editor at The Oregonian and narrative enthusiast) opened the panel up to questions, including several from himself.
Take away? Don't waste time with a sit-down Q&A (they are boring, and I've got the links, posted at your left, to prove it).
One other write-up, a reading by Timothy Zahn, author of many Star Wars books. My son has enjoyed his newest, Allegiance. I learned what a "Chiss" is, from a (very) female in said costume and blue paint. Perhaps that is what Tobias was going for?
Today, a write-up of Shannon O'Leary's Pet Noir appearance at Portland's The Press Club. I asked O'Leary after her reading/multimedia show whether she was on speed-dial for every animal disaster that turns up in the media. She laughed and said yes, though she'd never been asked that before. I refrained from sharing any personal animal disaster stories, although I would imagine few do. Also on hand: MariNaomi and Alixopulos. Both read. Both had good stories to tell.
The Press Club owner Kevin plans to host more readings, contacting publishers like Akashic, Manic D, and other smaller indies to let them know that if they ever get sick of Powell's, he's got a little space for them.
Last week, Suzan-Lori Parks proved that you can say m8therf8cker at a Portland Arts & Lectures event without the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall expelling you. However, that brief profanity barely registered in a motivating hour-plus talk that exhorted those in the audience to just do it/have it their way. The talk paralleled last fall's New Yorker profile, which was more interesting after having seen Parks. Plans are for Portland Center Stage to stage her "365 Days/365 Plays" next July.
The day after Parks' reading, I laid out $50 for Ted Conover, Erik Larson, Mary Roach, and Lauren Kessler. The talk had something to do with journalism and narrative. To sum up, Kessler said she could lie, and no one would ever know, but she doesn't. Larson said old libraries are full of lots of great detail about the lives of the dead. Roach said to find the most interesting person related to a topic and then follow them around. Conover, who I was most interested in seeing, seemed the least comfortable. It's been a long time since Rolling Nowhere. He is now at work on a piece about Nigeria, in his continued ambition to immerse himself in situations that most people would spend effort extracting themselves from. Afterwards, Jack Hart (managing editor at The Oregonian and narrative enthusiast) opened the panel up to questions, including several from himself.
Take away? Don't waste time with a sit-down Q&A (they are boring, and I've got the links, posted at your left, to prove it).
One other write-up, a reading by Timothy Zahn, author of many Star Wars books. My son has enjoyed his newest, Allegiance. I learned what a "Chiss" is, from a (very) female in said costume and blue paint. Perhaps that is what Tobias was going for?
Labels: authors, Oregonian, Portland, readings, Shannon O'Leary, Suzan-Lori Parks, Talk of the Book Town
