Sunday, May 13, 2007
Miranda Writes
I reviewed Miranda July's collection of short stories in today's Oregonian. Liked it. Advance copy actually came in three (slim) volumes, one pink, one yellow, one orange, and bound with a thick yellow rubber band. Or "gumband" as I understand they say up Pittsburgh-way.
These stories won't be for everyone. In fact, a decent litmus test might be whether or not you like the site July put together for the book.
She's in Portland on Friday, May 18. The event is a benefit for PICA.
Labels: authors, fiction, Miranda July, Oregonian, Portland, review, short stories, writing
Headed for Boulder-ing
And now for something completely different....
Piece in this week's inPortland section (The Oregonian's Thursday metro magazine) on bouldering. Actually, a piece on The Circuit, which is all about bouldering. Nice people, very social. People there exuded fitness. Or, exuded activity. Lots of lean muscles hanging off fake rocks. I stood there in dress shoes, feeling like 200 lbs and 100 years old, as a student from Lewis & Clark encouraged me to climb the kids wall. In the spirit of participatory journalism, I did. Not. Climb.
But, it was fun anyhow. And, I used to live in a town called Boulder, so there's that.
Piece in this week's inPortland section (The Oregonian's Thursday metro magazine) on bouldering. Actually, a piece on The Circuit, which is all about bouldering. Nice people, very social. People there exuded fitness. Or, exuded activity. Lots of lean muscles hanging off fake rocks. I stood there in dress shoes, feeling like 200 lbs and 100 years old, as a student from Lewis & Clark encouraged me to climb the kids wall. In the spirit of participatory journalism, I did. Not. Climb.
But, it was fun anyhow. And, I used to live in a town called Boulder, so there's that.
Labels: bouldering, feature, Oregonian, Portland
Monday, May 07, 2007
Granta 97
New "Talk of the Book Town" posted today (and printed for that matter), here.
I'd figured there'd be a good-sized crowd at this event and I could go around and interview other writers in attendance who didn't make Granta's Best of Young American Novelists list.
Maile Meloy and Anthony Doerr made the list, and were good sports about talking to the few faces and empty chair backs. Doerr is an excellent reader, very animated.
My one question turned out to be an ignorant one (go figure): how did this best-of collection differ from other potential lists, and was there a Britishness to the lineup on account of it being a British magazine's line-up? Of the half-dozen or so judges, a majority were American (I suppose you could make the case that the judges were selected based on what a British magazine's expectation of an American judge would be, but why bother).
Somewhat surprisingly though, neither Doerr or Meloy seemed comfortable with the query, particularly as it gave a close shave to "what's wrong with this list" territory: both started hemming and hawing and backing away from each other and
twisting their hands and looking generally awkward (in contrast, they looked like BookTV interviewees when responding to "talk about your process" queries). The general response, however, was that the list reflected New York, big publishing houses, and didn't dig very deep. Not exactly usual suspects, but....
Doerr said he didn't expect to win, but then again he didn't know they were doing the list. "It's not like, 'ooh, now the decade has passed'" and an update was due. Not like Young Lions, which writers in the know evidently can expect to be awarded (or to be ignored) in March.
The piece that each submitted is new, and from what they read, worth tracking Granta 97 down for.
I'd figured there'd be a good-sized crowd at this event and I could go around and interview other writers in attendance who didn't make Granta's Best of Young American Novelists list.
Maile Meloy and Anthony Doerr made the list, and were good sports about talking to the few faces and empty chair backs. Doerr is an excellent reader, very animated.
My one question turned out to be an ignorant one (go figure): how did this best-of collection differ from other potential lists, and was there a Britishness to the lineup on account of it being a British magazine's line-up? Of the half-dozen or so judges, a majority were American (I suppose you could make the case that the judges were selected based on what a British magazine's expectation of an American judge would be, but why bother).Somewhat surprisingly though, neither Doerr or Meloy seemed comfortable with the query, particularly as it gave a close shave to "what's wrong with this list" territory: both started hemming and hawing and backing away from each other and
twisting their hands and looking generally awkward (in contrast, they looked like BookTV interviewees when responding to "talk about your process" queries). The general response, however, was that the list reflected New York, big publishing houses, and didn't dig very deep. Not exactly usual suspects, but....Doerr said he didn't expect to win, but then again he didn't know they were doing the list. "It's not like, 'ooh, now the decade has passed'" and an update was due. Not like Young Lions, which writers in the know evidently can expect to be awarded (or to be ignored) in March.
The piece that each submitted is new, and from what they read, worth tracking Granta 97 down for.
Labels: authors, books, fiction, Oregonian, Powell's, readings, Talk of the Book Town
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Kiss Kiss, Kvetch Kvetch, Bang Bang
My review of Michael Chabon's long-delayed The Yiddish Policemen's Union ran today in The Oregonian. I liked it. I think I'll probably like it more over time.Sammy Clay: "I didn't know they were making detectives out of Jews."
Detective Lieber: "They just started. I'm kind of the prototype."
--from The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
Lots of coverage of this one, which I have studiously avoided, first to avoid polluting my own limited faculties with other people's ideas, then to avoid highlighting the errant ways of my own writing. Help yourself, however:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/01/arts/bookmer.php (Kakutani in the International Herald Tribune)
http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/books/la-bk-ulin29apr29,1,6103230.story?coll=la-headlines-bookreview (LA Times)
http://www.esquire.com/fiction/book-review/jew0507 (Esquire...for the articles, I tell ya)
and this one that I did read, the Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117763122648184171-b9edIOKICZmr0eOnlVX5XtVvH3I_20070526.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top
A quick look shows critics getting their yids in, dropping Philip Marlowe mentions, and pondering where Chabon has been since K&C.
My theory? Check Chabon's Web site, on which he was do his own coding, which he taught himself. You can't check it b/c it's gone. But the fact that he was teaching himself PHP or whatever, while committing himself to research, while ostensibly writing a book suggests that there were too many cooks in the creative kitchen. Just a hunch.
I had hoped to get to a quick review of David Simon's Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, which I recently read for the first time. It is outstanding (regardless of whatever Chabon's claims to research are, none of his homicide investigations approach that which David Simon renders). But hope, mon frere, gives way to paint fumes on this Sunday evening. Some other time, perhaps.
Labels: authors, books, crime, fiction, Michael Chabon, Oregonian, review, Yiddish Policemen's Union
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Kiss Your April Goodbye
Worth noting that I finally updated the links to the left to reflect those articles for which I wrote and later found links to online: William Vollmann at Powell's, Debby Applegate's exciting Pulitzer-grab, Robert Pinsky on the death of art, and more.Also, not a single post in April.
HOWEVER, Salvage Heart is thrilled to announce an exciting new feature, so big it'll be a DOUBLE-SCOOP. First post sometime in the next few days, so check back.
Good times are here again (tell it to the bees).
Labels: authors, Oregonian, Portland, Powell's, readings, Talk of the Book Town
