Who’s hobnobbing with authors?
Asunto del tema original: Varielle hobnobs
CharlasMeet the Author
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1varielle
I went to a reading last night by Terry Gifford. He has two new books out this year, a book of poetry A Feast of Fools and one about John Muir Reconnecting With John Muir: Essays in Postpastoral Practice. I met him once about 21 years ago. Delightful man and a good singer too. I absolutely can't get the right touchstone to come up for Feast of Fools, so I'll try it this way.
His bio from last night's promotion: Terry Gifford is an English author, editor, and professor who has written a wide array of works, from poetry to criticism. He received his Bachelors in English and Education from the University of Lancaster, his Masters in English Literature from the University of Sheffield, and his Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Lancaster. He has taught at many universities, including the University of Leeds, University of Sheffield, and University of Chichester. He served as the Founding Director of the annual International Festival of Mountaineering Literature for twenty-one years and is a member of GEICO (literature and environment), a Spanish research group based at the University of Alcala. Gifford is the current Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Writing and the Environment at Bath Spa University in the UK and a Senior Research Fellow and Profesor Honorifico at Universidad de Alicante in Spain.
Many of Gifford’s works are characterized by a focus on the connection of literature and the environment. His critical works include Green Voices: Understanding Contemporary Nature Poetry, Reconnecting with John Muir: Essays in Post-Pastoral Practice, and Teaching A Level English Literature: A Student Centred Approach. He has written or co-written eight books of poetry, including Ten Letters To John Muir and The Unreliable Mushrooms: New and Selected Poems, and his editorial work includes the books The Cambridge Companion to Ted Hughes and Culture, Creativity and Environment: New Environmentalist Criticism (co-edited with Fiona Becket). He has given research seminars at Shanghai Normal University, Trinity College Dublin, Massey University, amongst others. He has also been invited as a lecturer to many universities, including Brigham Young University, Western Carolina University, California State University, and Lenoir-Rhyne University (then Lenoir-Rhyne College). Gifford’s latest works, Pastoral and A Feast of Fools (poetry), are due out in 2018.
His bio from last night's promotion: Terry Gifford is an English author, editor, and professor who has written a wide array of works, from poetry to criticism. He received his Bachelors in English and Education from the University of Lancaster, his Masters in English Literature from the University of Sheffield, and his Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Lancaster. He has taught at many universities, including the University of Leeds, University of Sheffield, and University of Chichester. He served as the Founding Director of the annual International Festival of Mountaineering Literature for twenty-one years and is a member of GEICO (literature and environment), a Spanish research group based at the University of Alcala. Gifford is the current Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Writing and the Environment at Bath Spa University in the UK and a Senior Research Fellow and Profesor Honorifico at Universidad de Alicante in Spain.
Many of Gifford’s works are characterized by a focus on the connection of literature and the environment. His critical works include Green Voices: Understanding Contemporary Nature Poetry, Reconnecting with John Muir: Essays in Post-Pastoral Practice, and Teaching A Level English Literature: A Student Centred Approach. He has written or co-written eight books of poetry, including Ten Letters To John Muir and The Unreliable Mushrooms: New and Selected Poems, and his editorial work includes the books The Cambridge Companion to Ted Hughes and Culture, Creativity and Environment: New Environmentalist Criticism (co-edited with Fiona Becket). He has given research seminars at Shanghai Normal University, Trinity College Dublin, Massey University, amongst others. He has also been invited as a lecturer to many universities, including Brigham Young University, Western Carolina University, California State University, and Lenoir-Rhyne University (then Lenoir-Rhyne College). Gifford’s latest works, Pastoral and A Feast of Fools (poetry), are due out in 2018.
2varielle
Last night I got to meet and listen to Charles Frazier. I managed to go off and leave at home my first edition copies of Cold Mountain and Thirteen Moons, but did snag a copy of his new book Varina and got him to sign. This event was held in Loray Mills of the infamous 1929 strike fame. Oh the irony. It's now an event site, apartment complex with shopping and bars. What would Woody Guthrie say?
3Crypto-Willobie
I met him once at a buyer's meeting just before Cold Mountain came out. He was very nice...
4varielle
I’ve been trying to think of all the writers I’ve met and thought I’d start a list. I’ve met a fair few as I was on the steering committee for a visiting writers series for a small university for many years. Here’s a few. I’m sure i’ll Be back with more as I think of them.
Shelby Foote Unfortunately he rarely signed books except for special friends. He was fairly old when I met him, but could still tell a good story.
John Updike - I met him not long before he died. I dragged out a copy of Memories of the Ford Administration: A Novel for him to sign. He seemed really surprised to see it and looked at it a long time.
Shelby Foote Unfortunately he rarely signed books except for special friends. He was fairly old when I met him, but could still tell a good story.
John Updike - I met him not long before he died. I dragged out a copy of Memories of the Ford Administration: A Novel for him to sign. He seemed really surprised to see it and looked at it a long time.
5varielle
I had Bill Bryson sign a first edition copy of Neither Here Nor There. He seemed shocked to see it.
I was at a reception for Seamus Heaney. He chastised me for drinking Guinness from a bottle and taught me to do it properly from a glass. I met his wife Marie Heaney on another occasion.
I attended a dinner for Amiri Baraka at someone’s home. It was a covered dish dinner. I don’t remember what I made but he really liked it.
I was at a reception for Seamus Heaney. He chastised me for drinking Guinness from a bottle and taught me to do it properly from a glass. I met his wife Marie Heaney on another occasion.
I attended a dinner for Amiri Baraka at someone’s home. It was a covered dish dinner. I don’t remember what I made but he really liked it.
6varielle
I met celebrity Louisiana chef Justin Wilson at our local J. C. Penny. I believe some cookware company was sponsoring the event.
Pat Conroy spoke to our crowd. I can’t remember exactly what he said, but a young African American man was offended. He went on stage, took the microphone and made a scene. Then he went into the lobby and burned one of Conroy’s books. There were two retired school teachers sitting in front of me who were also African American. They said that young man grew up in a different world, that he didn’t understand but they knew exactly what Conroy meant. The story of this event briefly appeared in Salon.com but got pulled down within 24 hours. After that we started talking about security for these events. No one ever dreamed Conroy would cause a kerfuffle.
Pat Conroy spoke to our crowd. I can’t remember exactly what he said, but a young African American man was offended. He went on stage, took the microphone and made a scene. Then he went into the lobby and burned one of Conroy’s books. There were two retired school teachers sitting in front of me who were also African American. They said that young man grew up in a different world, that he didn’t understand but they knew exactly what Conroy meant. The story of this event briefly appeared in Salon.com but got pulled down within 24 hours. After that we started talking about security for these events. No one ever dreamed Conroy would cause a kerfuffle.
7varielle
Garrison Keillor came to visit during the last election cycle. His son had tried to persuade him to cancel because the school had allowed Trump to speak. The place was packed for him. I did get him to sign Good Poems for Hard Times. He looked it over and didn't like the printing/binding job the publisher had done, which was subpar. I told him I had written Mr. Blue once and he had answered with good advice. Mr. Blue was an advice column that he once wrote for Salon. He's very tall, has developed a bit of a tremor, but still has that wonderful baritone. He managed to get us all to sing.
8laytonwoman3rd
I love stories about meeting authors. I've met Garrison Keillor twice, at our local NPR station. He seemed so very shy and uncomfortable at the meet and greet events. I wish I could have met Justin Wilson...his humor delights me. We lived in Louisiana for 3 years, when we were first married and "discovered" him then, but never had an opportunity to see him live. His TV show taught me a lot about cooking, though. I did meet another Louisiana author, Jim Metcalf, in line at the Post Office one day! The rest of my met-the-author list includes David McCullough, Salmon Rushdie, Ken Burns, Rainbow Rowell, Jay Parini, G. W. Hawkes, Clara Gillow Clark, Tim Parrish, Howard Norman and Malachy McCourt. It's always fun.
ETA: Apparently touchstones are broken today, as none of my authors are getting one.
ETA: Apparently touchstones are broken today, as none of my authors are getting one.
9varielle
I do have a Salman Rushdie story. He came to speak at Davidson College and was flying out of Charlotte with his security detail. Because of his security situation he and his detail were allowed to board first. The other passengers didn't understand who he was or what was going on and didn't like it one little bit. One businessman started to make a scene about it. One of the airport police just told him, "Sir, this is an unusual situation. if you make too much of a fuss they will put you off this plane." After that he quieted down.
10varielle
Quite a few years and pounds ago, we hosted an event for the Irish poet Eamon Grennan. I was svelte in those days and had a red silk dress on. This was when the market from China first opened up and it was possible to get cheap, high quality silk. He remarked to my ex-husband, "That's Your Wife?!!" Apparently, the dress a success. I wonder if I got a poem out of it.
11mstrust
>10 varielle: You've met so many authors! And have some good stories about them.
I've only met a few. I interviewed Nick Bantock for a website, met Megan Abbott for a signing of The Fever, and met Marky Ramone for a signing of Punk Rock Blitzkrieg and got to talk to him for a few minutes about The Ramones catalog.
I've only met a few. I interviewed Nick Bantock for a website, met Megan Abbott for a signing of The Fever, and met Marky Ramone for a signing of Punk Rock Blitzkrieg and got to talk to him for a few minutes about The Ramones catalog.
12varielle
I went to hear award winning Moroccan author Laila Lalami. Got her to sign a copy of The Moor's Account for me. Looks interesting - a Moor who came to America with the Conquistadors, supposedly a true story.
13varielle
Although I never met him, Mickey Spillane retired to the Garden City/ Murrells Inlet, SC area. I had a friend who ran a charter fishing boat from there. Spillane lived to be 88. In his later years, he would wander down to the docks to see what everybody had caught that day.
14Crypto-Willobie
David Lodge, Michael Frayn, Pat Barker, Stanley Wells, Gary Taylor, David Bevington, P. D. James, Walter Mosley, John Edgar Wideman, John Mortimer, Robert Hughes, Charles Frazier, Iain Pears, Art Buchwald, Chris Matthews, Ed McBain, Martin Amis, Nicholson Baker, T. C. Boyle, Wilton Barnhardt, Stewart O'Nan, Sebastian Faulks, Verlyn Flieger, Douglas A. Anderson, Annette Curtis Klause, Herbert C. Morton, Michael Ondaatje, Vickram Seth, Teller, Charles Simic, Ruthven Todd, Reed Whittemore, James Reston Jr, Alan Nelson, William Ingram, Roslyn Knutson
Most from working at Olsson's Books for 20 years.
Most from working at Olsson's Books for 20 years.
152wonderY
I forgot all about this group!
I’m taking classes at the local college. They allow people to audit for a very minimal fee. For senior citizens, it’s $50 per class, (as I have to remind them I’m not getting younger when the bills come due.)
Last fall, my professor was Nancy Gift, and she has authored a couple of books for lay-people on her specialty, weeds.
This term, I’m taking a class from Sarah L. Hall. She specializes in folklore and plants. Last year she published Sown in the Stars: planting by the signs. Thankfully, she only covered that material in one class session. But the book is gorgeously illustrated by Meg Wilson’s photographs. Meg was my daughter’s wedding photographer.
I’m taking classes at the local college. They allow people to audit for a very minimal fee. For senior citizens, it’s $50 per class, (as I have to remind them I’m not getting younger when the bills come due.)
Last fall, my professor was Nancy Gift, and she has authored a couple of books for lay-people on her specialty, weeds.
This term, I’m taking a class from Sarah L. Hall. She specializes in folklore and plants. Last year she published Sown in the Stars: planting by the signs. Thankfully, she only covered that material in one class session. But the book is gorgeously illustrated by Meg Wilson’s photographs. Meg was my daughter’s wedding photographer.
20varielle
>18 2wonderY: looks like I can edit the group title but not the thread titles.
212wonderY
At the bottom of this thread you should see:
https://pics.cdn.librarything.com//picsizes/25/f1/25f1fafff9a6012637159373641426...
https://pics.cdn.librarything.com//picsizes/25/f1/25f1fafff9a6012637159373641426...
232wonderY
I met Alix Harrow a few years ago. It had nothing to do with books. We took our kids (her two youngsters and my grandbaby) out trick-or-treating. She and my daughter met in college and spent a summer together in a tipi and building a straw-bale building. I never got the chance to tell her how much I enjoyed her short stories. She has since moved to another state. Lost my chance.
