Well, the end of Mr. Kinnell’s talk and reading was a bonus for Tiff and me. It is always good when your first experience is a positive one. So, remaining in our seats looking forward to Ms. Joyce Carol Oates, we were filled with high expectations.
The Grand Ballroom of the New York Hilton is an enormous room. The stage, which is directly center as you enter, was set with a podium at stage left and two chairs at center. This ended up being the set up for all the “Conversation with…” events. A back screen of about 15 feet high and a good thirty feet long reminded us of where we were (the AWP NYC 2008)and what it took to put this shin-dig on (it had to be at least thirty or forty sponsors listed) It was “The Actor’s Studio” for writers and Ms. Oates didn’t let us down.
She was gracious and dressed like a character from a Tim Burton movie. As a matter of fact, she looked like a character from a Tim Burton movie. So for the afternoon, about 400 guests sat in her makeshift living room, we listened to Ms. Oates remind us what a bold and daring lot we, writers, are.
She began by reading passages from “The Garden of Earthly Delights” and “The Wanderlust Quartet”. I can’t remember the readings. I do remember the advice. For Ms. Oates, the key to good writing is in the revision. By her account, revising can help break through writer’s block. “Revising earlier works can help you capture the enthusiasm for writing something new,” says Ms. Oates. “It is the process where the writer’s ego is restrained so that the characters can breathe.”
Ms. Oates has an eclectic list of favorite authors; Hemmingway, Lovecraft, Mansfield. As such, she lives by her advice to all writers, “You can’t be a writer unless you read.”
I, we, were in “The Big Apple” at the “Hot ticket” conference (it sold out) for about five hours and already I received encouragement from an established author and an introduction to poetry by a poet whose writings I could imagine. Day one was excellent. John Irving reads and speaks later in the same ballroom. I will learn from that experience there are humble writers and there are “Rock Star” writers and you can choose which one you wish to be. A more detailed experience of Mr. Irving’s presence will be posted in the future. Right now, we’re just remembering the “happy times.”
The Family Woo, however, meets after the final Thursday readings and we are dismayed to find out that hunger has Sully asking for delicacies that may be unavailable in New York. However, it is Thom who comes to the rescue suggesting B.B. King’s restaurant. We stand at the corner of 7th Avenue and 57th Street looking very much like tourists. Not one of us knows exactly where the restaurant is located but thanks goodness for overpriced Christmas gifts. The iPhone is our friend as collectively we figure out how to use the “maps” function. It works. Alas, BB’s is closed but there is an Appleby’s across the street. Sully is quieted down considerably and we all manage to find something on the menu to eat.
And the lesson for Thursday is that not even New York is open twenty-four hours, no matter what anyone says.
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