Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    

And we're up and running! If you're logged in to The WELL, check out
<inkwell.vue.292>

If you're reading this from offsite, try this link:

<http://www.well.com/conf/inkwell.vue/topics/292/Neil-Gaiman-Fragile-Things-
page01.html>
  

    
Hi, Dan Guy!  It's good to be back.
  

    <scribbled by dfowlkes>
  

    
Unfortunately, I had another bout of the Evil Stress-Induced Thing
That Ate My Voice, and have now lost all the progress made with the
vocal therapist, and have to start over. But I didn't quite lose my
voice entirely this time, and I am hoping that counts for something.

Don't know whether it will take months or years of vocal therapy and
work, but I do most unshakeably intend to sing again easily some day. 

signed,
fierce lioness beast.

(Thank you for asking, and how's life treating you? Are you going to
hang out in the Fragile Things thread? Old times indeed. Yay!)
  

    <scribbled by dfowlkes Tue 3 Jul 12 10:14>
  

    
Oy, Dan, you have my heartfelt sympathy.  It must be hard to be on
that side of the desk.  Especially with the small ones.  At least with
my students, I can pull them aside and say, "What's up?" and
occasionally get a sensible answer (for variable qualities of the word
"sensible" of course).  

Elise, I, too, follow your LJ and am very sorry to hear you have had a
setback.  But I support your fierce lionessy-ness and know you will
sing again.

On a bright note (for bead manufacturers) your blog has me beading
watchbands for myself.  I had no idea beading was contagious.  ;-)

Mary (reading a Mary Higgins Clark a student loaned me so I can read
my shiny new copy of The Ladies of Grace Adeiu by Susannah (sp?) Clark)
  

    
I should have posted here last week, in the, perhaps forlorn, hope
that someone would read it.  Did anyone else go to PEN this week?  I
went both days Neil was there, and wished I could have gone more.

(Edited to add--the theme of the conference was "Home & Away")

Wednesday at 6:00 Neil sat on a panel with 3 other YA writers that was
very interesting.  There were varied opinions about whether "home" was
something good to be carried with you, or something bad to be left
behind to start anew.  Just when it looked to get interesting, it was
over, and Neil had to dash to the Town Hall (so did those of us with
tix for that event).  Fortunately, it was just around the corner.

At 7:30 began the readings at Town Hall, with an impressive array of
readers.  Salman Rushdie introduced the evening, then Steve Martin
began with a very funny excerpt from his next book, an autobiographical
account of his years as a stand-up comedian.  He sang (a song I still
remembered all the words to, despite not having heard it in at least 20
years) and did the napkin trick and was terrific.  I felt sorry anyone
having to follow that, but I needn't have worried.  The offerings were
so varied in style and content that they couldn't be compared, except
to say that they were all fascinating and human.

Highlights--Don DeLillo's calm reading of a scene describing 9/11 in
such astonishing detail that you felt you could smell the smoke, and
you *knew* every New Yorker in the room was reliving their memories of
that black day; Alain Mabanckou's heartbreaking poem for his mother,
first in liquid French, and then in English; Nadine Gordimer's story of
an 11-year-old girl losing most of her family on the way to a refugee
camp; Kiran Desai's hilarious observations of middle-class Indian girls
looking for "the Marlboro man with a Ph.D."; Salman Rushdie reading an
excerpt from "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" that felt like the best
jazz improv you ever heard; and Neil, reading the coda from A.G., and
"Instructions" so that you didn't miss a single funny bit, or the
tragic implications, either.  (The line about hearts "and you betray
them with your tongue" has always seemed deeply sad to me, a warning
for the real world as well.)

Neil said the next day, during a conversation with Marguerite Abouet,
that he had a moment backstage at the Town Hall where he realized that
he was the only person there with a Pulitzer, a Booker, or a Nobel. 
Nice company.  He looked right at home.

The next day he was in conversation with Marguerite Abouet and told a
story at the Moth.  The conversation with Ms. Abouet had the potential
to be interesting, except for a moderator who was slightly annoying--he
mispronounced Coraline, obviously had only read Sandman and didn't get
Neil or Marguerite to answer the question that had been asked. (Neil,
*are* you going to be directing a film yourself?)  That question got
asked twice and was never answered.  Also, I got the feeling that Ms.
Abouet's translator wasn't the best.  She took forever translating
questions (partly the fault of the moderator, who yammered on too much
when asking them) and I wasn't entirely certain that Ms. Abouet's
answers were intact.  Plus the translator couldn't listen and translate
at the same time, so the entire process was rather slow.  All of which
was a pity, because Ms. Abouet seemed delightful and her book "Aya" is
terrific.  Go read it!  I think Neil was keeping up pretty well, there
were times when I saw him nodding in agreement long before the
translator started speaking.

The Moth was interesting.  There was a wide array of stories about a
wide array of "homes" and a lot of booze, so the audience was
enthusiastic.  Not that people had to be drunk, but for instance, the
Southern Gothic tale that Neil mentioned on the blog was told in a
very......interesting...style that might have lost the audience, except
that they were determined to be enteretained, and though the build-up
took a little time, the last 5 minutes of that story were hilarious,
and worth the wait.  And the style absolutely served the story, once
you got used to it.  Neil's story was about being 16 and trying to get
home from an exchange program in Germany, and the usefulness of a
passport to same.  It was, like most of Neil's stories, funny and
entertaining, and the audience seemed to enjoy it.  I believe there
will be a CD released of the evening.

So there's a blow-by-blow, if anyone still reads this topic.  I wish I
had asked if anyone was coming into the City for this, but it didn't
dawn on me until Wednesday night.  I did run into a guy who looked
familiar to me, and sure enough, just moved from Chicago a few months
ago.  Small world.

Mary (off now to start reading her signed copy of Kiran Desai's "The
Inheritance of Loss", or go see "Hot Fuzz", or both)
  

    
Thanks for the great recap.  Sounds like a terrific series of events.
  

    <scribbled by dfowlkes Tue 3 Jul 12 10:14>
  

    <scribbled by dfowlkes Tue 3 Jul 12 10:14>
  

    
Last Tuesday, in preperation for PEN, Neil stopped at Bryn Mawr
College.  Since that is so close, I had to go and crash the event.

He asked if it was okay if we were guinea pigs, we said sure.  So he
explained he didn't have much time to read at PEN and needed to time
things.  So he read Instructions,The Day the Saucers Came and Orange  

Then he asked if we wanted to go further in our guinea pig state.
Naturally we said yes, and he pulled out his notebook and read his
first draft of chapter 2 of the Graveyard Book. He paused here and
there, but the reading was pretty smooth. Since he'd warned us there
could be rough bits in obvious need of an editor, I assume his pauses
were covering the rough spots.

It was a very enjoyable night.
  

    <scribbled by dfowlkes Tue 3 Jul 12 10:14>
  

    
Ooooo, such a chowder-head I am!  I posted my recaps on here and
forgot to come back and see if there was a reply.

First, and most important--
Neil--if you pop in here, know that I am thinking good thoughts for
Amacker.  I am so sorry this happened.  You must be frantic.

DanGuy!  I am so sorry I missed you and Mimi Ko!  And Lucy Anne, whom
I have never met in the flesh.  I called myself looking around for
familiar faces, but I totally missed you guys.  I will definitely post
here before the next time Himself is in town.

Dan's recap of the Moth evening is dead on the money.  Pico Iyer swept
me off my feet, and I rushed out and bought several of his books,
which reproach me daily from my "haven't read them" bookshelves, as
school is indeed still in session, and seems to be determined to go
until Gabriel sounds the last bloody trump.  I did manage to read
Inheritance of Loss and it is gobsmackingly brilliant. I then segued
into Year of the King and now, Primo Time, by the great English actor
(Sir) Antony Sher.  I am obsessed, and wish the world would leave
Antony and I alone to determine how on earth he will ever play Primo
Levi on stage whilst combating The Fear.  Who gave me all these papers
to grade?  What can I do to return the favor?  And shall I do it with a
gun, a rope, or a bottle of arsenic?

Aside from my mad, doomed love affair with Mr. Iyer, I , too, thought
all of the storytellers were marvy, each in his/her own way.  Dan, I
thought I was the only one who wanted desperately to try that accent
and those gestures.  Good to know I wasn't alone ;-)

Aaargh.  The stack of book projects hales me with a lusty breath.

Adieu!   M.

P.S. Watch The Riches on FX. It's fabulosity runneth over.
  

    
Ooo, forgot to say--notshakespeare, I'm very, very jealous!  But I'm
glad you got to go!

And Dan, you absolutely put your finger on what was bugging me about
the Neil/Marguerite Abouet "conversation".  Thank you.

M.
  

    <scribbled by dfowlkes Tue 3 Jul 12 10:14>
  

    
DanGuy--How's it coming?  I'm trying to hold out until I have
time/money to buy the CD (or better yet, DVD-must go see if they're
doing one....)

I have a package at the posty!  Mehopes it am from BPAL and I can
smell all American Godsy.

(If you haven't checked out the delightful Neil Gaiman line at BPAL,
go right now!  I will post my reaction here once I pick it up.)

And if you aren't reading Nice Hair, the online comic in which Neil is
a werewolf who communes with Elder Gods and has a cat up his nose, go
ye right now to

http://www.yinepu.net/nicehairindex.html

and laugh very hard.  Read the archives--it makes more sense if you
read from the beginning.

Speaking of fabulous art, congrats seem to be in order for Jouni, who
used to hang around these parts.  If you pop by, Jouni, congratulations
on this newest Neil illustration project!  I can't wait to see it!

Mary (who has finished Primo Time and wants an hour and a half free to
watch the video, but isn't likely to get it)
  

    <scribbled by dfowlkes Tue 3 Jul 12 10:14>
  

    
In general I'm not a huge fan of kids.

But Maddy mentioning that she was Hungry in Hungary gave me a chuckle
- because she seemed to be excited to say it.
  

    <scribbled by dfowlkes Tue 3 Jul 12 10:14>
  

    
I saw the movie poster for Stardust at the theatre this weekend. Looks
great. 
  

    
Maddy is indeed the bee's knees.  I'm loving her guest blogging.

Hey, Dodge!  Long time no see!

Can. Not. Wait. For Stardust.

Mary (out of school at last!)
  

    
Did anyone else see Maddy's first picture and want to label it "I are
serious kid"?
  

    <scribbled>
  

    
Perfect.

Last night I had a dream where I and a bunch of my friends were at some kind
of Neil event, and while it was still a really small group he offered us
pot. I really, really don't know where that came from, but I thought I'd
share.
  

    <scribbled by dfowlkes Tue 3 Jul 12 10:14>