September 17th, 2009 / 12:44 am
Snippets
Snippets
Blake Butler—
Do you like going to readings or do you think they are boring or useless or something? What do you like or not like about them?
i like realizing that authors are just human beings, like i look at their jeans and think “jeez, this person wears normal pants.”
i don’t like all the hot chicks because i feel that hot chicks just like going to public events to be hot. i look at their jeans and think “jizz, this person does not wear normal pants.”
i like realizing that authors are just human beings, like i look at their jeans and think “jeez, this person wears normal pants.”
i don’t like all the hot chicks because i feel that hot chicks just like going to public events to be hot. i look at their jeans and think “jizz, this person does not wear normal pants.”
I like them when the work that is being read entertains. I don’t like it when very intelligent poets stop talking intelligently as soon as they start reading their poems, and they go into a higher-pitched or monotone or somehow otherwise weirded-up voice, and alter their cadences so they echo the Stepford Wives. I prefer readings where somebody isn’t offering up a lot of exposition. I don’t like it when the reader tries to be funny. I like a conversational reading style. I don’t like it when somebody reads something that is clearly lame and the crowd acts like it was great. I don’t like it when somebody reads something awesome and the crowd is catatonic. I like it when prose writers tell stories. I don’t like it when poems preface a 20-line poem with a five minute speech about the conditions preceding its composition. The best readers I’ve ever seen include Andrew Hudgins, James Yeh, Lee K. Abbott, Pinckney Benedict, Rodney Jones, William Gass, Lawrence Weschler, Natalie Shapero, Jennifer Glaser, John Edgar Wideman, Douglas Watson, Dale Ray Phillips, Donald Ray Pollock, and Laurie Lindeen.
I like them when the work that is being read entertains. I don’t like it when very intelligent poets stop talking intelligently as soon as they start reading their poems, and they go into a higher-pitched or monotone or somehow otherwise weirded-up voice, and alter their cadences so they echo the Stepford Wives. I prefer readings where somebody isn’t offering up a lot of exposition. I don’t like it when the reader tries to be funny. I like a conversational reading style. I don’t like it when somebody reads something that is clearly lame and the crowd acts like it was great. I don’t like it when somebody reads something awesome and the crowd is catatonic. I like it when prose writers tell stories. I don’t like it when poems preface a 20-line poem with a five minute speech about the conditions preceding its composition. The best readers I’ve ever seen include Andrew Hudgins, James Yeh, Lee K. Abbott, Pinckney Benedict, Rodney Jones, William Gass, Lawrence Weschler, Natalie Shapero, Jennifer Glaser, John Edgar Wideman, Douglas Watson, Dale Ray Phillips, Donald Ray Pollock, and Laurie Lindeen.
Also, Brian Evenson.
Also, Brian Evenson.
I went to a “Literary Death Match” last night. Craig Taylor was a very good reader. The other three were also good but he blew me away. He didn’t read loud or fast or anything particularly animated. I don’t think he looked at the crowd once. He just read his story, and he read it well.
Oh, but readings in general. I guess I want to see someone excited by their own material, and able to communicate that.
I went to a “Literary Death Match” last night. Craig Taylor was a very good reader. The other three were also good but he blew me away. He didn’t read loud or fast or anything particularly animated. I don’t think he looked at the crowd once. He just read his story, and he read it well.
Oh, but readings in general. I guess I want to see someone excited by their own material, and able to communicate that.
I don’t like to look at the writers. I don’t like to listen to the writers. I like to read the writers. The only writer who is tolerable in person is McElroy. I saw him read from Smuggler’s Bible at the Gotham Book Mart in 1970. This was back when he was still taking acid. He stood at the podium and stared at us for an hour. Sometimes he would hold up the book so we could get a good look at it. Then he walked out the front door of the store. That was fun. Other than that, I can’t think of one writer I would want to see read his book. It’s like being in class, except the teacher is the same age as you and is rich.
I don’t like to look at the writers. I don’t like to listen to the writers. I like to read the writers. The only writer who is tolerable in person is McElroy. I saw him read from Smuggler’s Bible at the Gotham Book Mart in 1970. This was back when he was still taking acid. He stood at the podium and stared at us for an hour. Sometimes he would hold up the book so we could get a good look at it. Then he walked out the front door of the store. That was fun. Other than that, I can’t think of one writer I would want to see read his book. It’s like being in class, except the teacher is the same age as you and is rich.
I like Ryan Call’s readings. He gets up there with his little stepladder and starts squeaking.
I like Ryan Call’s readings. He gets up there with his little stepladder and starts squeaking.
Most readings, sadly, I find seriously mind-wanderingly dull, but (to admittedly paraphrase J-Franz) you go the way you go to church, to see the people beneath the steeple — that is, to know you’re not alone in a usually solo interest. Funny makes it good – otherwise, mostly, beware.
Best readings I’ve seen:
Rick Moody read Demonology at HousingWorks, everyone weepy, reader weepy, reader even ran off backstage after the last line.
Mark Leyner in Hoboken at Maxwell’s – crying laughter.
Jonathan Ames reading in a crowded, AC-less backroom at Galapagos in Williamsburg, 2002 or so – the way he read his story from memory while wearing a seersucker suit somehow seemed able to cool the room.
Sherman Alexie at that LES church during the New Yorker festival, also half-memorized, strutting from the pulpit with mic and book in hand like Bono.
William T. Vollmann slideshow/lecture for Rising Up, Rising Down, also at that LES church, where he said we should “scapegoat the shit out of Bush” so the rest of the world won’t hate us as much as they do now.
Dave Eggers reading that “Lucy Thomas” short called something like “You Should Not Laugh at Savings.” He had the formal cadences of a funny reading so down pat that the content didn’t matter as much as how he said it: when he delivered the punchline — “PEOPLE WITH UMBRELLAS DON’T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS” — he destroyed a crowd of about 500 at the first 215 Festival at the Philadelphia Free Library in 2001. Really amazing in terms of his mastery of the FORM of reading a short, funny piece.
Other very good/memorable readers: Lorrie Moore, Zadie Smith, George Saunders, Jim Crace, John Hodgeman.
I also saw WG Sebald read at the 92st Ywith Susan Sontag but I wasn’t overly impressed at the time, calling him “lugubrious” — I hadn’t read him yet. Idiot.
Oh shit:
Also, Allen Ginsberg in Princeton, 1996 or 1997 – levitation!
Russell Edson at Pete’s Candy Store, before I’d heard of him — tears of joy.
And DFW at Union Square Barnes and Noble, reading from the infinity book, wearing enormous bandage on head (no need to call it a bandana anymore) — not the best reading etc, but the only time I saw him read.
Most readings, sadly, I find seriously mind-wanderingly dull, but (to admittedly paraphrase J-Franz) you go the way you go to church, to see the people beneath the steeple — that is, to know you’re not alone in a usually solo interest. Funny makes it good – otherwise, mostly, beware.
Best readings I’ve seen:
Rick Moody read Demonology at HousingWorks, everyone weepy, reader weepy, reader even ran off backstage after the last line.
Mark Leyner in Hoboken at Maxwell’s – crying laughter.
Jonathan Ames reading in a crowded, AC-less backroom at Galapagos in Williamsburg, 2002 or so – the way he read his story from memory while wearing a seersucker suit somehow seemed able to cool the room.
Sherman Alexie at that LES church during the New Yorker festival, also half-memorized, strutting from the pulpit with mic and book in hand like Bono.
William T. Vollmann slideshow/lecture for Rising Up, Rising Down, also at that LES church, where he said we should “scapegoat the shit out of Bush” so the rest of the world won’t hate us as much as they do now.
Dave Eggers reading that “Lucy Thomas” short called something like “You Should Not Laugh at Savings.” He had the formal cadences of a funny reading so down pat that the content didn’t matter as much as how he said it: when he delivered the punchline — “PEOPLE WITH UMBRELLAS DON’T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS” — he destroyed a crowd of about 500 at the first 215 Festival at the Philadelphia Free Library in 2001. Really amazing in terms of his mastery of the FORM of reading a short, funny piece.
Other very good/memorable readers: Lorrie Moore, Zadie Smith, George Saunders, Jim Crace, John Hodgeman.
I also saw WG Sebald read at the 92st Ywith Susan Sontag but I wasn’t overly impressed at the time, calling him “lugubrious” — I hadn’t read him yet. Idiot.
Oh shit:
Also, Allen Ginsberg in Princeton, 1996 or 1997 – levitation!
Russell Edson at Pete’s Candy Store, before I’d heard of him — tears of joy.
And DFW at Union Square Barnes and Noble, reading from the infinity book, wearing enormous bandage on head (no need to call it a bandana anymore) — not the best reading etc, but the only time I saw him read.
I don’t like it when poets preface a 20-line poem with a five minute speech about the conditions preceding its composition.
I attended a reading where the guy spent about 10 (of his allotted 12) minutes explaining the backstory. Thanks, mate.
I don’t like it when poets preface a 20-line poem with a five minute speech about the conditions preceding its composition.
I attended a reading where the guy spent about 10 (of his allotted 12) minutes explaining the backstory. Thanks, mate.
Addendum: I now remember seeing DFW read with J-Franz at a Gramercy Park chapel during the New Yorker Festival in 2001 or 2002. I got sort of drunk beforehand and really only remember that DFW definitely sat off to the side after he read (i can’t remember what) and ripped a serious lipper while watching Franzen read (an essay maybe?).
Addendum: I now remember seeing DFW read with J-Franz at a Gramercy Park chapel during the New Yorker Festival in 2001 or 2002. I got sort of drunk beforehand and really only remember that DFW definitely sat off to the side after he read (i can’t remember what) and ripped a serious lipper while watching Franzen read (an essay maybe?).
I’ve loved hearing the following writers read their stuff: Tim O’Brien (The Things They Carried), Arthur Bradford (from a “Dogwalker” collection story), Michael Kimball (Dear Everybody), Austin Wright (from “Tony and Susan”), Paula Bomer (New York Tyrant story), and a bunch of others. Of all of these, the most inspiring was Michael Kimball. I went home that night and wrote a 4500 word story that will soon be appearing in FRiGG. I wouldn’t have written it without hearing him read.
The most surreal reading was Neal Pollack in Austin at 2003 SXSW. He sang some songs with the estimable Jim Roll and then read from The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature. Then he ripped up some pages from Franzen’s The Corrections and Safran Foer’s “Everything is Illuminated” and wiped his ass with them. He handed out copies of his chapbook and told the audience to destroy their copy and hurl crumpled up pages at him. Everyone did.
I’ve been to some bad readings. I will just second Kyle’s comments. The readings that didn’t work for me were ones where everyone was fired up for the writer and the stuff he read was boring exposition. People were laughing at unfunny lines, clapping out of nowhere, etc. It was silly.
The most poignant reading I didnt’ attend but heard about was John Updike’s reading. He told the crowd that he stuttered and not to shout out words for him if he got stuck. My college professor, who knew I stuttered, told me how nonchalant/jokey Updike was about that. That gave me some confidence to think I should be a lot more open about my own stutter.
Oh and I loved hearing Amy Fusselman read from “The Pharmacist’s Mate”. That was fantastic.
I’ve loved hearing the following writers read their stuff: Tim O’Brien (The Things They Carried), Arthur Bradford (from a “Dogwalker” collection story), Michael Kimball (Dear Everybody), Austin Wright (from “Tony and Susan”), Paula Bomer (New York Tyrant story), and a bunch of others. Of all of these, the most inspiring was Michael Kimball. I went home that night and wrote a 4500 word story that will soon be appearing in FRiGG. I wouldn’t have written it without hearing him read.
The most surreal reading was Neal Pollack in Austin at 2003 SXSW. He sang some songs with the estimable Jim Roll and then read from The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature. Then he ripped up some pages from Franzen’s The Corrections and Safran Foer’s “Everything is Illuminated” and wiped his ass with them. He handed out copies of his chapbook and told the audience to destroy their copy and hurl crumpled up pages at him. Everyone did.
I’ve been to some bad readings. I will just second Kyle’s comments. The readings that didn’t work for me were ones where everyone was fired up for the writer and the stuff he read was boring exposition. People were laughing at unfunny lines, clapping out of nowhere, etc. It was silly.
The most poignant reading I didnt’ attend but heard about was John Updike’s reading. He told the crowd that he stuttered and not to shout out words for him if he got stuck. My college professor, who knew I stuttered, told me how nonchalant/jokey Updike was about that. That gave me some confidence to think I should be a lot more open about my own stutter.
Oh and I loved hearing Amy Fusselman read from “The Pharmacist’s Mate”. That was fantastic.
oh and I’m a big fan of the Baltimore 510 series. Sometimes it’s hard to get there, but I’ll certainly be there this Saturday night. The readings have introduced me to lots of good, “name” writers, including those merely in attendance and not reading. I’d second the “nice to know you’re not alone in a usually solo interest” line above.
I stopped going to readings for a while, simply because I found that the experience I had reading certain kinds of pieces wasn’t enhanced by hearing it from the author. In most cases, it was lessened by droning or self-seriousness or a barely-conscious audience. But several commenters seem to have had really good experiences, so perhaps I should try it again?
oh and I’m a big fan of the Baltimore 510 series. Sometimes it’s hard to get there, but I’ll certainly be there this Saturday night. The readings have introduced me to lots of good, “name” writers, including those merely in attendance and not reading. I’d second the “nice to know you’re not alone in a usually solo interest” line above.
I stopped going to readings for a while, simply because I found that the experience I had reading certain kinds of pieces wasn’t enhanced by hearing it from the author. In most cases, it was lessened by droning or self-seriousness or a barely-conscious audience. But several commenters seem to have had really good experiences, so perhaps I should try it again?
Similar to Peregrine’s comment, I’m picky about readings. I feel like so much to be read these days prospers in silence, and to read such stuff out loud makes it vocal in a way it wasn’t meant to be. I also have a tendency to consider readings something cousin to but other than the original piece. It is very, very rare — these days, I think — that a reading enacts the piece read. Also, readings can ruin the piece for me. If the author is vapid, say. It’s hard to shake that memory when I return to it. I know one is one and the other is the other, but still.
Similar to Peregrine’s comment, I’m picky about readings. I feel like so much to be read these days prospers in silence, and to read such stuff out loud makes it vocal in a way it wasn’t meant to be. I also have a tendency to consider readings something cousin to but other than the original piece. It is very, very rare — these days, I think — that a reading enacts the piece read. Also, readings can ruin the piece for me. If the author is vapid, say. It’s hard to shake that memory when I return to it. I know one is one and the other is the other, but still.
saw Gary Snyder read, but liked his tale-telling of running with the Beats more so than his actual reading, talking so non-chalantly about sitting around with Ginsberg makes Ginsberg seem just as human as seeing Snyder’s jeans.
went to a “poetry reading” last fall that was basically a hip hop night, with a break with a dude beat on an out of tune drum while occassionally shouting post-apocalyptic themed lines and a friend of his played around with his guitar and fuzz pedal. that annoyed the shit out of me.
saw Ed Ochester read shortly after the release of Land of Cockaigne. one of the best readings i’ve been to, simply because he was organic and honest. what preludes he did give were very short.
i don’t mind wit or comedy at a reading, so long as the audience knows when to appreciate it. the best readings i’ve ever been to are readings where everyone is honest, not just the poet, but the poet and the audience. i hate when audiences seem to want to impress the writer as much as the writer wants to impress the audience.
saw Gary Snyder read, but liked his tale-telling of running with the Beats more so than his actual reading, talking so non-chalantly about sitting around with Ginsberg makes Ginsberg seem just as human as seeing Snyder’s jeans.
went to a “poetry reading” last fall that was basically a hip hop night, with a break with a dude beat on an out of tune drum while occassionally shouting post-apocalyptic themed lines and a friend of his played around with his guitar and fuzz pedal. that annoyed the shit out of me.
saw Ed Ochester read shortly after the release of Land of Cockaigne. one of the best readings i’ve been to, simply because he was organic and honest. what preludes he did give were very short.
i don’t mind wit or comedy at a reading, so long as the audience knows when to appreciate it. the best readings i’ve ever been to are readings where everyone is honest, not just the poet, but the poet and the audience. i hate when audiences seem to want to impress the writer as much as the writer wants to impress the audience.
They’re okay.
They’re okay.
i have never been to a reading because i live in a small college town without much interest in anything. but i started doing readings as the “opening act” of concerts @ various small venues and my friends have told me they like hearing me read better than they like reading my writing, but they don’t really like to read in general.
i have never been to a reading because i live in a small college town without much interest in anything. but i started doing readings as the “opening act” of concerts @ various small venues and my friends have told me they like hearing me read better than they like reading my writing, but they don’t really like to read in general.
Writers I really enjoyed watching read that have stuck in my mind:
Toni Morrison,
Isabel Allende.
Liked:
Margaret Atwood reading with Jeanette Winterson.
Quite liked Germaine Greer. Quite liked Fay Weldon.
Somehow I prefer more chilled out open mics to very organised readings.
It’s always a shame when either/both are just antiseptic and stilted feeling, which seems to happen a lot. I think audience reaction and atmosphere play a big part. Venue, too.
Writers I really enjoyed watching read that have stuck in my mind:
Toni Morrison,
Isabel Allende.
Liked:
Margaret Atwood reading with Jeanette Winterson.
Quite liked Germaine Greer. Quite liked Fay Weldon.
Somehow I prefer more chilled out open mics to very organised readings.
It’s always a shame when either/both are just antiseptic and stilted feeling, which seems to happen a lot. I think audience reaction and atmosphere play a big part. Venue, too.
I feel like I only really love ’em when I’ve read the thing for myself, first. But then sometimes the writer really screws up my appreciation of the piece. I head Thomas Glave read “The Torturer’s Wife,” and he didn’t hit the cadences the way I’d seen them on the page. I can’t read that story now without hearing his voice. Wrecked me. On the other hand, I once heard Aimee Bender read “End of the Line,” and she delivered it just as I had hoped: slowly, with a tinge of sad. Much as it sucks to say, if I haven’t read the story or poems for myself first, I can’t follow along, and I certainly don’t enjoy the “performance” as much as I would otherwise. (Oh, but I also heard Michael Kimball read from Dear Everybody, and I enjoyed that, without having read it first. Hmmm.)
I feel like I only really love ’em when I’ve read the thing for myself, first. But then sometimes the writer really screws up my appreciation of the piece. I head Thomas Glave read “The Torturer’s Wife,” and he didn’t hit the cadences the way I’d seen them on the page. I can’t read that story now without hearing his voice. Wrecked me. On the other hand, I once heard Aimee Bender read “End of the Line,” and she delivered it just as I had hoped: slowly, with a tinge of sad. Much as it sucks to say, if I haven’t read the story or poems for myself first, I can’t follow along, and I certainly don’t enjoy the “performance” as much as I would otherwise. (Oh, but I also heard Michael Kimball read from Dear Everybody, and I enjoyed that, without having read it first. Hmmm.)
Molly, I remember that Molly Glave reading! I watched your face fall, literally.
Molly, I remember that Molly Glave reading! I watched your face fall, literally.
Yes, the curse is back! The Thomas Glave reading. That’s percoset right there.
Yes, the curse is back! The Thomas Glave reading. That’s percoset right there.
For me the actual reading is the worst part of a reading.
For me the actual reading is the worst part of a reading.
Be funny. Be short. Have a conversation with the audience. That’s what I say makes a great reading.
Be funny. Be short. Have a conversation with the audience. That’s what I say makes a great reading.
it takes so long to set up that stepladder
it takes so long to set up that stepladder
What writers are rich anymore? What books are you reading that when someone reads the books aloud for you they are literally as boring as ‘being in class’?
What writers are rich anymore? What books are you reading that when someone reads the books aloud for you they are literally as boring as ‘being in class’?
I must admit I find most readings to be fairly boring. Most writers do not spend a lot of time working on their reading skills and most MFA programs and writing classes ignore that aspect. I find myself much more engaged by poetry or short shorts, multiple things that are short and sweat and you can easily follow. I don’t really care to hear half of the first chapter of your novel, most likely. Also, go for the funny or weird.
I must admit I find most readings to be fairly boring. Most writers do not spend a lot of time working on their reading skills and most MFA programs and writing classes ignore that aspect. I find myself much more engaged by poetry or short shorts, multiple things that are short and sweat and you can easily follow. I don’t really care to hear half of the first chapter of your novel, most likely. Also, go for the funny or weird.
and definitly be short. things like Literary Death Match are well conceived. A few 5-8 minute readings followed by some other activity is ideal.
and definitly be short. things like Literary Death Match are well conceived. A few 5-8 minute readings followed by some other activity is ideal.
I like the idea of readings more than readings themselves because I hate being read to and sometimes readings are very boring. Still, when a writer is a great reader (those two things do not go hand in hand), I enjoy hearing how they interpret and perform their work. I also love hearing smart and witty writers talk about craft in interesting ways. Last year C.S. Giscombe came to campus and read some of his poetry. He also talked about the influence of geography on his new book Prairie Style (read it, awesome) and that was a reading I still think about months later.
One thing I really hate about readings is that one (or more) person who stands up and prefaces his statement/manifesto/question with the words, “I am a writer,” and then spends an interminable amount of time bloviating about his or her craft and their work or even worse, starts to pontificate on how difficult it is to “break in” to publishing.
I like the idea of readings more than readings themselves because I hate being read to and sometimes readings are very boring. Still, when a writer is a great reader (those two things do not go hand in hand), I enjoy hearing how they interpret and perform their work. I also love hearing smart and witty writers talk about craft in interesting ways. Last year C.S. Giscombe came to campus and read some of his poetry. He also talked about the influence of geography on his new book Prairie Style (read it, awesome) and that was a reading I still think about months later.
One thing I really hate about readings is that one (or more) person who stands up and prefaces his statement/manifesto/question with the words, “I am a writer,” and then spends an interminable amount of time bloviating about his or her craft and their work or even worse, starts to pontificate on how difficult it is to “break in” to publishing.
I like them fine. I just drink. If they are my friends, I hope it goes well. I like funny material, sex, and BRIEF! I went to a reading where in Alabama where the poet basically kept us kidnapped for 2 hours. I mean some walked out but we were intimidated students. Lame.
I like readings on trains.
Why do people give boring readings? I hate those. But just because someone can write doesn’t mean they can read live.
The Sedaris rocking was amazing. He was so much edgier live, more political.
Antler reading was political/porno basically and pretty awesome. Very uncomfortable for the audience, so that was cool.
I can only handle so many readings. I skip some I should attend. But, you know.
S
I like them fine. I just drink. If they are my friends, I hope it goes well. I like funny material, sex, and BRIEF! I went to a reading where in Alabama where the poet basically kept us kidnapped for 2 hours. I mean some walked out but we were intimidated students. Lame.
I like readings on trains.
Why do people give boring readings? I hate those. But just because someone can write doesn’t mean they can read live.
The Sedaris rocking was amazing. He was so much edgier live, more political.
Antler reading was political/porno basically and pretty awesome. Very uncomfortable for the audience, so that was cool.
I can only handle so many readings. I skip some I should attend. But, you know.
S
John Haskell gives good reading.
John Haskell gives good reading.
I keep hearing that Anthony Swofford goes on and on. Never seen it though.
I keep hearing that Anthony Swofford goes on and on. Never seen it though.
Here’s something I’ve noticed: I pay more attention to a writer who is reading a piece that is in first person.
Funny is always good.
Theatrical is good.
Knowing your work is really good—and kind of rare. Writers who are on book tour tend to be pretty familiar with their stories by the time they get to the West Coast, and that’s nice. But people still stumble over their own sentences too much.
But first person is, it seems to me, the best way to cheat to get a crowd’s attention. I pay more attention to mediocre first person stories than I pay to really good third person stories.
I’ve asked friends—writers and people who attend lots of readings—and most have said the same.
Here’s something I’ve noticed: I pay more attention to a writer who is reading a piece that is in first person.
Funny is always good.
Theatrical is good.
Knowing your work is really good—and kind of rare. Writers who are on book tour tend to be pretty familiar with their stories by the time they get to the West Coast, and that’s nice. But people still stumble over their own sentences too much.
But first person is, it seems to me, the best way to cheat to get a crowd’s attention. I pay more attention to mediocre first person stories than I pay to really good third person stories.
I’ve asked friends—writers and people who attend lots of readings—and most have said the same.
i go to readings to meet girls.
doesn’t really work out for me.
i go to readings to meet girls.
doesn’t really work out for me.
I enjoy readings, even when the writer isn’t “good” at reading. It’s a great chance to meet other writers and talk and maybe buy books.
I enjoy readings, even when the writer isn’t “good” at reading. It’s a great chance to meet other writers and talk and maybe buy books.
I’ve actually lost more female connections at readings than I’ve found. But then, I’m a jackass.
Readings are a separate skill-set, one I’m struggling to learn. I agree that humor and charm are incredibly useful, and that a sense of melipoeia (yeah, that word just happened) actually comes second to being surprising, because the unexpected functions like a barb that pricks your ear (and renders you more open to that moment that’s about to hit you in your prostate).
Unsurprisingly, I find that readings at bars are the best, and that the poorest readers let their personality flow.
WORST READING EXPERIENCE:
The Hijacked Reading.
It happened to me at a Rob Plath reading: a (well-intentioned) woman stood up to convert the thing into an open mic. She offered a long, long preamble, then launched into some eight page poem. Sigh.
I’ve actually lost more female connections at readings than I’ve found. But then, I’m a jackass.
Readings are a separate skill-set, one I’m struggling to learn. I agree that humor and charm are incredibly useful, and that a sense of melipoeia (yeah, that word just happened) actually comes second to being surprising, because the unexpected functions like a barb that pricks your ear (and renders you more open to that moment that’s about to hit you in your prostate).
Unsurprisingly, I find that readings at bars are the best, and that the poorest readers let their personality flow.
WORST READING EXPERIENCE:
The Hijacked Reading.
It happened to me at a Rob Plath reading: a (well-intentioned) woman stood up to convert the thing into an open mic. She offered a long, long preamble, then launched into some eight page poem. Sigh.
Yeah. I’ve noticed that too.
Yeah. I’ve noticed that too.
i like them when people don’t read for too long and when the reader doesn’t have a boring (literary) reading voice.
i like them when people don’t read for too long and when the reader doesn’t have a boring (literary) reading voice.
thirded
ha, that’s why i go to work, with same results
(nodding)
thirded
ha, that’s why i go to work, with same results
(nodding)
“I hate being read to”
yes
“I hate being read to”
yes
Does use of the first person negate the sterility thing you can sometimes get at readings, mebbe? You feel more personally addressed, and as though -you- are actually being told a story. I feel a bit obvious saying that.
But I think a writer reading with the suggestion that the character is them tends to better arouse my nosiness. (I’d say curiousity. But yeah. Nosiness.)
Like, it’s maybe a bit of a dodgy example, but a play all performed via the chorus rather than the actors, first person, would probably get tedious fast.
I don’t know why exactly words on a page can jump off when read from a book, but read aloud can be so flat. I know a lot of it comes down to how good a story teller someone is in reading terms. But it’s interesting that readings can be more disengaging, not less.
I used to go to a writing group with a woman who was the most beautiful reader of her writing. She had done a lot of storytelling workshops and it came across.
I wonder if a lot of us have just lost that knack.
Or become less good at listening, and having to sit still still and listen with nothing more than spoken stimulus.
Or maybe some readings have just always been a bit dull.
Does use of the first person negate the sterility thing you can sometimes get at readings, mebbe? You feel more personally addressed, and as though -you- are actually being told a story. I feel a bit obvious saying that.
But I think a writer reading with the suggestion that the character is them tends to better arouse my nosiness. (I’d say curiousity. But yeah. Nosiness.)
Like, it’s maybe a bit of a dodgy example, but a play all performed via the chorus rather than the actors, first person, would probably get tedious fast.
I don’t know why exactly words on a page can jump off when read from a book, but read aloud can be so flat. I know a lot of it comes down to how good a story teller someone is in reading terms. But it’s interesting that readings can be more disengaging, not less.
I used to go to a writing group with a woman who was the most beautiful reader of her writing. She had done a lot of storytelling workshops and it came across.
I wonder if a lot of us have just lost that knack.
Or become less good at listening, and having to sit still still and listen with nothing more than spoken stimulus.
Or maybe some readings have just always been a bit dull.
Chicago’s reading scene is not only alive but vibrant. There are dozens of regular monthly events and some, like Reading Under the Influence, get the audience involved (with trivia and free books) and the reader drunk (with mandatory before- and after-reading shots). It’s fun stuff. I saw Matt Bell read a while back (“Mario’s Three Lives”) and it almost killed me.
It seems like most readings are just missing an emphasis on performance. Somebody up there said that writing programs don’t place an emphasis on reading aloud–mine did. Work that can be read out loud and communicated to an audience is almost inherently good on the page.
Chicago’s reading scene is not only alive but vibrant. There are dozens of regular monthly events and some, like Reading Under the Influence, get the audience involved (with trivia and free books) and the reader drunk (with mandatory before- and after-reading shots). It’s fun stuff. I saw Matt Bell read a while back (“Mario’s Three Lives”) and it almost killed me.
It seems like most readings are just missing an emphasis on performance. Somebody up there said that writing programs don’t place an emphasis on reading aloud–mine did. Work that can be read out loud and communicated to an audience is almost inherently good on the page.
Did she say something about how she was gonna let Plath finish but that Beyonce had one of the best poetry readings of all time?
Did she say something about how she was gonna let Plath finish but that Beyonce had one of the best poetry readings of all time?
fourfed.
fourfed.
Is it weird that I would do almost anything to get Uncle Barry to call me a jackass on b-roll?
Is it weird that I would do almost anything to get Uncle Barry to call me a jackass on b-roll?
sounds like i need to make some trips to Chicago. maybe my buddy Peter could take me around to some readings. seems like something up his alley. he was talking about readings and after parties at last year’s AWP, so i imagine he’s a bit plugged in up there.
sidenote:
i’m working on a poem now about James Whitcomb Riley, who was evidently a reading phenom in his time. of course, this was in the time when major poets and writers were treated like celebrities when they read, but even still, he supposedly stood apart from them all in his ability to read his work. talk about a dude whose fame got overshadowed and pretty much killed by the Modernists.
sounds like i need to make some trips to Chicago. maybe my buddy Peter could take me around to some readings. seems like something up his alley. he was talking about readings and after parties at last year’s AWP, so i imagine he’s a bit plugged in up there.
sidenote:
i’m working on a poem now about James Whitcomb Riley, who was evidently a reading phenom in his time. of course, this was in the time when major poets and writers were treated like celebrities when they read, but even still, he supposedly stood apart from them all in his ability to read his work. talk about a dude whose fame got overshadowed and pretty much killed by the Modernists.
[…] Peak mentioned how alive and vibrant the Chicago reading scene is. Makes me a bit envious. Though, I suppose I should probably make an effort to get plugged in to […]
during some readings, the writers seem very pretentious and all use the same tone while reading their work (mainly poetry). i’m not sure how to describe it. they read in a slow, melodramatic-yet-indifferent tone, i guess. but some don’t and i like it. i remember from the l train in chicago that sam and blake didn’t read like that. which is fucking awesome. but maybe alcohol had something to do with it, haha.
during some readings, the writers seem very pretentious and all use the same tone while reading their work (mainly poetry). i’m not sure how to describe it. they read in a slow, melodramatic-yet-indifferent tone, i guess. but some don’t and i like it. i remember from the l train in chicago that sam and blake didn’t read like that. which is fucking awesome. but maybe alcohol had something to do with it, haha.
tony hoagland is one of my favorite readers. He’s very funny and reads poems that are more like standup that don’t actually go inside his books.
tony hoagland is one of my favorite readers. He’s very funny and reads poems that are more like standup that don’t actually go inside his books.
I think with the nosiness comment you may be on to something. I really do.
If we’re sitting somewhere together, and I tell you a story from my life, I let you in on some sort of family secret, or I tell you about something funny that happened to me, I tell you in first person.
First person is both casual and intimate. I think we respond to it better. Third person is a fine way to write a story, but it’s also sort of false, isn’t it? We tell stories to each other all day. All the time. And most of the stories we tell each other are first person. They are about us.
I think we actively listen to first person stories in a reading in a way that we don’t listen to third person because we are simply used to listening to first person.
I think with the nosiness comment you may be on to something. I really do.
If we’re sitting somewhere together, and I tell you a story from my life, I let you in on some sort of family secret, or I tell you about something funny that happened to me, I tell you in first person.
First person is both casual and intimate. I think we respond to it better. Third person is a fine way to write a story, but it’s also sort of false, isn’t it? We tell stories to each other all day. All the time. And most of the stories we tell each other are first person. They are about us.
I think we actively listen to first person stories in a reading in a way that we don’t listen to third person because we are simply used to listening to first person.
Dean Young does this, too. They compliment each other well. Dean is a little more acerbic, Tony is a little more mischievous.
Dean Young does this, too. They compliment each other well. Dean is a little more acerbic, Tony is a little more mischievous.
I’m sure not news to this commentator group: Young’s response to Hoagland in APR’s Ed Letter (excerpt):
“Surely I am as least in part to blame for John Donne’s willful obscurities and distortions; and what about those stylistic fripperies of Gerard Manley Hopkins?”
I’m sure not news to this commentator group: Young’s response to Hoagland in APR’s Ed Letter (excerpt):
“Surely I am as least in part to blame for John Donne’s willful obscurities and distortions; and what about those stylistic fripperies of Gerard Manley Hopkins?”
I really like readings for many reasons. Sometimes, if I haven’t had time to explore a writer I can get “a taste” of their work by hearing them read. Once, I saw Martin Amis read a short story and liked it very much, though I’ve never read him. Also, as some have pointed out, it can be a great place to meet other writers and other attractive people. I think Simmons and I have an advantage here since we’re both bookstore workers. Here’s my list of best ever readers: Michelle Tea, Beth Lisick, Jonathan Ames, Steve Almond, James Tate, Mark Leyner, David Sedaris, and George Saunders. These people know how to do it (how to “sell it” as some might say).
I don’t really like the trend of writers who read really bored or mumble a lot, like they’re too cool to be there. It’s only okay if it’s part of the voice of the story or if you’re Hal Sirowitz (and Hal rocks too).
I really like readings for many reasons. Sometimes, if I haven’t had time to explore a writer I can get “a taste” of their work by hearing them read. Once, I saw Martin Amis read a short story and liked it very much, though I’ve never read him. Also, as some have pointed out, it can be a great place to meet other writers and other attractive people. I think Simmons and I have an advantage here since we’re both bookstore workers. Here’s my list of best ever readers: Michelle Tea, Beth Lisick, Jonathan Ames, Steve Almond, James Tate, Mark Leyner, David Sedaris, and George Saunders. These people know how to do it (how to “sell it” as some might say).
I don’t really like the trend of writers who read really bored or mumble a lot, like they’re too cool to be there. It’s only okay if it’s part of the voice of the story or if you’re Hal Sirowitz (and Hal rocks too).
Readings are nice. I think the most important part is being able to have direct contact with the author. To be able to thank the person who created something that made you feel excited. I also like the feeling that I am helping to support something or someone that I think is good. Otherwise, I feel a bit selfish or guilty, like I’m not doing enough for the things that are important to me. It’s also very inspiring to see anything from the literary world in reality. It can be a reminder that writing does exist beyond the privacy of our imagination. But basically, I think they’re about the shared experience between the reader and author. Because what else is to be done with all the gratitude?
Also, thanks again Blake, for a great reading in Boston.
Readings are nice. I think the most important part is being able to have direct contact with the author. To be able to thank the person who created something that made you feel excited. I also like the feeling that I am helping to support something or someone that I think is good. Otherwise, I feel a bit selfish or guilty, like I’m not doing enough for the things that are important to me. It’s also very inspiring to see anything from the literary world in reality. It can be a reminder that writing does exist beyond the privacy of our imagination. But basically, I think they’re about the shared experience between the reader and author. Because what else is to be done with all the gratitude?
Also, thanks again Blake, for a great reading in Boston.
Here are some things that, for me, distinguish a good reading from daydreampalooza:
– when the writer makes eye contact with the audience, it kind of demonstrates a knowledge of the material, a comfort, plus an attempt to connect with the audience and bring it off the page.
-when the writer differentiates voices in subtle ways for different characters, not necessarily going full-out into acting, but modulating. Dialogue works really well, I think, maybe even better than monologue, because the see-sawing back between voices enlivens in the manner of a musical ensemble. Interplay, a sort of built-in rhythm section. Also keeps the writer on his/her toes, always a plus. Excessive nerves are bad, but excessive complacency is equally a killer.
-I likes me some Q&A, when the writer can extemporize a bit. I also like when the writer fields a question that doesn’t make any sense and handles it gracefully.
-when wine is readily available
I’ll second the thanks for the fine Boston reading.
Here are some things that, for me, distinguish a good reading from daydreampalooza:
– when the writer makes eye contact with the audience, it kind of demonstrates a knowledge of the material, a comfort, plus an attempt to connect with the audience and bring it off the page.
-when the writer differentiates voices in subtle ways for different characters, not necessarily going full-out into acting, but modulating. Dialogue works really well, I think, maybe even better than monologue, because the see-sawing back between voices enlivens in the manner of a musical ensemble. Interplay, a sort of built-in rhythm section. Also keeps the writer on his/her toes, always a plus. Excessive nerves are bad, but excessive complacency is equally a killer.
-I likes me some Q&A, when the writer can extemporize a bit. I also like when the writer fields a question that doesn’t make any sense and handles it gracefully.
-when wine is readily available
I’ll second the thanks for the fine Boston reading.
i would agree with molly gaudry that i like readings best when i’ve read the work being read. it’s like listening to music. you can then appreciate the difference between the way you are used to hearing it read, mostly in your mind, with a new sound, and that experience can be surprising in a good or bad way, and when it’s good, it can be really good. like the time i heard Lydia Davis read Grammar Questions, about her father dying. I had read it in a very analytical detached way and read the next story the same way. but when I heard Lydia Davis read it, i cried and was embarrassed about crying in public.
i would agree with molly gaudry that i like readings best when i’ve read the work being read. it’s like listening to music. you can then appreciate the difference between the way you are used to hearing it read, mostly in your mind, with a new sound, and that experience can be surprising in a good or bad way, and when it’s good, it can be really good. like the time i heard Lydia Davis read Grammar Questions, about her father dying. I had read it in a very analytical detached way and read the next story the same way. but when I heard Lydia Davis read it, i cried and was embarrassed about crying in public.
I never thought about the first person thing.That’s a really good point. I think you’re right. Even if the first person in the story isn’t meant to be the person reading, it seems more personal.
Heard Stephen Elliott read tonight and he was fantastic.
I never thought about the first person thing.That’s a really good point. I think you’re right. Even if the first person in the story isn’t meant to be the person reading, it seems more personal.
Heard Stephen Elliott read tonight and he was fantastic.
i agree, jimmy. it’s nice to realize that everyone has to go to the bathroom while i step up next to them at the urinal. i always tell them, it’s a public bathroom, dan brown! even if it’s john grisham.
i agree, jimmy. it’s nice to realize that everyone has to go to the bathroom while i step up next to them at the urinal. i always tell them, it’s a public bathroom, dan brown! even if it’s john grisham.
I think this makes much sense.
Maybe it goes wrong when we don’t adapt form to suit circumstance.
Third person might be fine on a page, but I think when being addressed by a person in a room our brains probably default to wanting to be spoken -to,- not -at.- First person is personal, engaging, has the guise of being ‘confessional’ even when it isn’t, necessarily. Third person is more abstract, harder to connect with.
One of the reasons Toni Morrison stuck in my mind as a good speaker/reader (speaker, particularly) was that she was earthy, human. It was very much an addressing-the-audience-on-equal-terms, none of the cult of author thing some writers seem to propagate.
I think first person is part of the same thing. It has the appearance of putting us on equal footing with the speaker.
I think this makes much sense.
Maybe it goes wrong when we don’t adapt form to suit circumstance.
Third person might be fine on a page, but I think when being addressed by a person in a room our brains probably default to wanting to be spoken -to,- not -at.- First person is personal, engaging, has the guise of being ‘confessional’ even when it isn’t, necessarily. Third person is more abstract, harder to connect with.
One of the reasons Toni Morrison stuck in my mind as a good speaker/reader (speaker, particularly) was that she was earthy, human. It was very much an addressing-the-audience-on-equal-terms, none of the cult of author thing some writers seem to propagate.
I think first person is part of the same thing. It has the appearance of putting us on equal footing with the speaker.
i was so pissed i missed the reading tour that Tony and Dean went on a few years ago. a few of my friends drove up to the chicago stop, but i had to work that night.
i was so pissed i missed the reading tour that Tony and Dean went on a few years ago. a few of my friends drove up to the chicago stop, but i had to work that night.
This is an interesting thread. I alternate between loving and hating readings. The good ones remind me why I like ’em, the bad ones make me swear I’ll never go to another reading again.
Once saw a writer who had sold a lot of books reading is a machine gun monologue withoutpausinginbetweenwords for about an hour, and it was really hard to keep my eyes open. Actually, one of my favorite readers is Dennis Cooper because its this weird mix of extreme material, and this voice that seems deceptively ‘normal’. I saw him read “The Ash Grey Proclamation” at NYU and it was amazing. As the story got more and more perverse and strange, I could see people (mostly the NYU staff who were there for the reading, not the audience who knew what to expect from Dennis) get more and more uncomfortable.
My favorite readings are the ones that are unpredictable and strange. Drunk and / or high readers are always good value for money. Some of my first readings in NY left big impressions on me – saw a guy called Carl Moore read, and he was heckled by his own wife which was great. Never saw Bukowski read, but know some people who did – one guy who saw him read in LA, and he old me that he had a mini fridge on stage so he could keep pulling out cold beers, and he rambled off topic, insulted the audience, and generally acted exactly as youd expect him to.
Pet hates – the “poet” voice that people have mentioned, people who seem to nervous, low talkers. readings in bookstores are never as entertaining as readings in bars, because people are less uptight in bars. Went to see Irvine Welsh read, and Chuck Pahlunick was on the bill too. I didnt really know Pahlunucks stuff beforehand, but he was entertaining, throwing out rubber severed limbs into the audience, and such. His fans were annoying though, laughing when things werent very funny, etc etc.
One of my favorite readers is Sebastian horsley who doesnt read from the page, but instead just stands in front of the audience and asks people if theyd like to fuck him, and basically just acts like Sebastian Horsley which is good entertainment value.
This is an interesting thread. I alternate between loving and hating readings. The good ones remind me why I like ’em, the bad ones make me swear I’ll never go to another reading again.
Once saw a writer who had sold a lot of books reading is a machine gun monologue withoutpausinginbetweenwords for about an hour, and it was really hard to keep my eyes open. Actually, one of my favorite readers is Dennis Cooper because its this weird mix of extreme material, and this voice that seems deceptively ‘normal’. I saw him read “The Ash Grey Proclamation” at NYU and it was amazing. As the story got more and more perverse and strange, I could see people (mostly the NYU staff who were there for the reading, not the audience who knew what to expect from Dennis) get more and more uncomfortable.
My favorite readings are the ones that are unpredictable and strange. Drunk and / or high readers are always good value for money. Some of my first readings in NY left big impressions on me – saw a guy called Carl Moore read, and he was heckled by his own wife which was great. Never saw Bukowski read, but know some people who did – one guy who saw him read in LA, and he old me that he had a mini fridge on stage so he could keep pulling out cold beers, and he rambled off topic, insulted the audience, and generally acted exactly as youd expect him to.
Pet hates – the “poet” voice that people have mentioned, people who seem to nervous, low talkers. readings in bookstores are never as entertaining as readings in bars, because people are less uptight in bars. Went to see Irvine Welsh read, and Chuck Pahlunick was on the bill too. I didnt really know Pahlunucks stuff beforehand, but he was entertaining, throwing out rubber severed limbs into the audience, and such. His fans were annoying though, laughing when things werent very funny, etc etc.
One of my favorite readers is Sebastian horsley who doesnt read from the page, but instead just stands in front of the audience and asks people if theyd like to fuck him, and basically just acts like Sebastian Horsley which is good entertainment value.
Yeah, I was super bummed about that.
Uh, and that was supposed to be “heard” up there, not “head.”
Yeah, I was super bummed about that.
Uh, and that was supposed to be “heard” up there, not “head.”
Just wanted to add that a guy I knew in grad school was a terrific reader, but he picked awesome pieces. There was one story about a character named Bobby Noonan, and the story had a refrain, “Bobby Noonan masturbates in the bathtub,” and every time the refrain was about to happen, he gave us the signal and we all had to say it out loud. The fun was waiting for what would come next: e.g. “Bobby Noonan masturbates in the bathtub while his mother makes tea in the kitchen” or something. Each time there was a variation, etc. Fun times. Good reading. Audience participation.
He also read all the first lines from all the stories he’d written while in the program, which was fun.
Just wanted to add that a guy I knew in grad school was a terrific reader, but he picked awesome pieces. There was one story about a character named Bobby Noonan, and the story had a refrain, “Bobby Noonan masturbates in the bathtub,” and every time the refrain was about to happen, he gave us the signal and we all had to say it out loud. The fun was waiting for what would come next: e.g. “Bobby Noonan masturbates in the bathtub while his mother makes tea in the kitchen” or something. Each time there was a variation, etc. Fun times. Good reading. Audience participation.
He also read all the first lines from all the stories he’d written while in the program, which was fun.
great story, thanks for sharing it.
great story, thanks for sharing it.
everything you just said kyle, especially the best readers part
michael kimball is one of my favorite readers ever
everything you just said kyle, especially the best readers part
michael kimball is one of my favorite readers ever
yeah i’ve noticed the 1st person thing too. it’s more personal, as you’ve said. more urgent and potentially indicting, i think
yeah i’ve noticed the 1st person thing too. it’s more personal, as you’ve said. more urgent and potentially indicting, i think
i don’t think i’ve ever cried at a reader, but i’ve almost cried once. i won’t mention the author, because that would embarrass us both.
but it was about a talking monkey
i don’t think i’ve ever cried at a reader, but i’ve almost cried once. i won’t mention the author, because that would embarrass us both.
but it was about a talking monkey
I’ll second you on how great Dennis Cooper reads. And I’d add you to that list too, Tony (from what I’ve seen on YouTube).
I’ll second you on how great Dennis Cooper reads. And I’d add you to that list too, Tony (from what I’ve seen on YouTube).
Thank Paul. The check’s in the post, mate ;)
Thank Paul. The check’s in the post, mate ;)
RUI was the most fun I’ve had at a reading, both as a reader and as an audience member.
RUI was the most fun I’ve had at a reading, both as a reader and as an audience member.
See, that’s what i’m talking about. Having fun. Being aware of your audience. I think by the time you read everyone there was thoroughly hammered. An excellent, excellent night.
See, that’s what i’m talking about. Having fun. Being aware of your audience. I think by the time you read everyone there was thoroughly hammered. An excellent, excellent night.
It was a Sherman Alexie reading years ago (New Yorker festival too, but this was at Theater For The New City, reading with Nick Hornby) that made me start going to readings. Readings should be a conversation, and better if it happens to be a funny conversation (someone already said as much further down). Alexie checked both boxes for me.
Also: readings in small bars. It feels more appropriate to hear Victor Erofeyev go off on a tangent about Soviet kitsch when you have a stiff drink in front of you.
It was a Sherman Alexie reading years ago (New Yorker festival too, but this was at Theater For The New City, reading with Nick Hornby) that made me start going to readings. Readings should be a conversation, and better if it happens to be a funny conversation (someone already said as much further down). Alexie checked both boxes for me.
Also: readings in small bars. It feels more appropriate to hear Victor Erofeyev go off on a tangent about Soviet kitsch when you have a stiff drink in front of you.