Ruth Danon and Kelly Fordon react to the ever-entertaining Julia Glass as she tells the story of her worst-ever review (eventually vindicated when she received the National Book Award).
April 12, 2016: Julia Glass, Ruth Danon, & Kelly Fordon
Julia Glass reads a travel piece: a memory of studying in Italy as a young woman, being brave, and imagining butterflies alighting on the still shoulders of a young man.
Ruth reads from her recent collection of poetry, Limitless Tiny Boat. This selection from "Cradle":
I get sleepy, the way a boat gets,
Sleepy in choppy water. Ssh, Ssh
And you drift off. And what then?
Moon wanes, day fades.
Words are
the only boat I have.
Kelly reads the opening of her novel of connected stories, Garden for the Blind. From this starting point with five year old Alice Townley, the reader enters an affluent world of neglect and carelessness from many angles and through different voices. Whether or not the characters mature, the consequences of incidents and actions long past impact their lives in unpredictable ways.
On the Street Where We Live - Theatrical Piece
Suzanne King, Sheila Davis, and Jackie Kristel perform several poems from Kelly Fordon's poetry collection about women-housewives-mothers. Robin Martin directed these talented actors. The painting below, Disgruntled Housewife by Jill Slaymaker, is the cover of the chapbook and served as the backdrop to the performance.
#LateNightMic
We had four readers share their work during our open mic: Leeron Hoory described an encounter between a young man and a young woman-innocent but for their clashing ethnic identities. Alicia Wallace's silent cross-dialogue between a frustrated daughter and her comatose mother, ripe with vitriol, turns tragic when the mother confesses the sacrifices she made for her children-silent words falling on deaf ears. Tara Weinstein had us laughing at a comic scene featuring Philly, a young girl recently arrived in New York City, making her way around new friends, a fitting room, and some unusual clothing. Jen Epler brought us Daniel, a conscientious, respectful, gentle man, holding the heavy weight of his responsibility for a woman's notebook-perhaps her life-in his hands, and very close to his heart.
Omar mixes up a #literarycocktail. Was it a Garden with a Lime? A No Limit? Or Julia's Glass?
How about a book with that drink? (And dinner!) Guests feed their minds and their bellies at #YeahYouWrite in the Lounge at Bo's.
