#YeahYouWrite welcomes Aspen Words Memoirists
February 22, 2017: Said Sayrafiezadeh, Carolyn Murnick, Dani Shapiro, & Marcia Butler
#YeahYouWrite & Aspen Words
Lisa & Robin were honored to welcome Adrienne Brodeur, the brilliant executive director of Aspen Words. She is an award-winning editor and published author with more than fifteen years of writing, editing and publishing experience, in books as well as magazines.
Carolyn Murnick
Carolyn sips from her #LiteraryCocktail, aptly named The Hot One, a mezcal-riff on a hot toddy spiced with ginger and habanero. It shares the name of her memoir, which will be out this spring. She read the first chapter of The Hot One, bringing us the charm and humor of a pair of ten-year-old girls, then ripping out our hearts with her final sentence.
Marcia Butler
Marcia Butler challenged the audience to count the number of musical references in the recipe for her mocktail, Rhythm & Blues. Then she read a startling account of visiting a violent boyfriend at Riker's, juxtaposed against a description of performing a challenging musical piece with a world-class orchestra. Her memoir, The Skin Above My Knee offered mountains of such contrast.
Said Sayrafiezadeh
Said decided the pickled grapes in his drink, a riff on a gin martini, were disgusting. Well, we assume all three were; he only tried one. We liked his honesty, but we liked his reading from his memoir, When Skateboards Will Be Free, even more. What do you get when you combine one 6 year old, one socialist mother, and one big, grape boycott? A hilarious account of desire, denial, and Sour Grapes (the name of his #LiteraryCocktail, of course.)
Dani Shapiro
Dani sips her Write, Now, a fresh and citrusy vodka drink garnished with a rosemary quill pen and a scribble of ink bitters. She read from her forthcoming memoir Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage, a touching reflection on a her marriage to M. And we were lucky enough to meet him.
#LateNiteMic
Peggy Scott and John Rizzo braved the (friendly) #YeahYouWrite stage and read from their works in progress.