Just got back from hearing Tom read at the Port Townsend Writers' Conference.
Wow.
First, a little background. Sam Hamill, who runs Copper Canyon Press,
in
PT, and who is a well known poet and translator in his own right,
introduced Tom. He told us that Tom was appearing without pay, out
of
friendship for Sam and the Writers' Conference. What a guy!!
Tom opened up with a reprise of the "lecture" (Tom's word) that we all
know and love, the one that begins with the story of JFK introducing
himself to Berliners as "I am a jelly doughnut," and closes with that
wonderful litany of the kind of writing he likes: "I like writing
that...etc.,etc."
Then, oh my god, he announced that we were to be the first people in
the
cosmos to hear him read from his new book. He proceeded to start with
the first page or two, then skipped around a bit, telling us at one
point
that he was reading from page number 400 (!!). I am awfully sorry,
but I
feel honor bound to not reveal a single word. I can tell you that he
said he was at page 500 in the writing, and the end is not yet in sight.
After that he read from ECGTB and from HAIFP, then apologized for not having brought anything more to read, and proceeded to take questions for half an hour or so. I am a sorry excuse for a reporter, in that I did not take notes. But, one thing that stood out was when he identified the 3 main themes of his books: "Liberation, Transformation, and Celebration."
Amen, brother Tom.
I also have a clear recollection, from the dreamy haze that I was in
most of the time, of his distinction between "storytelling" and "writing."
He
illustrated this with a quote from a review of a recent best seller
that
went something like "If you can overlook the language, it's a helluva
yarn." Of course, to Tom, that's like saying "If you can overlook the
grapes, it's a helluva wine."
He confirmed the rumors that he does, indeed, start his books without
any idea where they are going or where they will end. He said, (in
better
words than mine), "...since I have to spend 5 hours a day, for 3-1/2
years, alone in a room writing each book, I really don't want to destroy
the adventure and magic of it by already knowing what's going to happen.
That would be like having a JOB!...."
He told us that he has, relatively recently, been on book tours in
Europe, including Italy and Germany. He was amused by the fact that
in
Italy ( or Germany, I don't remember which) he was promoting ARA, and
had to brush up on it, since he doesn't willingly read his books after
they
are published. The times when he has been forced to review them, to
prepare for anticipated questions on a tour, for example, he always
wants to change things, but can't, so he prefers to simply not look
at them
again.
As usual, he was very complimentary about Gus Van Sant and the movie
version of ECGTB, simply acknowledging that Gus would have been better
off putting more of his (Gus') vision into the screenplay, rather than
being so faithful to the the actual words from the book. What is
exhilirating and entertaining in the book sounded stilted when it
was
turned into movie dialogue. Tom said he would gladly participate in
another movie project with one of his books.
He closed the reading with the bit he does where he asks and answers
his
own question about "how did you begin writing." In answer, he tells
the
story of going to Graceland after Elvis died, and accidentally opening
a
trapdoor when he tried to grab a souvenir hanger out of a closet.
Entering the trap door, he walks down stairs into a whole other scene,
with a beach, the ocean, and a boatload of bikini-clad babes, one of
whom falls out of the boat. Tom rescues her. In gratitude, she promises
to
come to his hotel room later with something "to show her gratitude."
She
doesn't come, but well after midnight she sends around an ugly little
deliveryman, who gives Tom seven plain brown wrappered packages, with
very specific instructions about when and in what order to open them.
Since then, every five years, he unwraps one, takes out a manuscript,
writes his name in it, and publishes it. (Sure, Tom. Then how do we
explain the story that Elvis died with one of your books in his hand?)
After the reading, Tom stood around on the lawn outside the small
theater, waiting for Sam Hamill to unlock his car and take him to
dinner, then get him back home. There was a bit of a snafu while Sam
went off
looking for something or someone, leaving Tom sitting alone in the
back
seat, with the interior light on, trying to hide for a few minutes
till
they could get away. People seemed to respect his privacy, only a
handful went up and banged on the window or otherwise tried to get
another few
minutes with him.
The three times I have seen Tom read, he has been exceptionally gracious
with his fans, (however he may really feel about fandom), and gives
every question his best shot, even the standard, obvious ones, and
even some
tacky, personal ones. He did point out that he was pleasantly surprised
by the European press, on his recent tours, who actually had read his
books, and were more interested in "the work" than in his age, income,
and personal habits - the topics that seem most interesting to the
American popular press. To suggest, with a smile, that he prefers
questions about his work seems most reasonable.
Steve Gillard
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