Art & Words: A Reading

11/18/2010

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If you're in Austin this weekend, this is what you need to do--

Take the damp, drizzly November of your soul and dry it out and cheer it up with some words at Pine Street Station, the wonderful studio of Austin artist Reji Thomas.  (That's Reji's painting Eyes to the right.)  I'll be reading with my friends, novelist John Domini and poet Alysa Hayes.

John is the author of A Tomb on the Periphery and Earthquake I.D.

Alysa's poetry has appeared in the anthology Two Southwests and in Callaloo and other journals.

(Me you know about....)

This is going to be a lot of fun--we'll be in the middle of the East Austin Studio Tour, with all kinds of activities--painting, sculpture, jewelry, music, food, fire-dancers, earthquakes, meteors--all kinds!

Please come....

400pm-630pm, November 21
Pine Street Station
1101 E 5th
Austin

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TDL Nominated....

11/08/2010

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I've learned that That Demon Life is a finalist for the Writers' League of Texas Book Award!

Yeah, that's an exclamation point in the previous sentence--I'm pretty excited.  You've heard the cliche about how it's nice to be nominated, right?  Well, it is nice.

Thanks, WLT!

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A New Look at "A Good Man is Hard to Find"

11/06/2010

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Yesterday my students at the prison came up with an incredibly original and insightful take on Flannery O’Connor’s story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”

Back on Wednesday we talked about Hemingway and read aloud a few of his various iceberg stories—“Cat in the rain,” “Hills Like White Elephants,” “Indian Camp.”  I then assigned the class to read “A Good Man” for Friday….

When I came into the class three students were very intently discussing the story.  One said to me, “There’s some big icebergs in this story….”  They’d been up all night reading the story over and over.  The story disturbed them and excited them.  When the other students arrived, we all discussed their theory….

Basically:

1.     It’s mentioned that Grandma has lived in Tennessee and has connections there.  Unsavory connections, the students think.  She’s hiding something.

2.     Why is Grandma so interested in the Misfit breaking out of prison?  Most people would see that in the paper and shrug and go on to the next story.  She doesn’t.

3.     Grandma dresses so that if she dies, people will know she is a lady.  This indicates that she hasn’t always been a lady.  She has a checkered past.  (In Tennessee).

4.     The Misfit literally is her child.

5.     The moment of grace is then both literal and metaphysical.

6.     The Misfit, finally recognizing her, shoots her three times in the chest.

They convinced me!

One of my best teaching experiences ever….

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