Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Candlelight...er, Flashlight Reading

Alix Ohlin and Charles Simic read tonight. I'd heard good things about both of them (they both lived up to their press) and was looking forward to the reading. But I didn't expect it to be such a memorable evening. With the power out across campus (and the city of Saratoga Springs), they read by flashlight. Charles Simic confessed he couldn't read the poems he'd originally planned on, and instead chose ones appropriate for the unusual evening...including one referencing Hieronymous Bosch...any poem referencing Hieronymous Bosch is a-okay with me.

I know you're wondering, is she feverishly typing to get this out before her computer battery dies? Thankfully, the power was eventually restored, and my air conditioner is churning out cool air.

I met with Marilynne for a one-on-one about my manuscript. Essentially, she told me to wipe away the artifice of an imposed plot, and trust my instinct about what first interested me in the story. It's good advice...and requires a big rewrite. And one I won't be doing until I get the okay from my instinct.

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