Hello everybody. This is Josh filling in for Mark while he and the Bride of TEV slum it in Paris -- assuming she said yes on Saturday, which I imagine she did. Before leaving, Mark told me that the rehearsal dinner, planned for Friday night at NYC's John's Pizzeria, was, yep, closed that morning by the Health Department. Bad luck! Guilty by proximity to the West Village KFC and all its swarming rats. All's well that end's well, though -- the rehearsal dinner was moved to Patsy's, where they make a comparably good pie.
So, anyway, as way of introduction, I'm the guy who wrote Then We Came to the End, the book whose jpeg is currently blinding you to your right.
I'm writing this week from Ann Arbor, where I'll be until Friday. I'm here as the visiting writer at the Lloyd Hall Scholars Program at the University of Michigan, which is a program for gifted freshman. As I understand it, a visiting writer does a whole lot of visiting, very little writing. So far that's proven true, although it's still only Sunday night. I'm here with my friends Carol (who runs the program) and her husband Dave, and there's currently a pork loin cooking in the kitchen.
As a way of clearing my throat, blog-wise, here's a little trifle from the AP. According to the headline, it turns out he wasn't just a chess master, tennis expert, multilingual lepidopterist, and one of the 20th-Century's finest prose stylists. He's also a genius between the pipes.
You ever notice how Nabokov, the writer, is, in the States, often still pronounced "Nahbahkov", weak stress on the second syllable, but Nabokov, the goaltender, is pronounced in match commentary as "Nahbakoff", greater stress on the second syllable with the terminal Russian "v". Perhaps saying little about the literacy of hockey commentators but saying a whole hell of a lot about their skillful multi-language surname pronunciation abilities.
And, yeah, the old man is indeed king of the blocker save.
Posted by: janitorman | March 05, 2007 at 06:35 AM
Josh, finished your book this weekend, nearly in one sitting, and absolutely loved it. Great twist on a tired concept. Anyway, did you happen to see this story which crossed the wire this afternoon:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/05/workplace.shooting.ap/index.html
Not to imply that you're collecting such stories or anything, just thought it was interesting that it happened at a "press". One wonders if a proofreader got a little tired of correcting the same thing.
Posted by: Jeff | March 05, 2007 at 03:44 PM
Josh,
Hope you can make it out to Shaman Drum tomorrow night at 7 p.m. (Tuesday). Local writer Steven Gillis will be reading from his new short story collection, Giraffes.
Posted by: Dan Wickett | March 05, 2007 at 04:07 PM
Josh:
At the risk of sounding like a teen groupie, I simply loved, loved, loved your book! Any chance you will swing by Boston on a book tour?
Posted by: Poornima | March 05, 2007 at 04:10 PM
Thanks for all your kind words about TWCTTE.
I'm not sure I'll be in Boston, but I'll holler loud from the building tops if I am.
jpf
Posted by: Josh | March 05, 2007 at 09:16 PM
Hello, Guest Blogger Josh. I sent an e-mail to the regular link about a possible post of interest, but the e-mail bounced with a message saying that Mark won't be reading until March 12. Do you have an e-mail address you care to share?
Posted by: Jake | March 05, 2007 at 10:53 PM
Josh: Must chime in with an enormous rave for ATWCTTE. Alas, it transcends mere recommendation, and requires that I press copies into people's hands. Frayed friendships, and my Amazon bill, are on your head.
Although not a word evidences strain, I can but imagine the work required to produce such a pitch-perfect piece. It reminded me, in that respect, of A Short History of a Small Place. Given that your novel's setting necessarily eschewed florid elements such as dialect or monkeys, the accomplishment is that much more stunning.
And that sadness: seeping up from the dirty carpet and filling the cubicles to engulf you at the end!
I was reminded of these lines from Bishop's The Filling Station:
---------------------------------
Somebody embroidered the doily.
Somebody waters the plant,
or oils it, maybe. Somebody
arranges the rows of cans
so that they softly say:
ESSO--SO--SO--SO
to high-strung automobiles.
Somebody loves us all.
--------------------
Surely -- surely! -- you will come read to us in Chicago?
Posted by: Julia Martin | March 06, 2007 at 09:43 AM
Julia -- those are beautiful lines from Bishop. Thanks for sharing them -- never seen them before. And another thanks for your outrageously kind remarks about TWCTTE. I will be in Chicago, at the Borders on Clark & Diversey, on the 21st of March. I think the reading's at 7:30. I hope to see you there.
Dan -- sorry I couldn't make it to Shaman Drum on Tuesday. Official UMich activities kept me busy.
Jake -- try me at [email protected]
Posted by: Josh | March 06, 2007 at 09:31 PM
Josh:
Ask and ye shall! I am so pleased, and definitely will cheer from the back.
In honor of your Chicago visit, we've slated 45 minutes of Spring. Post-rime, intra-slush: dress accordingly.
Two thoughts:
(1) Advise Golden Rule Jones of the details, as you don't yet appear on his master schedule. And who wouldn't crave inclusion with the upcoming H.P. Lovecraft Ice Cream Social?
(2) Remember that C&D Borders has large mezzanine space available (underused kids section), as alternative to frenzied first floor.
Posted by: Julia Martin | March 07, 2007 at 05:31 AM