Peg shows off her modesty bone

A new literary series might not be news to some ... aha! I started with an inside joke. It's rare that humor enters this column; maybe I should change that. (Then again, that wasn't very funny ...)

This past Thursday, January 14th 2010, my dear friend Peg Alford Pursell hosted the initial episode of her new series Why There Are Words. I have strong feelings about this for several reasons:

1. Peg and I are both recent transplants from the Southeast with a brand new reading series
2. I have for some time admired and looked up to three of the six readers
3. My article on the event (and the source of the not-so-funny inside joke) was the first time I've ever seen my name in print.

In fact, some might say I'm so biased toward this particular series and this particular day that I'm unable to write anything true about it. I'd like to say a word about this now, since it's actually an ongoing issue here; I am pretty much prejudiced toward anyone who is engaging in the word - whether written or spoken, serious, comedic, fiction or memoir - that you could just as easily charge me with the crime of following people I admire and trying to support them. Guilty. This is the most I can do right now, and if you have any ideas how else I may be of serivce, you just let me know.

I would like to add that this does not necessarily prevent me from revealing truths about these readers and their work. Sometimes I get carried away and just praise people. I know that (but usually they deserve it, so I don't feel too too bad). I also like to think that the feelings I express belong to the events and in some ways - at least in some examples - reflect a broader feeling shared by the audience at large. But maybe I'm way off in the yonder and completely oblivious to the people around me (I am sometimes guilty of this, too).

The truth is I thought all six readings were superior, even the introductory remarks, and I'd like to go ahead and provide them for you. But first a few details. The event takes place the second Thursday of each month in Sausalito's beautiful Studio 333, which, as you can see below, has an enormously high ceiling and paintings adorning its walls. With its wooden floors and event-style seating, the room assumes the feeling of a reception, and appropriately, the atmosphere was very inviting. I don't think I was the only one excited for the program. In fact, despite the ample seating - the studio is fairly spacious - all seats were filled and an impressive number of people stood behind them. This is a hint for the next episode on February 11.

From the small upper level

Each month has a theme. Michale Alenyikov headed off the inaugural "Different Year, Different Worlds" with the opening chapter to the title story of his forthcoming book Ivan and Misha: A Novel in Stories. The tale involves a pair of fraternal twins, one of whom (Ivan) has the scheme to end all schemes and finally turn that proverbial leaf into solid spendable gold. Will Misha decide to embrace his brother's plan - which would seem anomalous - or will he remain the same old Misha?

The second reader was Mari Coates, long-time principal theater critic for SF Weekly. As such, she gives me great hope: the transition to fiction can be made (and made well)! Her reading was maybe the most down-to-earth and comfortable reading I've ever seen. Her work as a journalist and freelance writer have clearly enabled her to present her material clearly, and - I think - efficaciously. Her novel-in-progress deals with the life of early modernist painter Agnes Pelton, who spent the last 30 years of her life in Southern California. This passage takes place in the latter portion of her life, when a young painter knocks on her door for guidance.

The third reader was Shana Mahaffey, whose debut novel Sounds Like Crazy has already been much-acclaimed and is a San Francisco Chronicle notable book for Fall. Shana is a resident of the Sanchez Grotto Annex, which includes second round reader Scott James and Raj Patel - who recently made the NY Times and SF Chron bestsellers lists for his book The Value of Nothing - amongst other very talented writers. Shana's novel follows a woman with dissociative identity disorder as she finds the perfect job: providing the voiceover for an award-winning cartoon show. This passage contains her audition:

A look toward the entrance, with the bar in the background

There was a nice break - and a small bar with beer and wine and water - and books were on sale in a little room toward the back. What I liked about this the most is that it really felt like an art reception. I mean, it was an art reception, but it's rare that I feel that way at a reading.

To start the second round, Scott James (aka Kemble Scott) read a passage from his recent bestseller The Sower. I was particularly excited about this (Pause: can you believe that of the 3 great readers in the first round, not one of them was of the aforementioned people I previously knew and was excited about? Unpause) because, as I told Peg, this was my first time seeing Kemble Scott. I'd seen Scott James before - columnist for The New York Times' new Barbary Coast column - but I'd never before seen Scott read his fiction. It's hard to track down a copy of SoMa in the library system - all copies seem to have been stolen or misplaced or are always checked out - and I wanted to read it (and, duh, I'm poor), so I went into Borders one evening after the San Francisco Writers Workshop and sat down with a copy ... until the place closed. I had only meant to get a cup of coffee. The book's premise is brilliant, but I'll let Scott tell you about it:

Next to dazzle was Instant City co-founder and editor Gravity Goldberg, who read an excerpt from her novel-in-progress in which a "reacquisitioner of antiquarian goods" ruminates on the relationship between fairy tales and maps, and provides us with some inside info on how to best a librarian. Those unfamiliar with Instant City should do a little research; that way when it becomes Instant World you can say you knew it when. (And if you hurry, you can get a backorder of any Instant City issue 2-5 for the low price of only $4 ... or, you can get a copy of each - including the rare and elusive first issue - for only $30.)

Alright, I've saved Peg until now because I thought it was special to see her introduce Tamim Ansary, who hosts the San Francico Writers Workshop, where I first met each of them. There are lots of people in San Francisco - and tho I don't know much, I'll wager elsewhere - who think of Tamim as their teacher. I affectionately call the workshop "class," and not because we have assignments or get grades; we actually develop our works-in-progress and become more skillful in the craft. I know Peg shares this respect for Tamim and thought it was evident.

Tamim is the author of bestsellers West of Kabul, East of New York and Destiny Disrupted and The Widow's Husband, from which he read a selection about a man who seems either to converse with god or  to be absolutely crazy - those of the town who offer to build him a nearby dwelling cannot tell.

Why There Are Words should be one of those don't-miss monthly things you do, especially as it's in Sausalito (also, I always need a ride). Everyone can use a break from The City now and again, right? Next month's readers will be superhero Stephen Elliott, short fiction guru Joan Frank, new novelist Tanya Egan Gibson, creative writing mentor Judy French, host of East Bay on the Brain and editor of Corium Magazine Lauren Becker, and host of InsideStoryTime James Warner. If you're there, I will see you!

For information on the many other services Peg currently offers the literary community, from her radio show to her personal writing class to the one she teaches at Book Passage or the one she teaches at Marin College, click here for links or here for the fancy shmantsy version.