Fever is still running high and my throat is now threatening to close entirely, but my oh my, what a great day of panels. I've got to run back out there (it is a crying shame that it takes so long to get from downtown LA to Westwood; criminal, really) and I've got a ton of notes and delicious anecdotes from yesterday's panels, so for now I'll keep it to who I saw and initial impressions:
Panel One: Marisha Pessl, Joshua Ferris, Antoine Wilson & Alice Greenway. Moderated by Veronique de Turenne because Susan Salter Reynolds is way sick (I feel you) and couldn't moderate any of the panels she was slated to guide. Initial Thoughts: Many talk of Pessl's beauty and that usually centers around her face & her long flowy hair. I've seen very litte ink spilled over her legs. So let me be the first to say: damn her legs are long. It could be that I notice these things because I'm, you know, less long at five feet four inches, but, still. I'm also kicking myself that I missed Ferris' reading at Vroman's a few weeks ago. He was great. They all were. I was especially looking forward to chatting with Antoine Wilson, who was very funny, but the authors were whisked away by security to their signings across campus. I could have inserted myself obnoxiously, but, well, I'm too timid to go that route. Things Discussed: merits of MFA programs, getting stuck in the woods or the "shit" as you are writing, how you know you're a writer and why it's so hard to admit it when you've haven't yet been published. My favorite panel of the day. Much more on this later.
Panel Two: Gary Shteyngart, Chris Bohjalian, Marianne Wiggins & Peter Orner. Moderated by David Kipen who smiles a lot. Initial Thoughts: Damn, these guys are funny. All so different in their writing styles and subject matter so it was fascinating to see them interact with each other, riff off each other and just roll with it. Marianne Wiggins is hilarious in her dry, dry way and even referred once to her own "mordant wit." Things Discussed: process, place as character, inspiration for work, how much of a writer is in the work vs. pure invention, therapy, cafe's that serve Austrailian food, Freud & ottomans.
Panel Three: Aimee Bender, Ben Ehrenreich, Steve Erickson & Deborah Eisenberg. Moderated by David Ulin. Initial Thoughts: I got there ten minutes late so I missed the first question, but upon entering, Erickson was speaking at length about the influences of music and film on his work. "It took me years to learn that it was okay to admit that Orson Wells and Bob Dylan influenced my work just as much as Faulkner." The title of the panel was Modern Myth. It is generally understood that the writers completely veer from this topic and discuss what they want - which is always better than forcing them to circle the same topic for an hour. Sadly, David Ulin was wedded to this topic and beat it, dead. Things Discussed: Myth, myth, Pan's Labyrinth, & more myth. A shame, really. Although there was a beautiful moment when Ben Ehrenreich said that "the thirst for myth is no more evident than in the Bush Administration whose foreign policy seems guided by a George Lucas script." Love him.
Today I hope to attend: Carolyn Kellogg, Tod Goldberg, Ron Hogan & Andrew Keen for the litblog panel. I'm also hoping to catch the panel immediately following (in the same room! no walking!) which features Percival Everett, Janet Fitch & Kem Nunn.
And then: Matthew Sharpe & Maggie Nelson read at the Hammer Musuem tonight.
Cross your fingers that the Airborne and Zicam and copious amounts of "you can do it" talks will keep me going until the last word is read and the last question is asked! Much more to come...
