etc.

I’ve been to a few literary readings in the past and I’ve almost always heard authors read self-contained excerpts from their novels. Bits that can stand on their own even out of context. I’ve always thought that this was an essential element in a literary reading because, especially in the case of a novel, the author can’t possibly read plot-related excerpts, given that the majority of the audience has not read the work and will therefore not be able to follow the reading at all.

We went to a reading at the International Festival of Authors on Saturday and heard Molly Peacock, Katherine Govier and Victoria Glendinning read from their current releases. And Victoria Glendinning gave us the plot, and characters and a lot of other nuggets that you don’t usually get at a reading. She started with the opening passages of her new book, Flight. Her reason for doing so she said was because she felt that it sets the mood and introduces the characters well. She was right. After these passages, she jumped right into all sorts of plot-related bits, skipping from one part of the story to another, and filling in the gaps with the briefest of summations: “so, he got on the flight”, “so, Mortigan goes back to London”, “so the airport eventually opens” etc. and finished the reading with practically a cliff-hanger, making us all feel like rushing up to the book display and snatching a copy of the book to find out what she so callously left us without. It was a very clever little ploy, and also a very interesting one, making the reading one of the most entertaining I’ve been to.

Molly Peacock read from a collection of new and selected poems and Katherine Govier read what might well be the most boring parts of her latest novel, Creation, a work of historical fiction about the life of John James Audobon. The excerts she read were very detailed descriptions of a couple of Audobon’s ventures and I’d have to say that she made a few poor decisions on selection. Ornithology is not for everyone, and while I have been known to admire the plumage of a passing cardinal or blue jay, that’s about as far as my interest goes when it comes to all creatures winged. Michael was not the only nodding head in the room at that point.

An event that promises to be even more interesting is an upcoming university lecture by Noam Chomsky. I’ve missed a Chomsky lecture three times in the past and I’m determined to end that nasty trend right now.