March 26, 2008
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Bipolar Feelings About Rushdie.
Last night, 7-8:30pm:
Today:
I could cry.
In the presence of greatness.
He’s witty. He swears. He has Madonna stories.
I stare. I listen. I suck in his words.
He’s not full of himself.
He studied history, not literature.
From someone else: “Horticulture – You can lead a horiculture, but you can’t make her think.”
“When you write about the past, you’re writing about the present.”
“Character is destiny.” Not social conditions.
“The worse it is, the better” your writing is.
Influence: Arabian Nights. (I knew that!)
Haroun was his favorite; me too. Written for his son. Maybe I should use it in class?
Fatwa: You don’t know how you’ll react until it happens to you.
Last night, 8:30pm:
I should just go back to my hotel.
I don’t want to deal with the crowd. I don’t know anyone.
Where is the reception? Where do I park?
Last night, 9pm:
I find the museum.
Long line to get our books signed.
He’s drinking whiskey, on the rocks?
I drink free white wine and talk to Kendra.
I’m excited.
What do I say to him?
Can I get a picture with him?
Others become photographers for their friends.
It’s my turn.
“No more pictures,” some lady says.
“He’s overwhelmed. He’s exhausted.”
I am disappointed.
I should’ve just gone back to the hotel.
He signs my books. I ask him what he reads.
He says American Short Stories. And I don’t believe him.
I eat one more free mini-sandwich and run into Kristin.
I stop at the Red Pepper.
The guy behind the counter renews my faith in humans.
Killing time on computers reserved for UND students.
My mom’s an alumna, and the conference has too much dead time.
That’s what I’ll tell the computer police.
Trying to focus on the positive.
Signed books, the feeling of listening to his conversation.
He’s on a panel at noon.
And I ran into another NDSU alum (Stacy).
Comments (2)
Most who work in literature don’t study literature because they feel that they can do better. It’s an egoist type of thing, I’m sure.
I need to read his work The Satanic Verses. I’ve never read any of his work, actually, though I’ve heard many stories. Funny thing, he’s two years older than my adoptive Father.
I don’t think he doesn’t read lit (as mentioned in his response to my question);
his background is simply in history. Kind of like how I went into architecture first
when I hit college.