10.18.2005
Discussing literature
The New Yorker College Tour came to town this week, and I checked out one of the first events yesterday, a reading and discussion by Lorrie Moore and Vijay Seshadri. I went to hear Moore, and came away liking Seshadri. Each gave a short reading, then they sat for a discussion with Cressida Leyshon, New Yorker deputy fiction editor.
Seshadri began by reading some of the dozen of his poems the magazine has published over the years. He said they were all depressing, but that the audience shouldn't assume all of his work is that way. He's really quite funny, he said, but the New Yorker doesn't seem to want his amusing work. Not all of the poems he read were dour, however. One drew inspiration from the Iraq war, which allowed him to finally write about being a new father, albeit 12 years after his son was born. The poem, "Baby, Baby," was witty, incisive and clever, and made me want to track down more of his work. I did, and it can be found here and here. Poets & Writers also has a nice interview with him online.
Moore didn't disappoint. She also read something the magazine had published, seemingly right from that issue of the magazine. The story, "Juniper," was from January of this year, and it contained her usual mix of bittersweet life interruptions and sly wit.
The discussion that followed was surprisingly insightful. We are used to seeing big names in literature read here in Iowa City thanks to the presence of the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop, but this format was different and, I dare say, better, because the discussion yielded things a straight one-on-one Q&A would not. Moore and Seshadri bantered back and forth about their craft in a revealing yet lighthearted chat.
The rest of the week promises more interesting events, including a discussion among New Yorker critics Alex Ross, Sasha Frere-Jones and Nancy Franklin (with our own Don McLeese moderating) and a session with comic artists Adrian Tomine and Chris Ware.
Seshadri began by reading some of the dozen of his poems the magazine has published over the years. He said they were all depressing, but that the audience shouldn't assume all of his work is that way. He's really quite funny, he said, but the New Yorker doesn't seem to want his amusing work. Not all of the poems he read were dour, however. One drew inspiration from the Iraq war, which allowed him to finally write about being a new father, albeit 12 years after his son was born. The poem, "Baby, Baby," was witty, incisive and clever, and made me want to track down more of his work. I did, and it can be found here and here. Poets & Writers also has a nice interview with him online.
Moore didn't disappoint. She also read something the magazine had published, seemingly right from that issue of the magazine. The story, "Juniper," was from January of this year, and it contained her usual mix of bittersweet life interruptions and sly wit.
The discussion that followed was surprisingly insightful. We are used to seeing big names in literature read here in Iowa City thanks to the presence of the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop, but this format was different and, I dare say, better, because the discussion yielded things a straight one-on-one Q&A would not. Moore and Seshadri bantered back and forth about their craft in a revealing yet lighthearted chat.
The rest of the week promises more interesting events, including a discussion among New Yorker critics Alex Ross, Sasha Frere-Jones and Nancy Franklin (with our own Don McLeese moderating) and a session with comic artists Adrian Tomine and Chris Ware.
