Wordstock

This weekend caps off a big Pacific Northwest event called Wordstock (get it?). It’s a great amalgam of writers, readers, publishers, and vendors. I thought it would a fun Saturday adventure for me and my good friend Sue. It was but I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t lament the fact that my desire to be a writer is tempered by the fact that every semi-insane badly dressed unemployed freak thinks the same thing. Apparently, almost anyone who has ever combined a verb and a noun thinks they can write. And this festival encourages them.

Who am I kidding? As evidenced by the fact that I dragged my fashion posts out for two weeks I’m in some kind of elemental battle between my intellect and my superficial girly side. I worked in fashion (buyer, sales exec) for 10 years then chucked it all to follow another passion—books, learning, reading—and became a librarian. Now, as that career has ground to a painful stop, I’m exploring my lifelong passion for writing. In case, you’re missing the point: librarians and writers SO DO NOT know how to dress.

These are the kind of writers I want to hang out with:

 Candace Bushnell and Naomi Wolf

Muriel Barbery and Jennifer Egan (love love their work)

Not these:

did not want to ask for names

You know what- given my previous post on Steve Jobs- I think this chick is cool because she is flying her freak flag and damn proud of it. Plus, she wrote a book and published it w/ her partner (weird unicorn dude in the background).

There is one other correlation between librarians and writers. No one wants to pay them. In the last week I’ve gotten positive responses to write book reviews (something has got to come out of reading ten books a month) from three different organizations, none of which will pay a penny. Yes, I want the experience but at some point if it won’t pay, it’s a hobby. Maybe that’s what I need to accept.

My personal issues aside Wordstock was a fun mix of every genre from children’s board books to scifi to graphic novels. It is not a small regional show as it attracts important authors and holds workshops with these authors and the unwashed masses of aspiring writers.

Although my pictures aren’t great I got to hear Julia Glass, whose work I love (The Whole World Over and Three Junes) speaking with Diana Abu-Jabar, who I haven’t read but will now look into. Julia talked about her childhood and how in her family the division between storytellers and those who do the cleaning up after dinner made her decide to become a storyteller.

Michael Ondaatje was interviewed by Andrew Proctor (Executive Director of Literary Arts) and did a reading from his newest work, The Cat’s Table.

I'm exaggerating (so unusual for me) when I said that ALL librarians are without style. During a session (which I’ll write more about later) I looked down and noticed Sue’s shoes and almost created a scene when I shrieked and said, “I love those- where did you get them?” See, these writer people simply do not get the importance of dressing well and shushed me. Anyway, here are Sue’s adorable and comfortable shoes which she bought to take to Italy. She has yet to divulge where she got them but I’ll get it out of her.