Category: literary life

What Would You Ask This Man?

Salman Rushdie will be in town tomorrow to read from his new novel, Shalimar the Clown. And I was asked whether I’d like to interview him.

Oh, sure, I said. Let me just check my busy schedule. I’ll try to fit him in.

Needless to say, I’m a pack of nerves. I wish I had a personal cheering section, complete with mascot doing the worm, like in that Starbucks commercial. The kids would be chanting, “Laila! Laila!” as I walk in to meet him. Maybe a triple espresso will do it.

Later on in the day, I’ll be going to the reading organized by Powell’s. Here are the details:

Salman Rushdie
Friday the 23rd
7:30PM
First Unitarian Church
1011 SW 12th Avenue
Downtown Portland

So stop by and say hi. Or, tune in next week and I may give a little preview of what it was like to meet the man who wrote Midnight’s Children. (What, you thought I was going to name the other book?)



Authors’ Guild vs. Google Print

As has been reported elsewhere, the Authors’ Guild is suing Google Print. The basis of the suit is that:

“This is a plain and brazen violation of copyright law,” said the Authors Guild president, Nick Taylor. “It’s not up to Google or anyone other than the authors, the rightful owners of these copyrights, to decide whether and how their works will be copied.”

The lawsuit demanded the court block Google from copying the books so the authors would not “suffer irreparable harm” by being deprived of the right to control reproduction of their works.

In its retort, Google claims that:

it only shows brief snippets of pages containing searched-for phrases unless it has permission from owners or copyright laws allow.

“We regret that this group chose to sue us over a programme that will make millions of books more discoverable to the world, especially since any copyright holder can exclude their books from the program,” said the company’s product management vice-president, Susan Wojcicki.

Agree? Disagree? We’d love to hear from you. Please note that I may quote your email on the blog.



After the Hurricane

Novelist Ernest J. Gaines says that, after Hurricane Katrina, he had to put aside the novel he’s been working on for ten years.

“Since the storm hit, I haven’t done much writing,” says the 72-year-old Gaines, best known for “A Lesson Before Dying” and “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” the imagined life story of a former slave.

Gaines’ stories have focused on personal struggle rather than political themes, and he sees Katrina in a similar way. He is not interested in discussing who is to blame for the tragic flooding. He thinks instead about individual acts of bravery and hopes that displaced hurricane victims, including family members, will return.

Gaines, a Louisiana native, has a collection of stories and essays coming out next month.



Powells.com Unveils Bookcast

This week, Powells.com unveils its Bookcast, an online radio show for book lovers. It’s a nifty idea. I think people who love to read but don’t necessarily like to go to readings or have lengthy discussions about the state of fiction will particularly like it. The first episode features a brief chat with Aimee Bender, book news, a contest, and trivia. The site also includes and RSS feed, so you’ll know when there’s a new installment.



P-Boz at the Turf

If you live in St Paul, rejoice! Print and online mag Pindeldyboz will host a stellar reading this coming weekend. Here are the details:

Saturday, September 24th
5:00 pm
The Turf Club
1601 University Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104
(651) 647-0486
admission $3
For more information, go to www.pindeldyboz.com

The readers include Alex Lemon, Leonard Pierce, Charles Baxter (yes, that Charles Baxter), Claire Zulkey, Jason DeBoer, and our pal Jim Ruland. Be there.




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