We had all looked forward to the reading by Joan Didion on January 5, to which we had bought tickets months ahead of time (planning: a unique concept). The reading was part of the Inprint Brown Root Reading Series and was held in the Cullen Theater, Wortham Center, a large (1,000 seat) theater usually used for ballet, opera, etc. After being introduced, Ms Didion entered carrying her purse, a tote bag, and wearing a coat because of the cool temperature. She also wore adorable red shoes.
The selection she chose to read was from the beginning of The Year of Magical Thinking, the part where John Gregory Dunne dies, changing normalcy into crisis and ushering in the year of magical thinking. From the balcony, I could only see the tiny top of Joan's head, so I had to take it on faith that it was her. Her reading style is a bit monotone, but that happened to fit with the tone of the book--at least that section.
Following the reading, there was an interview conducted by Mimi Swartz, executive editor of Texas Monthly. And all I can say is that this part of the evening was a shocking bomb. Ms. Swartz had prepared a list of questions, attached to a clipboard to which she clung as if to a life raft. Other than the first question, none of them had to do anything with "Living Dangerously." Most were political questions asked with no context. Didion was happy to answer these questions, but Swartz did not follow up on any of the answers. After about twenty minutes, Swartz said "well, that's all I have". No thank you for coming, no closure at all.
Audience members looked at each other in disbelief and cries of "is that it?" were heard. This debacle became the buzz of Houston (well at least the subset of those who had attended). Later, Inprint sent an apology to those who had bought tickets online, and the excuse was that Mimi had been "very nervous". Through the grapevine I heard that Mimi thought that, since everyone had read the book, it wasn't necessary to talk about it. Well, I can empathize with panic attacks, but to assume that this audience did not want to hear more about the book??? That's why they came--not for a q & a on press privileges and responsibilities (if that IS what she wanted to talk about.
It's all very sad--an opportunity lost.
Hi Jane. Yes, I did think that particularly since the Year of Magical Thinking had been written about extensively in the Chronicle that morning, I should ask some other questions, which, if you've read her other books and essays, did have context. Didion has flamed both Cheney and Bob Woodward in recent years--i.e. how Cheney rose to power, and why Woodward is a bad journalist-- and since they remain in the news, it seemed logical to ask about that, since before the Year of Magical Thinking, she wrote extensively and spectacularly about American politics. Ditto California as a paradigm for the US--she's written extensively about California, too. Believe it or not, NOT everyone in the crowd did want to hear all about one book, when she's written eight along with many, many terrific essays . I had to cover her whole life in 20 minutes, and she is not, nor has she ever been, talkative.Didion has, in fact, written about her own shyness and reluctance to speak in public, which makes her a difficult subject in front of a crowd. And yes, interviewing an Icon of American letters in front of 1000 people with very high expectations did make me nervous. I am very sorry that I bumbled my way through it and caused a missed opportunity for so many people, and I'm sorry in particular that I ended the interview so gracelessly. But jeez, at this point I'm stunned by the lack of charity of people like you.
ReplyDeleteLack of charity? Inprint planned for a larger presentation than usual, and charged 4x as much for the admission price as they usually do. Having attended other events, such as the Jeffrey Eugenides evening, which was wonderful--much MORE than I expected---I expected at least as much at the Wortham. Inprint is a literary organization, not a political group. I'm happy to hear about Joan's views on a number of topics, but those topics certainly should include her personal life experiences and literary career--and definitely the book that Inprint used to publicize the event!! I'm stunned at the poor planning that went into the actual event, especially given the extensive planning that went into selling tickets for it. There was absolutely no excuse for it. JD may well be reluctant to speak in public, but she agreed to that night, and there were moments when she showed herself to be quite witty. Obviously she should have been interviewed by someone with more experience and the willingness to draw her out, or fewer nerves--although I must say it takes A LOT of nerve to lash out at the audience for voicing its disappointed.
ReplyDeleteOops, I meant 'disappointment.'
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