Monday, January 7, 2008

Groovy East Coast Events Featuring W6 Personnel

First off is something Skoog just sent me. If you're anywhere near Hadley, Mass--let's say, within 500 miles--you'll want to attend:

Books Out Loud Dance Party!
Readings . Live Music . Dancing

Join essentials, wünderarts, and many more as we celebrate the written word with music, readings, and a whole lot of dancing! Featuring John Hodgman of The Daily Show and The Areas of My Expertise, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Kelly Link, Rachel Sherman, Ed Skoog, Who Shot Hollywood, and More...

When and Where:
From 7:00 pm until 11:00 pm, January 26, 2008 at the American Legion Hall in Hadley, MA. Only a limited number of tickets available so get yours NOW!

Kelly Link is one of my favorite new story writers, Ed is a badass of course, and John Hodgman is a very funny man who has not been spoiled by fame. In fact, he's even more unassuming than ever before. Go to it!

Also, my electronica band, The Bemus Point, will be playing at The Annex in lower Manhattan next Tuesday, January 15. The Annex is at 152 Orchard Street, click the link for a map. We'll go on at 10, followed by our friend Ubertar, a multifarious instrument builder and mircotonal whiz. Come on out for a wild night of thoughtful chin-stroking!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Possibly some light has been shed on why you found my reviews "virulent, pretentious, poorly argued and insecure." (Wow!)
I've learned that you know and like George Saunders, and I gave his "Bohemians" a bad review. Now I find you're a fan and friend of Kelly Link! And I gave her atrocious "Stone Rabbits" the review it deserved.
There are probably others.
I don't know any of these people, so I can claim to be free of bias -- at least where a literary work is involved. I gave plenty of good reviews to MFAers.
I wonder if those who are part of the literary world must always consider "How will this action effect my career?" Especially when I see those gushy blurbs that authors write for one another ("Luminous"). And when I see how vindictive writers and editors can be. It's a kiss up/kick down world.
Anyway, when I attend your party, maybe I can make some useful contacts. I'm going to network like hell.
PS -- I too thought Saunders' "Sea Oak" was very good. Horrific and disturbing, but very good.

rmellis said...

It's true that if we have a personal relationship with someone, we're not going to publicly trash their work. That's not a careerist decision; it's just being a friend. However, we would never lie about liking something, either. Believe it or not, we think long and hard about ethics. That's why we try to be very open about who are friends are.

JRL and I have never met Kelly Link and have no connections to her at all. Maybe Ed has, though. We met Saunders many years ago *because* we liked his work and elbowed up to him at a party, then later he and J worked at the same college.

It's not "our" party. JR and I won't even be there -- we have kids and pets and work to take care of. But I hope you have fun!

Anonymous said...

Max, don't be an ass. We love Ed and his poems, that's why we're recommending the event.