thank you for coming

i like the non-writing-related ?s, in part because answers writing-related ?s are on the internet already

thank you for coming

i like the non-writing-related ?s, in part because answers to writing-related ?s are on the internet already

I was there. My God, was I there. My first book-reading since leaving Ireland and moving to Portland, I was really glad I went but I also felt like an outsider in some sort of strange reality... I just thought it was an American thing, a 'Keeping Portland Weird' thing... but maybe I should throw age into the mix too...

Tao Lin is obviously intelligent, sharp, wry and observant but I detected an element of affectation... whether that's a bad thing or not is a whole other blog post...

For me - as a kinda sorta writer - it was an interesting experience in the sense that it highlighted that I have certain assumptions or expectations of what a writer should be and do at a reading. I always show up looking for nuggets of wisdom and tips, some kind of revelation or to walk away more motivated and inspired to keep at it, to just keep going...

Last night I walked away feeling a kind of drunk bemusement and bewilderdness - and I hadn't even drunk any of the free beer!

<- (Getting more interested in the arts)

Wait a minute: is free beer standard at book readings?

Not usually CC, but this one seemed to require a mild depressant so the audience could catch up with the general malaise.

I guess I'm also feeling the bully factor. I could probably bemoan the lack of authorial enthusiasm, but it'd feel like trying to prod someone awake from an afternoon nap.

Sounds like it was par for the course as far as Tao Lin is concerned. He's been maintaining this for so long it's either the put-on of the new millennium or he's for real; I'm convinced it's the latter. Po-po-po-po-mo.

There is often some free beer at Reading Frenzy's readings. You don't get any free beer at a Powell's reading.