2.14.2007

Daniel Alarcon reading tonight

Our illustrious compadre will be reading from his new novel Lost City Radio, 7pm, Prairie Lights. It would be cool if an IC resident could post a summary of how it went for those of us who can't go...

4 comments:

Brando said...

It was a very nice reading. Daniel read for about 30 minutes, and the selections were terrific. He read about the host of the "Lost City Radio" program going to look for her husband, who had disappeared. The descriptions and dialog were sharp and evocative. I'm really looking forward to reading the novel.

The Q&A was very good. The audience posed some nice questions. My favorite was when someone asked Daniel about the difference between writing stories and writing a novel. He said that you can't write a novel on inspiration alone, that it takes work and dedication, and that you have to work through the days you're not inspired.

The hosted questions were also good. Daniel was asked about his anthropology background, and talked about how, when he was in Peru, some villagers asked him to help them dig up a mass grave. They thought, as someone with an anthropology degree, he was qualified to do that, and Daniel said something along the lines of how his degree didn't qualify him to do anything, especially that. I'm not doing it justice, but it was a really interesting story.

One other thing that was pretty interesting was the discussion of the real radio program the book fictionalizes. Daniel described it as a kind of radio bulletin board, where people call in and discuss who they are looking for, hoping someone listening will recognize the descriptions and help reveal the fate of the disappeared. He said there are programs like this in many countries, including Brazil, Nigeria, and Pakistan (if I remember correctly).

All in all, it was very enjoyable. Daniel read well and offered a lot of interesting answers to the questions he received.

Grendel said...

Thanks, B. Wish I could've been there.

Brando said...

We do, too. It was a sparse crowd at the Foxhead afterward.

Grendel said...

We saw Daniel read last night at Harvard Book Store in Cambridge. A different, but nice, experience seeing a reading there. It wasn't on the radio, and the area for the reading was smaller. But that area was packed for Daniel. He read well, in a kind of hypnotic, galloping, almost Beat-like rhythm that was a delight to hear again. There was no set time span for the reading, so when the audience questions ran out, it was over, and the signing began. A lovely evening that we then capped with Ethiopian food.