Tuesday, February 01, 2011

The desert and fatality: Edmund White on learning from Paul Bowles

This was a great event; at some point I will post some thoughts on this (linked to another page so it doesn't take up too much space.)

The desert winds blow through the work of Paul Bowles.

"Why go?" Bowles once wrote. "The answer is that when a man has been there and undergone the baptism of solitude he can't help himself. Once he has been under the spell of the vast, luminous, silent country, no other place is quite strong enough for him ...''

This Saturday, Edmund White, celebrated author and creative writing professor at Princeton University, will reflect on the dry country's beauty and dangerous magnetism during his keynote address, "The Desert and Fatality: Learning from Paul Bowles." The talk begins at 3:30 p.m. at UC Santa Cruz's Humanities Lecture Hall. Here is a complete itinerary of the weekend's scheduled events. I'll be there, taking lots of notes.

And, speaking of upcoming lit events, don't miss Jasmin Darznik, who appears Monday, February 28 at the Capitola Book Cafe at 7:30 p.m. She will read from The Good Daughter, her memoir about three generations of Iranian women. Here is an article by Jasmin in the New York Times. And this just in: TC Boyle will read at the cafe on Monday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. I would get there early if I were you. Try to get a seat near the silver elephant that hangs above the magazines. (my favorite spot.)

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