Saturday 24 May 2008

A L KENNEDY AND LORRIE MOORE AT CHARLESTON

What a feast for the starving writers in the audience.

A L Kennedy (Hilarious, sharp, witty, scarily brainy with more than a twinkle as she surveyed the Charleston ladies... ), and Lorrie Moore (wonderful liquid diction and prose, gentler...) both generous-spirited and wanting to share something of what makes them tick as writers.

Lorrie Moore read from a ghost story. No, don't switch off... it was a marvellous thing, utterly real. You got to know the ghost well before she entered the scene, and the relationships between the narrator and the rest of the characters... stunning. I bought the book and will finish the story later.

A L Kennedy read from her latest novel Day, the story of a rear gunner in WWII. Scenes from a pub, listening to airmen joshing about the events of the day...a brilliant switch of tone when the MC asks a quiet question, 'What is it like?',a meeting with a girl, and the most poignant scene from the end.

Her longer name is Alison. That didn't fit at all, so I will think of her as A L.

more later

1 comment:

Tania Hershman said...

Ohmigod, I am SOOO jealous. Lorrie Moore is one of my all-time favourite writers. And A L Kennedy is becoming one of my favourites. How amazing! Glad you could be there and soak it up for us.