Shalom Auslander appeared at Elliott Bay last night to promote the paperback edition of his memoir, Foreskin’s Lament.
What struck me most is how serious and intense he is. I guess I should have realized this about him from his promotional photo, which simply screams I am a serious and intense author. But his work, which I love, just seems much too funny to come from anyone so grave.
Except for a single man who laughed loudly in all the right places, the reading felt a little like a wake. Despite this, I enjoyed myself. I got a chance to hang out with Matt Briggs and talk shop. And it’s always good to get into Seattle for a night.
Auslander said he considers memoir to be the literary equivalent of pornography. I’m pretty sure he was serious. I guess he only wants to write fiction, but his memoir is really good.
Tags: book reading, creative non-fiction, Elliott Bay Books, Foreskin's Lament, memoir, narrative non-fiction, Shalom Auslander, writers
October 17, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Were you that man? the one who laughed at all the right places?
October 17, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Not me. It was the guy who worked at Elliott Bay. He introduced Shalom and then sat off to one side. We were a small gathering of fans, all politely tittering, but this guy was really giving it his all. Shalom is just really intense.
October 18, 2008 at 10:02 am
I love the comment about memoir being the pornography of literature. Very funny! I thought you would be the man laughing, too.
October 19, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Whew. I thought it was me laughing. Tittering is much more my speed, but I couldn’t tell. Auslander’s fear of god was pretty funny.
October 19, 2008 at 9:48 pm
He who titters last…
October 19, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Also, I finally fixed the site so that comments appear right away. I hope I don’t get hit with a ton of spam.