Writer. Contributing Editor at The Discarded Image. Digital Content Strategist. Here's where I publicly explore the books I'm reading, the projects I'm working on, and other current interests. Mingling at Alabama Bound
Blustery and rain-soaked though it was, last Saturday turned out to be a pleasant day for those of us tucked away in the Birmingham Public Library for Alabama Bound, the annual book and author fair.
Mark Childress, whose latest novel is One Mississippi, answered questions about how he got an agent and a first published contract, and his experience of writing the screenplay for a movie based on one of his novels. I suppose it makes sense that as a beginning novelist, I was most interested in his comments on his writing process. Back when he used a typewriter, he found the process of typing multiple drafts (up to 20 of a single manuscript) helpful for weighing the value of every word—if it wasn’t absolutely necessary, he didn’t want to type it again. Now that he uses a computer, he still prints up the first full draft and re-types it once completely as he revises to get the same benefit.
Other Alabama natives or former residents discussed projects in science fiction, poetry, history, children’s, cooking, and photography books. I was especially interested in the presentations by Sylviane Diouf, a Paris native and author of Dreams of Africa in Alabama, a narrative history of the last slave ship; Delia Ray, whose first novel Singing Hands recounts her mother’s childhood as the hearing daughter of a deaf father who served as itinerant preacher to deaf congregations throughout Alabama; and Ann Waldron, the spry, elderly author of the Princeton Murders series.
At the book signing tables, I met two poets. Charles Ghigna, aka Father Goose, has written a sweet little collection of love poems for his wife in addition to many poetry books for kids. Randall Horton’s The Definition of Place is a poetry collection that tells the history of his family beginning in 1922 from multiple points of view; we had a great chat about how the poetic form is uniquely-suited for capturing oral history, and he recommended the works of Rita Dove.
During a break in the panel discussions, Brandon and I explored the well-stocked used bookstore on the second floor and discovered a complete 2002 Encyclopedia Britannica for $30. Given the volume of historical research we do, plus Brandon’s deep interests in philosophy, astronomy, and physics, we’ve been keeping an eye out for an inexpensive set in good condition. Brandon was so excited about his purchase, he didn’t mind having to make multiple trips to the parking garage in the rain!
I also learned of another major event, the Alabama Book Festival, coming up this Saturday, April 21, in Montgomery. We’re going to miss it due to an unexpected trip to Ohio we have to make this weekend, but I hope one of my readers is going and will leave a report about it here.
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