"THE END OF THE LINE"

My brother is a photographer, and a great one at that, but randomly, a travel guide, Schmap, found one of my photos in Flickr of New Orleans and wants it use it. Hey, by all means. How very unexpected!

In other news, I am flying through my To Do list this weekend and happy as a clam. Deadlines, odds and ends and it's all coming together wonderfully. I timed it all perfectly, too, so that by this time tomorrow, I'll be about finished and ready to head into 2008 on top of things and super-organized for everything coming my way.

(grin)

"A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT?"

If ever there is any precipitation, count on the fact that the street in front of my building is flooded. Twice it flooded right up the sidewalk and up to my building front door. That was fun to see the lobby as a swamp. But, those days might be over. Yesterday morning, the city buzzed me:

(buzz!)
Me: Yes?
Dude: City.
Me: (long pause) Uh, yes it is a city, er, hi, uh... (long pause) what can I help you with?

So, the dude needed some cars moved so he could get to this water main. Fine. First he tells me my car is fine where it is, then he says he's got a two truck coming to move it a bit and I am hanging out the window yelling to wait, that I'll run down and move it just wait, wait! So, I run downstairs and it is moved already. Whatevs. Anyway, the street was dry as a bone for the first time since the long stretch of heat in the summer. So, I'm surprised impressed by the city's can-do.

Anyway. On to bigger things.

I'm not saying I saw a spacecraft last night, I'm not saying I did not see a spacecraft last night, but the fact remains that I saw three somethings in the air last night that were hovering for about a half hour or so, as did a friend who lives nearby. Certainly unidentified. Certainly flying. Certainly objects. Discuss. Man, her pic is way better than the one I took with my BlackBerry. Anyway, yeah, discuss.

I got a little shoutout on Bookslut's blog this morning, which I appreciate.

I also woke up feeling like everything was very quiet this morning. Which was alarming for a second, but then I decided I rather liked.

"I WAS DETAINED"

Hidey ho. Looks like I'm doing a little article about Peru for a travel publication, got a bite on another idea I had for a small series of pieces, so I'm putting that proposal together, yadda yadda.

Ohh, before I forget, see some adventures in Omaha here, here, here and especially here, ha ha, courtesy Jami Attenberg.

Anyway. Now, I'm going to hop a train and go to Chinatown and buy a tiny block of tamarind paste and enjoy the lovely weather. (Snow will be here before we know it.) Sure, I can probably get tamarind at the supermarket around the corner, but it's a nice day for a train ride, and I kind of like buying little bits of things from ethnic grocers. Plus, I'm up for a little adventure.

I have this and this on Craigslist if any of youse are interested. More to follow. I'm doing a major toss-out campaign and it is lovely.

"PRUDENCE NEVER PAYS"

Crazy cat lady? Yes. Totally. Guilty. I thought you guys would find it hilarious if I took a too-serious campy family portrait, it being my cat's third birthday and all. Well, anyway, this is how it went. So funny. He haaates me.

"ALMA MATTERS"

Hey kids, today's very special guest is a a wonderful and talented woman I met and read with at the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, and author of a book I absolutely fell in love with, please welcome my friend, Margaret Sartor.

When I asked her for a bio to use here, she wrote: "It’s an odd thing to try to write a bio, I think…what parts do you pick out to tell? This then: I teach at Duke University. I have the most amazing and tolerant husband. I have two children who are both extremely smart and funny. (I know everyone says that, but my case, it’s true.) I have two cats and an above average dog. I adore the movies of Alfred Hitchcock, the poetry of Emily Dickinson, “This American Life,” and mid-century modern design. I hate housework and practice T’ai Chi. I am hopelessly serious. I believe that compassion is a kind of power and kindness may be the one virtue that can save us all — if it’s not already too late."

See why I love her to bits? Right? Well, let me tell you a little more about her.

Her most recent book, the acclaimed and bestselling Miss American Pie: A Diary of Love, Secrets, and Growing Up in the 1970’s, was selected as a Chicago Tribune Best Book of the Year, a Washington Post Book World’s Best Memoir of 2006, It was a finalist for the SIBA Book of the Year Award and chosen by “O” The Oprah Magazine for its 2006 list of “What To Read This Summer.” Miss American Pie tells a compelling, frank, and frequently humorous story, delving into the same emotional and geographic territory that Sartor has been depicting in photographs for almost two decades. Her photographs of her family have appeared in a number of photographic books, including In Their Mother’s Eyes by Martina Mettner, The Spirit of Family by Al and Tipper Gore; and A New Life: Stories and Photographs from the Suburban South, by Alex Harris and Alice George. Her work has been published in periodicals, including Aperture, DoubleTake, Esquire, Harpers, New Yorker, The Oxford American, and The Washington Post Sunday Magazine. Her prints are in the permanent collections of The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Mead Art Museum, Birmingham Museum of Art, New Orleans Museum of Art, and the North Carolina Museum of Art, as well as several private collections.

As an editor, Sartor has published three books, including: Gertrude Blom: Bearing Witness, edited by Margaret Sartor and Alex Harris, and What Was True: The Photographs and Notebooks of William Gedney, edited by Margaret Sartor with co-editor Geoff Dyer. What Was True was chosen as one of the "Top Ten Photography Books of 1999" by the Village Voice.

Sartor has been a guest curator for exhibitions at the International Center for Photography in New York, The Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She lives with her husband and two children in Durham, North Carolina.

Feel like a slacker yet? She'll do that to you, but the thing that I really love about her the best, is that will all of these accomplishments and with so very much she could and should be bragging about, she's easily the kindest, most humble and most authentic person you'd ever want to meet. And, If you've never heard her read, you, my friend, are missing out. So, let's chat her up a bit...

Guthieroo: Tell us what you write, what you have written and how you do it?

Sartor: My most recent book is Miss American Pie: A Diary of Love, Secrets, and Growing Up in the 1970s. The title pretty much says exactly what it is. It’s a memoir of growing up based on the actual diaries, letters and notebooks I kept as a girl. To read Miss American Pie is to enter my head, my very subjective view of the world (love, sex, God, family, friendship, etc.) as I grow from age twelve to eighteen. It’s the story of a self-conscious, lonely, pissed off, frank, confused, and curious girl as she bumps and sashays her way towards being a young woman. In truth, it’s a book I never deliberately set out to write, but once I started it, once I transcribed and began editing my adolescent diaries — and even though the process sometimes felt similar to bleeding through my fingertips — I was compelled to finish it. Because I knew that only by finishing it, could I figure out what the essential story of my growing up really was. Let me put it another way: at a particular moment in my life, a few years ago, right around the time I realized that, biologically speaking, I was “middle-aged,” something clicked, and I knew that in order for me to move forward, I first needed to look back, back at those outrageously prolonged years of what we call adolescence. (My father would have called this urge of mine a need for Proper Perspective.) And that was the moment I thought about the diaries.

Opening up and reading my adolescence diaries was like traveling through time, like finding an alternate self on the other side of the universe. It was, to say the least, unsettling. But short of hypnosis, I could never have found, in the recesses of my memory, my authentic voice as a teenager. The diaries allowed me to meet that girl I was face-to-face, so to speak. And as I began to edit the diaries, I began to uncover the events and experiences that shaped who I eventually became — which is say that I began to understand where I came from and why I am who I am.



The fact that my story seems to ring true for other people has amazed me and felt very gratifying, but I think the underlying truth of that is that adolescence, for any of us, is defined by certain essential struggles: the search for belonging, love, and identity. These struggles are, by turns, poignant, embarrassing, heartbreaking, and very often (at least from the perspective of adulthood) really hilarious. Growing up is difficult under the best of circumstances and it lasts a long time, but we’ve all been through it. We all went to high school. We all have family and friends and secrets. We all have wounds and I can only begin by describing my own.

Also, the 1970s were an interesting time to grow up: loud fashion, a burgeoning drug culture, the rise of feminism, the spread of evangelical Christianity, sexual revolution, the disillusionment of Watergate and the Vietnam War — all with a killer soundtrack.

I should add here that I am also a photographer and my pictures are all about the ties of family and impact of the past upon the present. These photographs have been widely published and exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the country. When I photograph or write, my interest is in real people and real events. I take infinite care to render life accurately, but in the end, it’s still only my version, my imperfect and partial view. This is something I learned from photography, that we can’t escape the partiality of our view. So, though I attempt to tell the truth, I am always aware that it is still only my story, my point-of-view, my truth.

LaGuth: What grand things are next for you? What would you, we're talking dream
gigs and adventures here, love to be next for you?

Sartor: I would like to write a second book, again based on my diaries. But, as with Miss American Pie, I don’t have a preconceived idea of what form that book will take and what it may finally say. I will sift through the diaries for the touchstones, the insights – and especially for the laughs (humor is a big part of how I survive life and that comes through in the diaries), but I know now, from the experience of writing Miss American Pie, that this process will be emotional. It will not be simple. Still, that’s the next step. It’s what I need to do.
And if it were my dream gig, then I would have to say that I would like to write my next book while living in Paris. I don’t think that’s going to happen — but I can dream about it.

Guthy: What Smiths or Morrissey song or lyric sums it up for you right now?

Sartor: Oh, I love Morrissey! (All hail Sartor) But lately I’ve been infatuated with Lucinda Williams’ new album “West” and also relentlessly playing “The Essential Leonard Cohen” — which completely knocks my socks off. When I think of Morrissey’s songs, what comes to mind is “Alma Matters.” It’s smart and wicked and I love the double entendre of the title. This song also speaks to a question I often get, and have trouble answering. The question is: “What the hell possessed you to publish your diaries?” So this song will do fine for me right now.

So the choice I have made
May seem strange to you
But who asked you, anyway?
It's my life to wreck
My own way

You see, to someone, somewhere, oh yeah ...
Alma matters
In mind, body and soul
In part, and in hole

So the life I have made
May seem wrong to you
But, I've never been surer
It's my life to ruin
My own way

You see, to someone, somewhere, oh yeah ...
Alma matters
In mind, body and soul
In part, and in hole

To someone, somewhere, oh yeah ...
Oh yeah ...
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Oh yeah ...

Guth again: Margaret, it was a pleasure beyond to have you stop by today! Thank you so very much and please stop by again anytime.

Now, dear readers, you know what to do! Run, do not walk, out into the world (actual or online) and get a copy of Miss American Pie. In fact, be menschy and get more than one because you're going to want to save one and give copies to people you'll think of as you read. Trust me. Then, head over to Good Reads, then to Shelfari and then over to LibraryThing and claim and rate Miss American Pie. Also, swing by Margaret Sartor's website, look at all of the wonderfulness over there, and check back often to see her latest. And, for crying out loud, if you hear that she is reading in a place near you, do whatever it takes to go show her some love and hear her read. You will be so very glad you did.

In the meantime, I'll be taping her words to my bathroom mirror or someplace, because I think they are words to live by: "I believe that compassion is a kind of power and kindness may be the one virtue that can save us all — if it’s not already too late."

Want to be a featured author/writer type for Guthmantics? Well, just send an email to me at amy@guthagogo.com and I'll tell you everything you need to know.

"HOW SOON IS NOW?"

So! Much! Fun!... was had at The Fixx Reading Series again last night! I knew it would be a good night when, as Irish Ho and I were setting things up, a man and a young lady walked in-- the girl, probably about sixteen or so, had awesome magenta hair, and such a funky style with this cool outfit and a bunch of old keys around her neck on ribbons, like an antique Victorian doll who suddenly came to life and put on a pair of Chucks. She had this head full of gorgeous magenta curls and while she seemed quiet, when we dished on haircolor, it turns out she and I both use Manic Panic's deadly nightshade! She sort of had a shy yet rebellious DIY thing to her that reminded me of myself in high school and she so pulled at my big sisterly heartstrings like you wouldn't believe. Well, turns out it was Bubs and his youngest daughter, which made it all even cooler to me. So great of them to come out and say hello!

Um, the reading, yes the reading. I was a little flustered at the beginning because I misplaced my introduction notes for a few damnhellass moments, but I found them (in the loo where I left them like a dumbass) and all was well in the world. Uh, until I had the one little microphone stand iddlyness -- big thank you to Ted and Laura for jumping in and working it out. Anyhoot! I know you kids like photos, and photos I have! We started off with the dishy and hilarious Rick Karlin, and he made us laugh and laugh with his very funny novel, Show Biz Kids.

He read the starlet-on-date-with-gay-man part that I just think is so funny. And, his side commentary is so funny and dirty and I just love this guy to bits.


Next up was Elaine Soloway, who I want to be when I grow up. Her book, The Division Street Princess, which I read some time ago, made me laugh and cry all at once. I bought a copy for Mermaidhead and had Madam Soloway write a little note to her on the title page. I just know Mermaidhead will like the book as much as I did.

She showed up in a "Girls Rock" t-shirt that she scored at a NOW convention, sassy blue patent rockabilly shoes and when I introduced her, I insisted she show her badass tattoo on her upper arm. (Read what she blogged about her tattoo right here. See? I told you she was badass. When I first read this post, I teared up, I'll admit, because I liked it so much.)

She was followed by Charles Blackstone, who read from his The Week You Weren't Here, which I, for one, cannot wait to start reading. He read this section about those freakout-on-the-bathroom-floor days that I really liked, so I'm anxious to read the whole thing.


Rick Karlin's sweet partner was there, Elaine Soloway's darling husband was there, and naturally Charles Blackstone's wife, Alpana Singh was there as well, and being a very big fan of hers, I was over the moon about this because I have a platonic-professional girl-crush on her.

(I have this thing when I'm in the audience for a reading where I like to sneak little glances at significant others in the audience. No, actually, I like to sneak glances at significant others in any situation, watching his/her partner do his/her thing. At readings I like to watch them and imagine they're undoubtedly remembering all the rewrites and drafts and frustration of that very section being read, maybe even remembering the day it was first written. Maybe I'm weird like that, but I love doing this. There's always this look of pride and relief like look at you doing that thing you always said you would and having such a good time doing it. I'm happy because you're so happy. I always wonder if anyone ever knows when they're getting that look. Probably not. Anyway, all three spouses gave that look last night during the readings and I thought it was spectacular. I know, I know, what a sap. Doy.)

After all the readings, we did our little Q&A thing, which I thought went well. Last month's most intriguing question asker was a guy in an orange hoodie, and this month it was a guy in orange shorts. Something about orange....? In any case, fun times, great questions, really great answers.


As for me, after recovering from the microphone stand issue and the misplaced introduction notes, I thought I did my thing well enough.


I think this next one might be my new favorite pic of myself, only because it demands to have Fiddler On The Roof's "Tradition" sung while viewing it.


Anyway, I think that's all she wrote. A big thank you to Rick, Elaine and Charles for coming out and reading their words for us last night, a big thank you, as always, to Gary and Laura at The Fixx, and an even bigger thank you to all the smiling faces in the audience who came out and showed some love.

In other news:

Due to a funny Blackberry typo, my new favorite word for opportunities is "poppyinities". Maybe even "poppies" for "opps". Oh boy oh boy, kids, maybe we've just found the new unforch.

"REEL AROUND"

I don't really give a shit about 7-11, but I saw this Simpsons banner hanging over one today, pulled over and took a picture. How could I not? Simpsons. Simpsons. Siiimmmpsons.


I don't know what you kids did this afternoon, but yours truly just about got her ass thrown out of a laundromat. Apparently, I had the hours wrong, and the owner guy was, to say the least, pretty fucking pissed off.



I don't imagine taking photographs of the kitschy washers and dryers helped matter much, either. Eh well. I've never really been shouted at in, uh, Serbian (??), so there is that. How are all of youse?

"YOU'RE GONNA NEED SOMEONE ON YOUR SIDE"

My pleas to nearby concertgoers were heard! Look! Morrissey pics!

"I WILL SEE YOU"

Photos, as promised. Look at Timothy Schaffert, reading his little heart out last night. You guys, seriously, he is so funny.


And, here I am, too. I'm not really trying to make reading in tank-tops the new reading in the purple skinny scarf (the item I was accidentally photographed in repeatedly last fall), but, you know, it's warm these days. And, I'm on a new fitness kick of a different ilk, so I want to show off my guns. Uh, when I get them. Har.

"YOU'RE GONNA NEED SOMEONE ON YOUR SIDE"

So, I drove from Middle of Nowhere, Louisiana today. I got a late start because I am defenseless against my grandmother's cooking. So, I stayed for lunch and got her to give me the scoop on a couple of her top secret dishes. As I was leaving, it was all hugs and smiles when she smiled and said you ought to clean up your language on your blog. I laughed, she laughed, my grandfather laughed, it was light and not a big deal, just funny. I've never seen her town as a hit on my blog, so I can only assume she read it once and was mortified by something I posted and has been waiting. I wonder which post she read. So funny.

Anyway.

My plan was to make it back to Chicago tonight, but this eyeball affliction is cramping my style. It's fine, in fact, it's feeling better tonight than it did today, but as oncoming headlights shine on me, it's waterworks. At least during the day I can do shades. Anyway, I said screw it and stopped for the night. Sleep never killed anyone. Neither did hotel towels and wi-fi.

Oh, and speaking of wi-fi. Now that I can get online with my laptop, I can post photos.

1. My grandmother circa 1944. Could she possibly be more adorable? No.


2. Me (obviously) in front of the farm I mentioned yesterday. About a minute later, my grandfather poked my typewriter tattoo and said, Uh, you look like you got hit with a typewriter, girl. My grandparents, ladies and gentlemen, so tolerant of my blog-swearing and tatoos. Haha.


3. Einstein with two new friends at Spiral Diner in Ft. Worth, TX. Feast your eyes on their menu, veg friends. I am already jonesing for the tofu club sandwich again. So delish.


4. Einstein and another friend.


5. Einstein having a rough night with margaritas.


6. Einstein with Elvis and the "butt plug lava lamp" at Sarah's Place. If you're in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and feel like a cocktail. Sarah's Place on Camp Bowie is a great time. Obviously. I mean, look! Einstein and Elvis can sing duets, for crying out loud. You just can't find that in any bar, folks.


That's it for now. I'm fading, so I'm going to zonk out and hit the road early in the morning.

"I DON'T MIND"

My brother is so talented with a camera. He made me look like a rockstar.

The reading last night at Sixth Street Live could not have possibly gone any better. The crowd came, a dear old friend gave me an introduction that brought tears to my eyes, we laughed, I read, we chatted, I sold many books, I had a great night. Last night earned the "favorite reading ever" title. For sure. Without a doubt.

In fact, I'm still kind of at a loss for words. Just a wonderful, gratifying, meaningful experience. Absolutely.

"READER MEET AUTHOR"

Now that was a great reading! I just love The Book Cellar so much.


Seriously, what a good time tonight. It was very casual and low-key and just plain fun. And what a supportive bookstore and audience, really. You feel that sort of thing, you really do. You know when the bookstore staff is behind you, you know when your audience is behind you. You just do. And tonight, they were and it was wonderful.

We were kickin' it alphabetically, so I was first up.



I read the opening strings section and the Carmen overdose/explanation of rain's function section, which I enjoy reading, but especially enjoyed tonight, as it was raining like mad as I read.

Then, Rick Karlin read from his book Show Biz Kids...


...as I sat on the front row howling with laughter because not only is the book funny, but he's funny, and the combination was perfect. (Seriously, this book is so funny. I bought it immediately after and got him to sign my copy. So excited to read this.)

Then, Elaine Soloway read from her beautiful and touching Division Street Princess. I tried to be discreet, but I sat there with welled-up eyes the entire time she read. I love this book so much. So much, in fact, that even though I have already read it, I bought a second copy because I wanted her to autograph it for me.



So many people came out, too! Leah was there. Irish Ho was there with my new (but good) friend, artist Andrej "It smells like Europe, so I buy it" Didenko (I have one of his beautiful paintings right in front of me as I type this) and his partner, John. Sparkypoo was there (a big thanks to her for taking pics tonight!), with Princess Speedy and Xegbd. And, to my complete surprise and delight, Therapy Doc was there! And that only covers who I knew! I met so many fun folks who were good enough to come out in the crummy weather. So nice. So nice.

I stopped for a feta-hummus-sprouts-tomato-olive-balsamic pita and a margarita and bobbed my head to a little Joy Division as I nibbled. And, now, at long last, I am home with one very snuggly kitty and ready to for bed.



But, before I turn in, I have a favor to ask. I know this fella who had surgery today and his Ma is worried to bits about him. So, just for a sec, everyone shoot a happy, healthy thought towards southern California. Thanks.

"HOW SOON IS NOW?"

So, last night was a hill of fun. Unfortunately, Binnie Kirschenbaum had to cancel at the last minute (Binneleh! You okay?) so Joanna Scott and I ruled the roost. She read from her very lovely book, Everybody Loves Somebody (and signed a wonderful inscription that I just adore into the copy I purchased), which you should run right out and acquire from your nearest independent bookstore.

Man-about-blogosphere, John K, was kind enough to document the whole shebang for us last night. So, let's do a little show and tell, eh?

These first two. Yes. Here I am (with my two hour old haircut. Yes? We like?) getting the giggles started by sharing a few freaky emails I've gotten lately from random readers. So funny. Always great for a giggle.



Then, I read a little of my Three Fallen Women.



Then, Joanna Scott did her fabulous reading (the story about "Yip!" is precious. I can't wait to read it again) and when she finished, we both hopped up and did a little Q&A. Okay, I forced the poor audience to cough up some questions for us to get chatty over. What did you do on Thursday night? Ahem, I was hanging out with a Pulitzer gal. That's how I roll, thankyouverymuch. Behold!




Unfortunately, I didn't end up with any photos of the lovely and fun Bookslut, but a big thank you to her and to all of my fine new friends at Stop Smiling magazine for putting it all together and inviting this Bigmouth to come hang out and play. Many, many thanks.

(I got the coolest thing last night from a new friend who calls himself "Evil Goy". Hello, vintage 1976 Siouxie and the Banshees t-shirt! Evil Goy, many thanks to you.)

"THE MORE YOU IGNORE ME, THE CLOSER I GET"

Ahem, just a friendly little reminder about my "Friends In High Places" photo contest. Remember, and this is key, I think, that it isn't about famous people, it's about the most famous or important person that you have access to. It's all relative. So, if your landlord is a VIP in your life, then a photo of your landlord holding the book is a perfectly reasonable photo submission. What's that? You don't have a copy of my book? Oh, well, you can buy a copy of Three Fallen Women at one of my upcoming readings, on March 8th (Bookslut Reading Series) and March 21st (The Book Cellar) or, if you are far too impatient for any such thing, you can order a copy right this every minute by clicking here and seeing a dazzling array of ordering options.

Oh, and don't let me stop you from emailing this post to all of your friends. Really. Go right ahead.

"SO YOU RUN DOWN TO THE SAFETY OF THE TOWN"

I shloshed a few miles last night in the snow and I the cold, fresh air to do me a world of good after feeling sort of stuck and busy for the last couple of days, er, weeks. (Okay, months.)


I called my brother on the way home to say hello and had to convince him I wasn't hammered- my cheeks were a wee bit frozen so I was slurry.




I walked by these doors yesterday and though I have probably walked past them hundreds of times, something about them yesterday, in all of that snow particularly caught my eye.



In other news, wouldn't it be a scream if these skellies turned out to be the same sex?