Diary

Many thanks to Taniya Barrows, Owner/Manager of THE READING CHAIR Independent bookstore in Ramona, California for permission to reprint her blog entry about THE FOUR SEASONS

Monday, November 10, 2008

CONFESSIONS OF A READER

San Diego City College celebrated itself this week. Coming the day after the election, I saw the showcase of faculty and student talent that launched my novel, THE FOUR SEASONS, from a perspective that might have escaped me otherwise. This has been so much on my mind that I want to share it with anyone who is listening.

My good friend and colleague Stephanie Robinson (pictured with me to the right) has been training in the operatic style of singing for years, but probably only a handful of people at City knew that, since she teaches electronic music composition–almost the polar opposite. When we talked last spring about putting on a launch for my novel, we realized that we knew almost nothing about what our colleagues do when they’re not at work. My guess is we had the skills among us to have offered a work for chamber orchestra at the event, but we didn’t know whom to ask. Most of us, myself included, try to cram as much work into our time on campus as we can, and don’t do much hanging out in the corridors, or sitting down in the often-deserted staff dining room area just to see who stops by. “I don’t have the time to get started,” I tell myself. “I don’t have the energy to get involved in any more lives.”

This isn’t good. I realize this with a particular sense of urgency now, since less than two weeks ago, a thirty-nine year old colleague in my department had a stroke. It isn’t clear why, but she thinks she knows, and her message to all of us, even before she had regained the ability to speak clearly, was “Slow down.” I’m going to try. I’m clear enough about who I fundamentally am not to expect a sea change in how I go through my day, but even baby steps to connect with others will make my life richer.

But that’s not really what I most want to say. In the afterglow of the election, I want to shout to the world a beautiful principle that was reinforced by putting on this show. When I decided that I didn’t want my launch to be just about me and my book, but to include others whose achievements also deserved celebrating, I set in motion something that has come back to bless me many fold. Rather than a small event in someone’s home or in a restaurant somewhere, THE FOUR SEASONS was launched in a theater packed with several hundred people. I don’t have that kind of draw myself, but together all the performers–Stephanie, dj, George, Terry, John Mark, Zaquia, and Ramon—did. The bookstore sold two full cartons of books, many to people who knew nothing about my novel before the event and can’t wait to tell others about it. Stephanie and all the other performers have new fans, and people are talking about how the college can keep this form of self-discovery going.

Sharing the wealth is not a scandalous concept despite recent attempts to make it seem so. It is the wellspring of the most profound blessings that come to us as individuals and as a society. Especially in times that are bound to grow more difficult for all of us, we must never forget that our real treasure is each other. I am reminded of this every time I enter the classroom at San Diego City College. The environment in which I teach was not possible when I was growing up. In fact, when I started kindergarten in 1955, it was illegal. My students (Stephanie’s and my team-taught class is pictured below) are African-American, Asian, Latino/a, and White; gay and straight; Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and Atheist; male and female; native born and immigrants; vegan and omnivore. They span several decades in age, have more brains than money, and more hope than despair. It’s wonderful how comfortable they are with each other, and how open and eager they seem to be about making friends with people unlike themselves. They “get it,” that the whole is more than the sum of its parts, and they are a microcosm of where we as a people need to be. We all need to want for each other what we want for ourselves, because we are all in this together.

Curtain Call at VIVA VIVALDI, the launch of THE FOUR SEASONS, at San Diego City College’s Saville Theatre, November 5, 2008

When I was little, waiting for my birthday was sheer torture. Time was so mean to me! It refused to do anything but creep along, wagging its fingers behind its ears with its eyes crossed and its tongue sticking out. A month ago, waiting for THE FOUR SEASONS to be released felt a little like that.

One difference, of course is that at my age, one has to be crazy to want time to pass quickly, since it feels increasingly short. More to the point, however, the busy life of an adult makes having only one horizon, one thing to concentrate on, a long-forgotten luxury. I’ve had papers to grade, deadlines to keep track of, tests to revise, errands to run, presidential debates and World Series games to rush home for. One horizon was two days out and another three, and before I knew it a week had passed and then one more. And now here I am, on another kind of birthday—the debut of my firstborn novel.

Pop open the champagne! My book’s in stores, glowing with gold trim and a radiant violinist on the cover. Yesterday afternoon, when I first saw it in the new fiction case of Borders, I stood for a moment in front of it before taking a photo on my I-phone and rushing out of the store to call my friends and family. “Oh yeah,” I realize a while later, far from the store. “I’m supposed to sign stock!” I’m kind of glad I didn’t, though. I need some time to get used to this.

If the lead-up to my birthday was torture when I was young, the day after was the true valley of despond. If time ever played a cruel joke, it was making kids wait a whole year to be acknowledged like that again. This birthday is different, since it will just keep going. The first time I see someone reading THE FOUR SEASONS—maybe on the trolley, or on a plane or in a waiting room—is going to feel like the Fourth of July! I can see that cross-eyed joker, Time, sticking out its tongue again, getting ready to make me wait.

The announcements are in the mail, the performers are rehearsing, and many of my colleagues have big grins on their faces as we reach the finish of the long waiting period for THE FOUR SEASONS to reach its publication date. Today two of my faculty friends involved with VIVA VIVALDI, the November 5 San Diego City College launch event, told me they had to order themselves to stop reading the book so they could get some sleep before an 8 AM class, or hop in the shower to get to work on time. “I want to finish it tonight,” one said. “I can’t wait to see what happens next.” “I love Chiaretta,” the other said. “I’m rooting for her to bust out and do something just for herself.” And then, after a moment she added, “Actually, I love them both equally, each in her own way.” One of the nice things about the book, she said, is that even in the constrained world my heroines Maddalena and Chiaretta inhabit, they do not seem like victims but empowered individuals who choose for themselves and thrive within their limited options. “Hooray,” I say to my friend. “Exactly my message.”

And something I’ve noticed consistently is that everyone who holds a copy of the book strokes the cover. THE FOUR SEASONS is truly a beautiful product, and though the words within it are mine (with some great editing by Sarah Landis and the copy editor), the way people will have their first tactile or visual encounter with it in bookstores is the work of others who might otherwise go unsung. I’d like to thank the art director of VOICE, Laura Klynstra, and Jessica Shatan Heslin, who designed a cover that is lovely beyond words, and a beautiful interior layout as well. Wow, wow, wow! And thanks from a debut novelist who could not have asked for a better team. This book radiates the love of many, and I hope readers will feel that warmth.

I’ll be at the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association’s “Authors Feast” and Book Expo this weekend. I’m taking it on faith that authors aren’t on the dinner menu! I’m looking forward to meeting more folks from Hyperion, other authors, and, most importantly, those wonderful folks who keep the tradition of independent booksellers alive in Southern California. Details next week!

Line up a sitter, feed the dog, and head on down to 14^th and C Streets at 7:15 PM on November 5 for a night of great musical and literary entertainment! Exactly one month from today, the launch event for THE FOUR SEASONS will take place in downtown San Diego at San Diego City College’s Saville Theatre. Take the trolley if you can—there’s a City College stop—and arrive early, since we’re expecting a full house.

Only recently did I realize the significance of the publication date for THE FOUR SEASONS: It’s election day in one of the most momentous presidential races ever. I hope the good vibes spread both ways and that sharing the date bodes well for both the nation and for my book. And I certainly hope the day after the election, we’ll be in a mood to celebrate down at the college. It’s looking pretty good right now! But either way, music soothes the soul and elevates the spirit.

I wanted a launch that celebrated not just the publication of THE FOUR SEASONS, but called attention to the tremendous artistic achievements—many of them far too well hidden—of my colleagues at City College. We count among our faculty (as well as our staff and students) first-rate talents in ceramics, glass art, photography, graphic design, poetry, storytelling, fiction and creative non-fiction, playwriting, performance art, voice, music composition, dance, choreography, and instrumental music, and much more.

We’re calling the event VIVA VIVALDI, and it will be a mix of vocal and instrumental performances, dance, and readings from the book. The star of the show is Vivaldi himself, and we’re hoping to build appreciation for this incredible composer beyond the ubiquitous “Gloria” and “The Four Seasons.” Now don’t get me wrong—those two works are hard to beat—but in writing THE FOUR SEASONS I saw the richness of his music for the female voice, and how the complexities of “The Four Seasons” are matched or surpassed by some of his other works.

The event will be taped, and I hope to post small portions on my website, but if you can, come down and see for yourself!

Like most writers, I have ideas about the words I would most like to see in reviews of my work. I don’t mean generally flattering adjectives, like “terrific,” or “marvelous,” although if they knocked on my door I would invite them in and open a bottle of champagne. I mean the words that indicate that someone saw in my work what I had hoped they would. Words that tell me I accomplished what I set out to do. Other than news of stratospheric sales figures or a huge award—both of which I would be more than happy to describe if I should ever be so lucky—there’s probably no better news than a good, validating review.

I suppose every writer has his or her own secret vocabulary:

Articulate ? Amusing?

Briliant? Breathtaking?

Confident? Candid?

Dazzling? Dramatic?

Educated? Ethereal?

Funny? Fanciful?

(I’m running out of steam less than a quarter of the way through the alphabet. Got your own favorites, blog readers?)

I can’t say any of the above are my secret words, or even whether I know exactly what they are until I hear them, but the October 1 Booklist review of THE FOUR SEASONS certainly hit a few I like a lot. “Charming,” ”exquisite,” “poetic,” “alluring,” “richly historical.” WOW! It’s enough to make me “lachrymose,” “misty-eyed,” and “teary, “ all at the same time! I hope this review and the equally laudatory one from Publishers Weekly are just a start. Five weeks out and counting….