Charles Simic in conversation with Tea Obreht at Stand, NYC

Monday night, I had the pleasure of spending an hour at Strand listening to former Poet Laureate Charles Simic being interviewed by Tea Obreht.  He read from his massive oeuvre (34 volumes!!!) and from his new collection of poems, Master of Disguises, and spoke a bit about his influences and memories that inspired his work.  

Simic was hilarious!  Approachable, with a self-deprecating humility, his work is grounded in his experience, but heightened by his masterful command of language and image. A few gems from the interview/discussion:

• Simic on writing poetry over a 50+ year career:  "The nice thing about poems is that you have no memory of how they were written."
• Simic on confessional poetry:  "If a poet is a good liar, I think that's fine."
• Simic talked about how important revision was in his work, about how he can write 4-5 pages and end up with a five line poem.  
• He also talked a lot about translation, and about how there are a few works he would love to go back and re-translate, because the more time he spends with a piece, the more things he discovers in the writing and meaning.

All in all, a great evening.  I discovered the work of a supremely talented poet and got to meet Obreht, who is unbelievably talented for being so young.

Some of Simic's work:

1.  Master of Disguises
2.  The Voice at 3:00am: Selected Late and New Poems
3. New and Selected Poems: 1962-2012
4. Sixty Poems 

My Strand Splurge

My name is Jacki, and I am incapable of leaving a bookstore without purchasing something.

**Hi, Jacki**

Last night, I went to Strand to hear Tea Obreht in conversation with Charles Simic (more on that tomorrow), and besides finally purchasing a copy of The Tiger's Wife, which Ms. Obreht signed (!!!), I ended up leaving with:

1. The Yellow Wall-Paper, Herland, and Selected Writings by Charlotte Perkins Gilman   I've wanted to re-read The Yellow Wallpaper, and Herland has an intriguing premise.  $6.50.

2. The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy   I had to return this to the library before I could finish it, and at $6.95, I'm all about buying my own copy.

3.  Great Expectations by Charles Dickens   It's on my list of classics I should really read, and at $4.95, I'm not going to say no.

4.  Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh   Loved it when I read it and have wanted my own copy. Can't beat $5.95.

5.  To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf   On the PW list of most difficult books that I am determined to conquer.  I LOVED Mrs. Dalloway (and I will share my thoughts with you soon!  Promise!) so I figured this was worth owning.  $6.95.

I love Strand's prices :)  

Bought any good books lately?

So excited!!!

The HIGHLIGHT of my literary life last year was reading Tea Obreht's The Tiger's Wife. I never officially reviewed it here, but it was nothing short of fabulous.

I first encountered Obreht's work when I read her short story of the same name in the New Yorker and was blown away.  Obreht seems to have an effortless command of everything I wish I could do as a writer: her work is richly researched, lyrical and vivid and deeply moving.  And she's 26. If this is what she's capable of at 26, I cannot wait to read her at 40.

Tonight, I'm headed to Strand to hear her in conversation with former Poet Laureate Charles Simic, and I'm super excited!!! I'm embarrassingly unfamiliar with Charles Simic's work, and I've never seen Obreht speak, so I promise to report back.