"Beginning with well-known stories by Hawthorne, Melville, and Poe, this diverse and colorful collection includes tales by Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, Sherwood Anderson, Henry James, Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, Stephen Crane, and Mary Wilkins Freeman. From Sarah Orne Jewett’s portraits of rural Maine to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s brilliant tales from the Jazz Age, these stories span the breadth of the American experience."
I write better to music. It helps my concentration, keeps me focused. I listen to music whenever I can during the day. During my commute. At home after work. Hanging around the house on the weekend. I have a job that allows me to use my iPod much of the time, filtering out the noise of cube-city and the nearby printing station. Silence is fraught with random pops, bangs, and clicks. It drives me up the wall if I'm trying to concentrate. That's why I go on the counter attack to create my own noise.
Classical music and jazz don't always work for me, unless the pieces are low-key and consistent. Erratic melody interrupts concentration. Instrumentals work best, or music with the lyrics well buried. Buried under what? A wall of consistent, impenetrable sound. I cannot write, or read for that matter, to any music where the vocal tracks are front and center. This includes most pop and rock songs, all rap, r + b, ballads, and standards.
I've put together a series of mix CDs (which, when I went digital, became playlists) that I listen to when writing. They are top heavy with music by bands and artists like Cocteau Twins, Robin Guthrie, Thievery Corporation, Ulrich Schnauss, Brian Eno, Bethany Curve, Air, Lush, Readymade, Slowdive, Engineers, Ride, Chapterhouse. These bands perform music that contain melodies wrapped in guitars and reverb, or mellow beats and airy, atmospheric vocals that sit way back and watch the show, or walls of guitar distortion and effects that allow me to sink into my writing. Most of my output is due to these and other similar-sounding bands.
Here's a sampling:
Here the Cocteau Twins throw down probably their biggest 'hit' (I remember seeing it featured on MTVs120 Minutes), Carolyn's Fingers, which mixes their dreamy blend of pop sensibility, shimmering guitar, reverb, and Elizabeth Frazier's otherworldly voice singing nonsensical lyrics. This falls right into the category of instrumental music, since I don't know what she's singing about except for an occasional phrase in English.
Robin Guthrie was the guitarist for Cocteau Twins, and he went on to release mostly instrumental music much in the vein of the Cocteau Twins' later output. It's like hearing the Cocteau Twins, minus the instrument that is Elizabeth Frazier's voice:
Thievery Corporation are a bit different, since they use multi-vocalists and meld many different styles, such as salsa, Latin, African, among many others. Not all their stuff is writer friendly, but they are consistent within songs. I know what to expect when a song comes on and can always skip it if it features some inappropriate vocals. Here's a good example of their beat-heavy, but still mellow (chill, if you will) stuff that features delicate female vocals and a dreamy soundscape:
Ulrich Schnauss mixes the best of all worlds; his stuff is mostly instrumental electronica, with harmonies, and perhaps a guitar or two (who can tell?), and the songs that feature vocals have them buried in waves of multi-tracked soundscapes. His music achieves a thoroughly integrated, fugue-like sound. It's especially good to listen to at work; when I have some really dry material to read or write about, I just click on old Ulrich and I'm lost for hours in concentration.
Brian Eno is the father of modern instrumental ambient music (or at least the older brother) and so I find that I can listen to most of his output interchangeably, whether it's his early stuff from the 70s, through to his gorgeous work on Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks in the 80s, or his poppier 90s efforts.
Here's a selection from Atmospheres and Soundtracks:
I discovered Bethany Curve on a website devoted to shoegazer bands. Popularized in the late 80s and early 90s by bands like Jesus and Mary Chain, Slowdive, Ride, and My Bloody Valentine, shoegazer literally refers to some moptop dude or dudette staring at his/her shoes while playing guitar. The music is marked by a wall of guitar distortion and reverb, propulsive drums (sometimes), buried vocals (my favorite kind), and often extended song lengths. Bethany Curve is part of a second or maybe third wave of bands to follow the lead, or continue the cause, since most of the original shoegazer bands are MIA. When I'm feeling less mellow but no less writerish, I'll put on a little shoegazer for the soul.
Slowdive was part of the first wave of dreamy shoegazers, heavy on the echo and thick guitars. Dense but pretty, they never quite got the respect paid to My Bloody Valentine. Or maybe I just made that up. Singer and guitarist Neil Halstead went on to form Mojave 3 and later record solo.
My Bloody Valentine started the whole shoegazery thing. Not always perfect for writing, but occasionally, when I need to go deep, I'll throw on Loveless and the writing time just floats on by and 50 minutes later I'll surface and notice the sunlight and take a breather. Loveless has been influential enough to be beget a book in the 33 1/3 series.
Here's a clip from their recent successful reunion tour:
Do you listen to music when you write? What kind? Or do you need complete silence?
Short notice (especially if you live on another continent), but tomorrow night get yourself over to Porter Square Books to hear novelist and poet E.B. Moore read from her latest book, New Eden. I've taken Grub classes with E.B., and earlier this year enjoyed the benefit of her calming, practical commentary during our writing group discussions. She's a wonderful reader, and she writes in a vivid, evocative, concise style.
Porter Square Books is located at the Porter Square Shopping Center, 25 White Street, Cambridge. Reading starts at 7 PM. Christine Tierney the opens the reading.
As everybody knows, it’s book festival time in New England. So this past Saturday Liz and I attended the inaugural Boston Book Festival. It had been a rainy morning, but we made the trip to Copley Plaza and by the time we arrived, the rain had stopped, and the temps were into the 60s.
First stop was the Boston Public Library Abbey to check out Hank Phillippi Ryan’s Guided Open Mic, sponsored by Grub Street. For 90 minutes, writers took turns reading their original work in front of a room of attendees while Hank took notes.
After each reading, Hank gave a helpful critique of the presentation. She commented on material choice, urging readers to really consider the piece they read in terms of how it represents their work. And delivery, telling one young, eager writer to slow down because she couldn’t make out half her words. She was honest but gentle, doing a great job of making each participant feel comfortable, if not perfectly at ease. Reading in front of an audience is difficult enough, so performing to be critiqued must have been twice as nerve-shattering for these hearty writers.
The line waiting to get into an event at the library:
Next up we took in the exhibits set up in tents outside the library and along Boylston Street. The temps were warm and the rain was still holding off, but there was a wicked wind. Luckily the tents held fast.
There were long lines for Green Mountain Coffee and free ice cream. Thankfully, there were also lines at many of the other booths, including publications like The Paris Review, AGNI, the Boston Globe, and Post Road. There were many publishers represented, including David R. Godine, Etruscan Press, and Drawn & Quarterly, which brought along a beautiful selection of posters, comics, and graphic novels.
It was a good opportunity to discover small presses, and that’s just what I did when I stopped at the One Story tent. One Story is a literary magazine that offers one story per issue, one issue every three weeks. Each issue costs a dollar, and is published as a single-colored booklet. I sort of randomly grabbed two issues, numbers 84 and 93. I liked issue 84’s title, Wedding Pictures. The girl behind the table knew the story, by Donald Petersen, and started to describe it to me as a sale’s pitch. It worked. Issue 93 is titled Meeting Elise, by Nam Le. Subscriptions are $21 for a year.
Then it was time to head across Boylston to the Old South Church Sanctuary to see Tim Kring, creator of Heroes, and novelist Reif Larson, author of The Collected Works of TS Spivet. Larson was first, discussing maps and other signage, and how the meanings of this communication can change depending on context. He presented a series of whimsical and sometimes hilarious slides to illustrate his points. Maps and map making figure prominently into his book as a theme and also as margin illustrations.
Tim Kring discussed the myriad ways in which the TV show Heroes is marketed, er, I mean how it presents the many facets of its storyline. He calls it Transmedia storytelling. The idea is that Heroes the TV show is the epicenter of the Heroes universe. While the show is the main engine, other outlets such as websites and action heroes and comic books can all be developed to extend the story, offering specialized content beyond what viewers see on the show. It’s sort of the ultimate in marketing synergy, where you can buy a toy from the show that includes a piece of character mythology or read a graphic novel about an ancillary character from the show, all adding to the Heroes storytelling experience.
Then Tim showed the trailer he created for a series of books he was shopping around a few years ago. He put together a website which hosted the trailer, and kind of like with Heroes, users could go navigate the website and read all about what his books were about, which includes alternate American history. Must have worked, because he got a book deal.
When that ended we had a little time left and went up to the second floor of the church to check out the Grub Street-sponsored Writer Idol, where a professional actor read the first page or two of anonymously submitted work by writers in the audience. After which a panel of 4 agents explained why each would or would not want to see more of the work. There were a few pieces that the agents agreed they might be interested in. Now it’s up to those writers to get their stuff into the agent’s hands.
Overall, a great experience, even for the few events we attended. The festival was smooshed into one day, so I imagine some attendees might have had a difficult time deciding what to see as there was much overlap in the schedule. But the choices were diverse enough so that if you missed one event, hopefully the next would make up for it. I'll definitely keep an eye out for next year's festival.
If you're interested in Tim Kring's theory of Transmedia, here he is expounding on the subject:
If it's October in New England, than it's time to get your literati on. This Saturday October 24 marks the first Boston Book Festival, held from 10:00 am - 6:00 pm in and around Copley Square. It's free, man. What could be better? Rain or shine (and the weather's leaning more on the rain side--so bring your rubbers). There will be 90 authors and presenters, events, a street fair, music, contests, exhibitions, and book signings.
The line up of authors is damn impressive: John Hodgeman, Elinor Lipman, Anita Diamant, Chris Castellani, Robert Pinsky, Orhan Pamuk (keynote speaker), Ken Burns, Anita Shreve, Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo, Alicia Silverstone (huh?), Richard Russo, Stephen Carter, Andre Dubus III, Ben Mezrich, Tom Perrotta, and many more. Check out the schedule for event times and locations.
At least one event ain't free: Boston Noir Launch. 6-9 at Boston Public Library Rabb Lecture Hall. $15 per ticket, and still available as of this post. "Celebrate the launch of the new fiction collection Boston Noir (Akashic Books) with contributing author and master of the art of noir, editor Dennis Lehane. From Dorchester to Southie and from Beacon Hill to Brookline, Boston Noir features 11 Boston neighborhoods and nearby communities in stories by contributors including Brendan DuBois, Dana Cameron, Jim Fusilli, Lynne Heitman and Russ Aborn, who will attend the launch event. Expect a dynamic, drama-filled presentation." Okay.
Things actually get underway Friday night at Trinity Church where "Robin Young, the host of Here and Now on WBUR, will emcee the evening’s festivities, beginning with Boston Mayor Thomas Menino’s reading of a passage from his favorite book." Then, Livingston Taylor performs and discusses songwriting.
Grub Street is a partner, and as such they are offering some free workshops, including:
- Jumpstart Your Writing (writing exercises with mini-lessons on craft) taught by Grub instructors Stace Budzko and Grace Talusan - Writer Idol (a chance to get the first page of your book heard and critiqued by a literary agent or editor), judged by agents Esmond Harmsworth, Janet Silver and Eve Bridburg, and editor Helene Atwan - Guided Open Mic with Hank Phillippi Ryan (a traditional open mic with lessons on how to perform your work). I attended this session when Hank offered it at this year's Muse and the Marketplace. If you ever read your writing in public, this event is a great primer for how to do it right, without putting your audience to sleep.
Wait, that's not all. Starting this Thursday, October 22, and running until November 8, it's the return of the Concord Festival of Books. 18 days, over 40 authors, 22 events. Most events are free. So, unlike the Boston Book Festival which delivers the goods in one day, the Concord festival spreads the love out over two and a half weeks. There will be discussions, readings, and talks. For example, on Monday, October 26th you can catch Larry Tye talking about Satchel: The life and times of an American legend, and Dick Lehr discussing The Fence: A police cover-up along Boston's racial divide. Other authors include Howard Dean (opening day speaker), Chris Bohjalian, Gregory Maguire, Katherine Howe, Jessica Shattuck, Fred Marchant, Mitchell Zuckoff, and lots more.
While this is a Concord, MA-based festival, as in years past some events are held in Lowell, at locations like the Pollard Library, Comley-Lane Theater at UMass, and Wannalancit Mills. A couple years ago Liz and I went to see John Elder Robison and his brother, Augusten Burroughs, speak at UMass as part of the festival. It was a great evening, where the audience heard touching, enlightening, a little horrific, but mostly hilarious stories about Robison's experiences understanding and accepting his Asperger’s Syndrome. Here's Liz getting her book signed afterwards by Augusten:
A big shout out to Rob Mitchell, an all-around great guy who founded the festival in 1993 and still directs the whole she-bang.
Unlike a writer's conference, these book festivals are geared more toward readers and book buyers than to writers. Attending a book festival as a writer, it'll be a relief not to have to worry about getting a manuscript critique or running into an agent I might have had an awkward interaction with last year (I suppose that could still happen...).
I wish the Boston Book Festival a great inaugural event, while also anticipating another successful year for the Concord (and Lowell) Festival of Books.
