To be in such fine company is an honor:

Lessons in Taxidermy on the VLS Bestsellers list.

5.18.05 spiral

Bee Lavender’s story is a testament to guts, endurance and an indomitable will to not succumb to the maladies that are laying siege to her body. You think nobody knows the trouble you’ve seen? Read this, and stop whining.

Lessons in Taxidermy reviewed in Small Spiral Notebook.

5.17.05 nominated

Lessons in Taxidermy has been nominated for an American Library Association award.

I love librarians.

5.15.05 assault

I haven’t managed to unpack yet and there are far too many chores to accomplish before the next trip, but I never let these things worry me.

Jen K is in town for a visit; we were born and raised in the same place, graduated from the same college, but we know each other from a summer leadership institute for teenagers that was run along the lines of a cult. We both noticed but didn’t much care; we each received the top honors, presented by a Washington State Governor (the one who  always wore a rumpled baby blue suit) and broadcast on the local NBC affiliate.

Except she knew ahead of time, and wore a respectable outfit. I was ambushed and thus appeared on the evening news in a psychedelic peacock frock.

Today we had a picnic on Jesus Green with an assortment of friends who also hail (at least recently) from Berkeley. Late in the afternoon the children clamored for a river trip so I motored down to Fen Ditton to drink a pint and admire the scenery.

Yes, I know that this is a cinematic cliche of an English life.

But it is more fun to think about than the other big event of the weekend, when a friend was assaulted by random drunk strangers on a quiet street in broad daylight.

5.12.05 club

Upcoming Event:

Tues., May 31, 7pm Accompanied Library National Arts Club

Readings by Bee Lavender and Miles Marshall Lewis

5.10.05 day

…There’s a deep, almost painful beauty in her seemingly dispassionate language, and as Lavender interweaves the story of her most recent illness with those of her childhood and young adulthood, she also gives context to the physical contours and social history of the working-class Pacific Northwest landscape that was her home. In sifting through her unwanted memories, poking at the still-raw scars and bruises, Lavender shows how it is possible to transcend the body and its demands, to construct a whole and rewarding life out of a fractured past.

Lessons in Taxidermy reviewed in Bitch Magazine: Feminist Response to Pop Culture

5.7.05 day

I flew to the east coast, where I was pleased to do the KGB Reading Series again. The other writers were promoting, variously, a book about a failed explorer and a book about invasive species. I told the crowd that our common theme was danger.

Eli, Justin, KTS, and bunches of other people turned out to say hello. During ambles around the city I was recognized four times, which was very strange.

The tour ended in NYC on Lauren’s birthday, reading in a dark club filled to capacity by a friendly crowd who laughed at all the right places.