Archive: Author: Hannah
Why I love the Gowanus, pt. 3
Why I love the Gowanus, pt. 2
Why I love the Gowanus, Pt. 1
Every day, I walk over the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. I live about a block away, and have to cross it to get to the studio where I write, and also to the One Story offices over on Third Avenue. The Gowanus was constructed in the 1860s, as a way for factories in Brooklyn to ferry their products out to the harbor. Recently, the Gowanus was claimed as a Superfund Site. The canal is completely polluted, from years of factories dumping their chemicals, but it has a ton of personality. It’s even rumored to have Syphilis and Gonorrhea floating in the water. I’ve heard that it will take 30 years to clean it all, dredging and steel walls built into the sides. But I’m in love with the Gowanus. All of its stinky polluted parts. Every time I cross it I see something beautiful. I started taking pictures a few months back, when it was snowing, and I’m going to start posting them here. The Gowanus has become a real inspiration. I’d highly recommend walking over one of its five bridges, especially the Carroll Street bridge, which always makes me feel like I’ve been transported, for just a few moments, until I reach the other side.
A Novel Bunch
Thanks to ‘The Novel Bunch’ bookclub in South Carolina, for picking The Good Thief as their read this month, and to Amy Knight, for passing on their photo. Hope everyone had a good time.
Sirenland
Since 2007, along with my mentor, author Dani Shapiro, and her husband, the screenwriter Michael Maren, I’ve been organizing a writer’s conference called Sirenland. A beautiful name, but even more beautiful is the spot where it takes place: Le Sirenuse Hotel in Positano, Italy. Our 2010 conference has just ended. Our Sirenlanders have flown back to their homes across the world. This year we were lucky to have master storytellers Jim Shepard and Ron Carlson teaching workshops along with Dani Shapiro. We also had a visit from One Story author Nam Le, who gave an excellent reading from his award-winning collection, The Boat. Other highlights, beyond the amazing view, exquisite food, and steam room (where I went everyday to try and clear a badly-timed cold) was a reading by Dani, Jim, Ron and our 2010 Sirenland fellow, Bruce Machart, whose first novel, The Wake of Forgiveness, will be published this fall. But my favorite evening was open mic night, generously hosted by the owners of the hotel, Carla and Antonio Sersale, at their home, where nearly every Sirenlander got up and shared a bit of their work around the fireside. There were even a few songs, and a play, where I was cast as a sadistic babysitter (I was killed by the children in the third act). It takes an enormous amount of work to put this conference together, but as soon as I arrive each year in Positano, it feels like coming home. This group of strangers, each struggling with their own writing, anxious and a bit jet-lagged, quickly comes together and forms a supportive community.
For the first time, I stayed in Positano for Palm Sunday, and witnessed a wonderful tradition. Instead of palm fronds, people carry olive branches, decorated with candy, small cheeses, salami, and even loaves of bread. The priest blesses them in the square, and after mass, the villagers break off branches and hand them out to friends, sharing the bounty. A simple act, but a lovely one. All of us at Sirenland this year went home with our own bits of branches, given to us by Antonio, Carla, Michael, Dani, Ron, Jim, Bruce and our fellow writers, covered with insights, inspiration, memories and new friendships. I can’t wait for next year to come.
Barcelona
I’ve been in Barcelona the past few days to promote the Spanish & Catalan editions of The Good Thief with the good people of Anagrama. In a brief period of time I’ve learned quite a bit about this beautiful city, including their patron saint, St. Eulalia, who apparently had a dove fly from her neck as she was decapitated by the Romans, as well as the legend of the Cristo de Lepanto (a figure of Christ that came to life and dodged a cannonball during the battle of Lepanto in 1571). But perhaps my favorite discovery has been the Castellers, a Catalan tradition of building human towers. You can see a clip of them here.
Yesterday was a flurry of interviews, and now they have started to appear, beginning with this one I did with Público before I left the states, and now more have followed: La Razón, Europa Press, and ADN. I’ll add the rest as they come in. Anagrama, helmed by Jorge Herralde, is an amazing publishing house and the home of authors such as Nabokov and Roberto Bolaño. It’s an honor to be included on their list.
Another Class!
I’ll be teaching another fiction class this spring, this time at the Center for Fiction, from April 6-June 8, 2010. This will be a more traditional workshop–the class will meet for 10 weeks, every Tuesday, from 6-9 pm. It is open to all levels.
This 10 week class will include workshopping, craft talks, close editorial work, and exercises to strengthen the practice of writing. Sessions will last for 3 hours, where I’ll be illustrating how to find the heart of a story, as well as how to pinpoint its weaknesses. Each student will leave the class with a greater understanding of revision and a game plan for the next step in their writing career.
The deadline for this class is April 2nd. Go here to find out more details, and sign up! Spaces are going fast.
More School Visits
I’ve made a number of school visits this past month. The first was with a group of talented girls from The Young Women’s Leadership Schools in NYC. We met up at the Center for Fiction and had a fun afternoon talking about writing. Next, I went to Philadelphia, and took part in a program run by the Free Library, that brings different high school groups in to meet authors. I talked with 6 different schools, all at the Bushrod Branch of the Philadelphia Free Library. These super-smart kids asked great questions–and I gave out some wishing stones, Saint Anthony medals, and issues of One Story. Meeting with schools that have read The Good Thief is a real thrill, and I hope to do more. Any teachers reading this who’d like to schedule a visit, just send an email to:schoolvisit (at) hannahtinti.com
Manalapan, NJ Bookclub
I had a great time talking about The Good Thief last month with a bookclub from Manalapan, NJ that meets at the Monmouth County Library. My mother was a librarian, so these library gatherings are dear to me. They just sent along this photo. Many thanks to Pat Whitehead for passing this along! I’m always happy to chat with bookclubs via phone or skype. Just send an email to bookclubs(at)hannahtinti.com.