Thursday, November 12, 2009

Report from Normandale Reading Series 11/10

Matt Mauch from the Normandale Reading Series at Normandale Community College provided a great overview of the presentation on Tuesday, November 10th in Bloomington, Minnesota. My deep thanks again to the wonderful students, staff, faculty and community members who came to attend. It was a great evening with some excellent questions from young writers from diverse backgrounds around the world.
Bryan mixed talk on craft and theory and language with poems from his latest book, "Barrow." What was so great is that the talk on craft and theory didn't feel talk on craft and theory; it felt like one writer encouraging other writers to take risks, to listen to and trust themselves, to remain humble before the words. Allusions to pop culture and the literary canon shared the stage (which was a table and a stool, because podium and mic were never delivered). The audience asked great questions (they must have had good teachers somewhere along the line) and Bryan gave lucid, anecdotal, in-depth responses that were as factual as they were inspiring. All in all, a fantastic night overlooking the moonlit Japanese Garden at Normandale Community College.

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