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New on the bookshelves for Brautigan fans
Friday, May 12, 2000
By JOHN MARSHALL
Richard Brautigan was the writer who captured the tangerine dream flavor of the 1960s better than almost anyone. The Tacoma native, who grew up in Washington and Oregon, had a remarkable flair for language and image in such pop classics as "Trout Fishing in America" (3 million copies in print).
But Brautigan's life was bedeviled by alcoholism, and he committed suicide in 1984. In the subsequent years, Seattle and the Northwest have remained the prime market for his wonderfully idiosyncratic novels.
Now comes his daughter, Ianthe, with a new memoir of her father's troubled life, "You Can't Catch Death" (St. Martin's Press, 209 pages, $21.95), which she will support with readings next week at the University Book Store and The Elliott Bay Book Co. The daughter, who was 24 at the time of her father's death, has produced an episodic, quirky work that recalls her father's approach.
The memoir comes at the same time as the welcome publication of Richard Brautigan's last work, "An Unfortunate Woman" (St. Martin's Press, 110 pages, $17.95). This slim novel, much about death, takes the form of a traveler's journey and is pure Brautigan.
Brautigan's many fans include writer Tom Robbins of La Conner, who said recently, "I do think more people should know about him, absolutely. I think 'Trout Fishing in America' is one of the most important post-modernist works of fiction. There's never been a novel like it for a long, long time."
Friends Cunningham and Bloom bantered effortlessly before the huge crowd in the Fifth Avenue Theatre, unleashing one-liners as if they were part of a stand-up comedy competition.
But the evening was unsatisfying because of its shallowness, perhaps from the format, but also because of Cunningham's tendency toward self-promoting bluster. This winner of the Pulitzer Prize and PEN/Faulkner for "The Hours" was not using understatement when he said, "I have a certain desire to be loved, to cozy up to the reader and be received with wide-open arms."
Dubus, in contrast, provided one of the more memorable author events in recent months, if not years. The son of the late short-story master was self-effacing, thoughtful, intellectual. He frequently offered praise of writers whose work he admires.
Dubus' powerful novel, "House of Sand and Fog," was a finalist for the recent National Book Award, but the Massachusetts writer seemed unaffected by the honor. He seemed far more interested in providing ideas for his audience, or engaging in a genuine dialogue during their questions.
"I learned more about my book by reading reviews,than I did writing it,"Dubus admitted.
Stadler, 41, said the award was particularly meaningful to him because "my books tend to have secret lives and this shows they can have a readership that I wouldn't think would be reading my books. It extended the world I thought that my books exist in."
Toni Aspin, who was recently the chief financial officer of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, has joined Richard Hugo House as the literary center's first managing director. Her hiring represents a significant step in the ambitious plans for Hugo House.
Winners of 1999 National Outdoor Book Awards included writer Tim McNulty of Sequim and photographer Pat O'Hara of Port Angeles for their dazzling collaboration, "Washington's Mount Rainier National Park," published by Mountaineers Books of Seattle; Richard Bangs of Redmond for his gripping memoir of river rafting in Africa, "The Lost River."
Plenty of tickets still remain for the May 22 talk in Seattle by Michael Ondaatje. The author of "The English Patient" will be reading from his new novel, "Anil's Ghost." The 7:30 p.m. event will be at Town Hall. Tickets ($12) are available at The Elliott Bay Book Co. and through Seattle Arts & Lectures, (206) 621-2230.
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER Writers talk
Writers on stage can help their cause, or hurt it. That is one of the thoughts after two author events here, Michael Cunningham and Amy Bloom at Seattle Arts & Lectures and Andre Dubus III at the University Book Store.
Ianthe Brautigan reads from her memoir at 7 p.m. Thursday at the University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., 206-634-3400, and at 5 p.m. May 19 at The Elliott Bay Book Co., 101 S. Main St., 206-624-6600.
Book addenda
Matthew Stadler of Seattle is the winner of a $5,000 prize from the American Academy of Arts and Lectures for his novel, "Allan Stein." The Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award recognizes a worthy book that "though not a commercial success, is a considerable literary accomplishment."
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