The Burrow

There were some pretty fabulous stories at the Female Agents of Change panel.  Moderated by the former editor of the Arizona Daily Star, these women Bobbie Jo Buel, Dahlia Lithwick, Sheri Brenden, Jemele Hill covered topics from abortion to Title IX, stopping off at racism, sexism and Donald Trump along the way.   Sheri Brenden's big sister was a junior in high school when she filed suit in Minnesota because her school did not have a girls' tennis team.   It wasn't a class action suit; that would have taken too much time.  She wanted to play in her senior year, not spend it in a courtroom.  She and her co-plaintiff won their suit, and the result was Title IX.    Her proud little sister wrote the story all these years later. She's still beaming. Dahlia Lithwick (Big Cuter: OH! From SLATE!!)  had us laughing from the start.  The Supreme Court was inching closer to equality.... we could see it from our porch  was her rueful descri...

Jim Nitzel , Malcolm Nance , Mark Leibovich, David Corn I spent some time with the talking heads I see on tv every night.  They were all perfectly comfortable with their broadcast credentials - Malcolm Nance called himself a spy who talks on tv. After spending the day watching Tucker Carlson being excoriated on MSNBC, I had a greater appreciation for this, from Major Garrett (formerly of Fox News) - Defending the truth is not BIAS! David Corn reminded us that the GOP has always included the Far Right - Joseph McCarthy, the John Birch Society, Ronald Reagan, Pat Robertson - and then Nance was on, again.  Today's Far Right has been infiltrated by Russia , and Putin knows an idiot when he sees one.    There were lots of heads nodding as he described Trump giving his base and the toady politicians who follow him, permission to be nasty - then they will be respected.  Switching gears and speaking directly to the C-SPAN BookTV cameras airing the event live, he call...

 Do you know Temple Grandin? She's a Colorado State University professor of animal sciences, an animal behaviorist, and an autism activist.  Labeled autistic, she didn't speak until she was three and a half.  On Saturday, she spoke eloquently and passionately and intelligently about animal behavior, the lack of shop and sewing classes in public schools, the hands on classes where visual thinkers thrived.   Education phased out ways to enhance object visualizers  she said, while bemoaning the demise of the Clever Engineer, working in the shop, inventing mechanical devices.  We've lost the ability to make things,  reminding us that the chip was invented here, but isn't made here.   There were three more take-aways I want to share: If I have to take a course to use the software, it's a failure.  I shouldn't have to learn to use the software. A young man identified himself as "on the spectrum" and asked When you're weird, how do you sel...

It's my favorite weekend in Tucson.   Free to the public, there are hundreds of author presentations,  indie publishers hawking their wares,  tents devoted to science and food and racial justice, and a kids' village. There were giant games to play and an even bigger heart to walk through. There was a NASA Solar System Ambassador, whose explanation of gravity's effect on space actually penetrated my brain. Her outfit was outdone only by her demeanor.  She looked that happy even when she was explaining Einstein.  (By the way, did you know that Jupiter's day is longer than its year?) I was struck by the footwear of the men on one panel. I was in the front row for Jemelle Hill's fabulous sneakers.   It was sunny and in the 70's.   Visitors were in shorts and t-shirts, blue jeans and backpacks, baby strollers and wheelchairs. I have no idea what these two were up to. I didn't notice Jack Sparrow...

It's my favorite weekend of the year, and now you can share in the joy.  The  Tucson Festival of Books    starts today at 9am.  The sessions are all on CrowdCast, both live with a chat function and archived for future viewing. I listened to Garry Trudeau in a pre-festival special event.  I was impressed with the quality of the presentation.  If you're interested, click through to the list of authors/sessions/exhibitors and dive in.   It's where I'll be all weekend.

The seats in the middle were reserved for major donors.  The seats on the sides were available.  I took the first row, center aisle seat, and watched as Susannah, Billy Collins's wife, followed the escorts and her husband into the room. He went toward the stage.  She came toward me.  I stood up, saying her name, extending my hand, apologizing for remembering her when I was certain she didn't remember meeting me, 7 years ago, at the Arizona Inn...... "I do remember.... your name is Sue.... right?  You were wearing one beautiful boot...." and then we hugged.  We remembered a little bit more,, and then she hugged me again.  I took my seat again, reeling from the glow. Billy Collins took the stage for a reading, telling us that we experience poetry viscerally, we see it, hear it, feel it touch it... and I found myself caressing the pages of his poetry as I read along with him. He read The Lanyard, and I spent a misty moment or two missing G'ma....

Elsa was there, at the entrance.   The little girls were mesmerized, squealing in that high pitch only achieved by 3 year olds in ecstasy when Elsa bent down to talk to them. I became a Friend of the Festival, making a donation to insure that I would have a seat to see and hear my favorite poet, ever. I was in the front row for Billy Collins's solo performance, and for his duet with Juan Felipe Herrera the next day. Billy Collins was the highlight for me, but there were many, many other wonderful events. Sitting, again in the front row, I watched Scott Turow lean his head first on his left hand and then on his right hand as he answered questions with fully formed paragraphs. Greg Iles shared the stage with him, and that's about all they share.  Different styles, different techniques, and very very different accents.   Robert Crais talked about his main character, Elvis Cole, as if he were in the room with us. I was in th...

Lurking outside the Author Registration Station, hoping to run into my freshman suite-mate's daughter, a novelist and presenter at the Tucson Festival of Books last Saturday, I chatted up Katy Tur. She'd walked into and out of the office and met my eye as I smiled and wondered if she was surprised to be unrecognized, guessing that it didn't happen very often. "Not so much anymore," and she smiled again and we talked about being in the right place at the right time for an opportunity to fall in your lap.  About showing up and saying yes.  About what a powerful lesson her experience taught the kids I know. And our minute was over.  She turned to walk away, paused, smiled, turned back and extended her hand. "Katy Tur." ) "Suzi Hileman." She smiled, made eye contact, shook firmly. I filed away her perfect introduction for later use. We went our separate ways. ***** Just another magical afternoon at the Tucson Festival of Books. Mor...

Scott Turow called Presumed Innocent  “a gynecological mystery” ****** What to do with an unwanted thought? According to Greg Iles, “we’ll have to leave that where Jesus flung it.” ***** Iles writes from the first person present viewpoint, rather than via omniscient narrator, “because I don’t know any gods personally.” ***** Dan Millman quoted Daniel Day Lewis’s father - “I write not to be understood but to understand.” ***** “Snood is a fun word to say.”  Watching Billy Collins shrug and say that from my front row seat was fun, too. ***** Juan Felipe Herrera, US Poet Laureate from 2015-2017, looked out on the full house and spread his arms wide. “I am so happy we are all together. This is the society we want......the ease.....” ***** And I’ll leave you with that smile for now.  More details tomorrow.

The Tucson Festival of Books opens for business on Saturday morning.  If I get there at 8:30 I can attend a "cocktail party style breakfast" with several of the presenting authors.  I'm bemused by the description, and tempted to go.  The advantage of going that early is that parking will be easier.  The closest garage is for authors and staff; the secret parking lots in the near environs fill up fast.  I've learned over the years to figure out where I'll be at the end of the day, and try to leave my car at that end of the mall.  There's nothing more likely to put a grump on my face and a limp in my step than facing the prospect of a mile or more trek back to The Uv. I'm mentally pre-packing my backpack, running through the parts of the day, remembering what I will need at lunch, in presentations, as I walk and sit and wait.  This is my 8th or 9th weekend with TFOB; I have lots of experience on which to draw. My moleskine notebook has but two empt...

Saturday morning, an hour before the first session of the first day of the TFOB, I was comfortably ensconced in the front row, feeling somewhat lonely. Forty five minutes later, I was feeling the crush. I listened to Tim Stellar and Joe Conason  discuss covering the news in the 21st century. "It's much harder to print fake news in a print paper than on-line," Conason said.   "They get most of it right most of the time."   His advice to the media - "You don't need to repeat every nonsense tweet" - seemed like a delusion, television being the ratings driven business that it is.  But the man used the word tendentious , a lovely, rarely used word, and for that I can forgive a multitude of sins.   Before I left for Penelope  at The Rogue Theatre , I shared a moment with Ron Fournier .  During his love story about his relationship with his son, he shared a fact I know is true:  Michelle Obama is the best hugger! Sunday mornin...

The shoes told the story. The Arizona Star reporter wore her work-a-day cowboots as she sat on the high stool, interviewing the author. The author, shiny shoes on the left,came to town from New York City.                               The Tucson based interviewer has dusty sneakers. And then there was Amy Dickinson, of Ask Amy fame. She came to town from upstate New York, and her short heels were perfect with her tan tunic and pants.  They must not have been very comfortable, though.                                            T

Quotes and ideas from TFOB authors: T. Jefferson Parker  - On finishing a wonderful book:  That feeling you get when you can't read anything else for a while after it's done.  It changes your life for a while Adam Mansbach - On reading You can reach a level of intimacy unparalleled in anything else. Adam Mansbach - On profanity It's said that profanity is used because the author cannot think of another word. I can always think of another word.  Sometimes, fuck is the right word.  No parent has ever stood over a screaming child at 3 in the morning and said "Go the heck to sleep!" Merle Reagle -  On the misuse of the language You're just exasperating the situation ..... it gets to the point, but it's wrong! Merle Reagle -   On clues he couldn't use in a puzzle, but had to share with us Tyne Daley's take on 50 Shades of Grey -  Gag Me and Lace Me Aaron Paul was a meth head actor  in Breaking Bad ( meth head.... method......

It's my favorite weekend of the year... and Tucson has a lot of really good weekends. It started on Friday night with The Rock Bottom Remainders Dave Barry, Amy Tan, Scott Turow were just a few of the authors who should keep their day jobs. What they lacked in skill they made up for with enthusiasm. Amy Tan has some dance moves, and Dave Barry has a love affair going on with the harmonica, and I'm still hoarse from singing along. The concert was over by 9:30; we were told that clapping for an encore would be to no avail. They had played all the songs they knew. The next morning dawned sunny and warm. I parked where I wanted to end my day, and strolled past the circus performers  and down the UofA Mall. It was lined with those ubiquitous white tents... tents which captured the heat as Valerie Plame and Michael McGarrity interviewed one another.  The moderator had nothing to do but enjoy the repartee.... which, except for a grammatical faux pas or ...

The Tucson Festival of Books has much more than books.  Early in the morning, it looked like this. But by mid-day this was more usual.  Everything is so well thought out at the Festival. The recycling is next to the garbage and both are recyclable containers.  There was no trash on the ground.   This vertical garden was an interesting idea, but the droopy leaf up there at the top made me question its efficacy in the desert.   When questioned, the grower couldn't disagree.  I moved on to the books. passing Authors Helping Authors and this friendly fellow who happily smiled for a picture in The Burrow. I gave him my card; I wonder if he'll comment and let us know that he's out there?   Of course, there were authors, too, Robert Dugoni, John Lescroart, Mike Lawson and I was able to sit up close to some old favorites and some new discoveries.  Mike Lawson and I shared a brick ledge on Saturday aftern...