Snapshots

— I went to the New York Public Library last night, to hear a panel of authors (4 playwrights, and one graphic-novelist) talk about literature today – what is it? What is happening in literature? What is our relationship to it? Is it different now than it used to be? The panel was led by Erik Bogosian, and two of my favorite playwrights: John Guare and John Patrick Shanley were on the panel. Another one of the playwrights, Stephen Adly Guirgis, is a guy I’ve met – he works with Philip Seymour Hoffman’s theatre company, Labyrinth. I’ve auditioned for them a couple of times. Guirgis’ plays have had enormous successes at Labyrinth. He’s very New York-ish, very down to earth. Showed up last night in jeans, he’s got the tough-guy accent – so so likable … I saw his Our Lady of 121st Street and it’s funny: I get used to not hearing good new writing on the stage anymore. So when you hear an original voice, a funny voice, it’s such a treat. But what I really want to say is: I am absoLUTEly in love with John Patrick Shanley. Oh my GOD. I mean, first of all – there’s his writing. I mean, come on. I’ve been in love with his plays for years now. But him in person!! Oh, bestill the heart. It was awesome to be in the presence of John Guare, too – I saw his House of Blue Leaves on Broadway when I was in high school (Ben Stiller in a spectacular Broadway debut) – great stuff. But it was Shanley I had the crush on. What I loved most was his positivity. I mean, that’s obvious from his plays. That he takes an optimistic outlook on life (think about Moonstruck) – He’s not a Pollyanna, but he believes in the goodness of people, and decency, and the possibility of love and human connection. So during the question and answer period, pretty much everyone standing up was complaining about the state of affairs. A lot of people used the phrase “these days” … which is always an alarm bell going off for me. It screams: ‘generality’ and it screams ‘sentimentality’. “These days no one cares about good writing anymore…” Uhm … really? Do you have any statistics to back that up? Cause pretty much everyone I know gives a shit about good writing. And Shanley wouldn’t let people get away with generalities, or that kind of fatalistic: NOBODY CARES ABOUT LITERATURE THESE DAYS attitude. Also, the price of theatre tickets came up at one point, how outrageous they are. Yes, this is true. But Shanley said, “There are a ton of ways to get cheap tickets. You just have to give a shit to figure it out. You can usher. You can get 25 dollar seats for the balcony. You can stand in line that day, there are all kinds of ways. And if a movie is 10 bucks now, and you go to movies all the time, then I think you can find the 25 bucks to see a play. Or you can just sit and complain about it. It’s up to you.” But he said all of this with such a nice humor – I loved his positivity, his outlook. Sure, some things are unfair. Sure theatre tickets are outrageously expensive. So … what now? You want to see plays, right? Then you find a way. I just – dammit. I was in love with him. He was funny, smart, stuck to his guns – It’s hard to stay positive when you’re surrounded by whiners. It’s really hard. But hey, he just won the Pulitzer – so he’s got nothing to lose! Also, I just love his face. I love what he looks like. Sigh. Ha!! It was a great night. Really inspiring.

— Such beautiful weather today it makes your heart ache. Oh. A perfect day. A nice wind, but warm sun … the vista of the Hudson … the city gleaming across the way. I was at Hamilton Park – in Weehawken, on Boulevard East. Spectacular. A cliff, a walkway, a pagoda … you can see the entire island of Manhattan right there. Right there. The vista is amazing. I looked at all the war memorials in the park. All the men in Weehawken who had died in WWI and WWII and the Korean War. Also, you know … it was cool … to be in the park named after my boyfriend.

— I finished Great Expectations. The book is such a fantastic ride, moody and dramatic and funny … and then all the loose ends are tied up in 3 paragraphs. “And then there she was. And then I took her hand. And we lived happily ever after.” That’s pretty much it. But still. An awesome read. I loved how funny it was.

— Getting ready for my class which starts June 8. I’m in a big ol’ editing mode. I actually enjoy editing my own writing. I know a lot of writers find it agonizing. I LOVE it. I love cutting shit out. I love putting away my writing for a bit, not looking at it, and then taking it out again and immediately seeing what I can lose. What I don’t need. It’s so CLEAR. Sometimes it’s a tough choice, because – I like the writing – but it’s obvious that it doesn’t belong. Strunk and White’s command: Omit needless words – is always in my mind.

— Red Sox fans: my great friend David is in a commercial with Tim Wakefield … Haven’t seen it yet, but apparently it’s been getting much play – my sister just saw it last night. So look out for it! David is such a huge Red Sox fan … what a rush to be in a commercial with Wake!!!