The discussion in class today about Richard Rubin’s talk reminded me of the fact that, a few weeks ago (before break) I went to the talk by Jennifer Egan—a talk that I found every bit as much brilliant and engrossing as it seems people found last-night’s talk.
One of the things that really struck me about the piece that Mrs. Egan read was the way she was able to combine so many story-lines and time-lines so seamlessly in one piece. As I am sure my group has come to understand, I have a bit of a pen chance for playing with timelines, and I love to weave a few different story threads into one. I suppose I like writing like this because I personally believe that nothing is ever singular; every action people take is influenced by, and influences, many, many other actions, both by themselves any by other. Because of this, I really like to read (and create!) stories in which this inter-connectedness of actions and consequences is showcased. I do not pretend to be even remotely as good at this as Mrs. Egan is; as her stuff is simply brilliant (I caved and got The Keep while there… I haven’t been able to read much of it yet, but I really have liked what I have read so far), but I can say that I was really inspired by her work. It is funny that the only Writer’s Conference that I was able to attend this semester was one that so closely fit with my own style… something that was fortuitous, if totally unintended (Sadly, I would have liked to be able to attend more of the Writer’s Conference, but as I work most nights I was unable to do so. Perhaps next semester!).
Who knows, maybe in a few years one of us will be reading as a guest of the English Department’s Writer’s Conference!
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