July 21st, 2006
On Monday I drove nine hours to Pennsylvania. On Tuesday I met a reporter who’s doing a story about Fun Home and wanted to see the actual house I grew up in, and that my father so painstakingly restored. The place is for sale. It was very odd being there because in many ways, it’s just the same as it was when my mom sold it over twenty years ago. The trees and shrubs and flowers are badly in need of pruning, though. They’re threatening to swallow the place up.
Just like, upon my return to Vermont, my sadly neglected email and lawn are threatening to swallow me up. I have so many things to do, I can’t seem to begin any of them.
July 15th, 2006
I had a very pleasant, intime reading in Burington last night at the good old Peace and Justice Store.
Today’s the first day I haven’t had to go anywhere in quite a while. Here I am studiously attacking my staggering backlog of email.
I’m trying to keep doing that and resist being sidetracked by the extremely interesting discussion going on in the last post. But thanks to everyone who’s been contributing to that. Yeah, at my readings, lots of people have been pointing out the way I’ve ended up mirroring many of my dad’s neuroses in the creation of the book. The obsession with detail, the compulsive collecting (he collected antiques, I collect ephemera and documents), the escape into literature. I have to confess, I didn’t really see this clearly until after the book was done. Okay. Back to work.
July 13th, 2006
I know Fun Home has gotten a lot of good reviews, but this article by Hillary Chute in the Village Voice is excellent. She really gets the book. A most gratifying sensation indeed.
