Littacher
Last night we headed up to Capitol Hill to hear Zadie Smith read from her latest novel, On Beauty. The event was held in what is usually a music venue, Neumo’s, and was sponsored by the alternative weekly The Stranger.
Smith’s first novel, White Teeth, was published when she was 24 years old, and was a major success. I thought it was a terrific accomplishment for a novelist of any age - fully developed characters of all ages, in a range of plot situations that a 50-year-old who was a careful observer of life might not be able to write, delivered with a measured and humorous prose style.
She’s 30 now, and a veteran of these book tours, and is an engaging stage presence. Some of the salient observations that I remember:
- When asked if, in light of her early success, she would eventually tire of the “writer’a life”, she drew a comparison between herself and Ian MacEwan, whom she said reveled in being a writer and, if given a 150-year lifespan, would use the extra time writing. She seemed to be acknowledging that the life may eventually fatigue her.
- Asked if she were a feminist and whether she felt she has a responsibility as a black woman writer, she said that she was a feminist, but that she felt that, in her writing, she was only responsible to create honest and readable fiction. From what I took away from White Teeth, that’s exactly how she writes. There was opportunity and, probably, temptation to become preachy in that novel, but there wasn’t a whiff of it that I remember.
- She called herself a “schematic” writer, in that she outlines a novel before writing.
- She’s a little squeamish about writing sex scenes, and hadn’t written any in her previous two novels, so she made herself write a couple for On Beauty.
I always feel, after one of these readings, that I should run right home and begin my literary career. The writers seem so human, and literary success seems so tangible in their presence.
A group I’ve been doing some volunteer work for, 826 Seattle, also had a presence at the reading, with a booth and volunteers taking donations. After their pattern in SanFrancisco, LA and New York, they have opened a drop-in facility where kids can participate in writing workshops and publish their work. There’s a party tonight for volunteers at their newly opened storefront facility, and we’re just about to leave for it.
