The list of things that can go wrong at a public reading is endless. Will anyone show up? Will they listen? If they listen, will they ask unanswerable questions? Or worse, will there be no questions at all? Will the audience be stifling yawns? Will the reader before you be brilliant while you stumble over your words? Will you forget how to speak? Choke on your tongue? Lose a tooth mid-sentence?
You are not the first writer to experience these fears. You will not be the last. And reading Mortification: Writers' Stories of Their Public Shame [Harper Perennial, 2004] will help you remember that even the most successful writers among us have experienced their share of embarrassing public moments and lived to tell the tale.
The anthology, edited by Robin Robertson, features essays by seventy writers including Margaret Atwood, Chuck Palahniuk, Margaret Drabble and Roddy Doyle. Each reveals an intimate and embarrassing story about some public humiliation from their writing career.
Embarrassing Moments for Atwood and Moody
Margaret Atwood writes of her first-ever book signing, which took place in the Men's Sock and Underwear Department at the Hudson's Bay Department store and at which she only sold two copies.
Rick Moody shares a disheartening story about a time when, due to a typo in the schedule, his reading took place one night after the advertised date. He writes, “Here I was, in our nation's capital, at this, the dawn of my career, and I was reading, as briefly as possible, to my mother, to a woman who had smoked pot with my brother in high school, and to a guy persuaded to sit through the reading for 10% off any purchase.”
The Public Writing Life
The anecdotes take place in a number of public literary arenas: public readings, book signings, media interviews, writing classes, reviews and reviewers, writing festivals, literary prize functions, and more.
Each essay is fronted by a quote chosen by the editor, and taken together these paint a funny portrait about the nature of shame, humility and delusions of artistic grandeur.
Somewhat Repetitive
With seventy writers, this book at times feels a bit repetitive. Really, there are only so many ways a writer can be mortified. And for the record, most involve alcohol. Luckily, the skill of the writers and the short length of the pieces makes this an entertaining read.
Good Gift for Writers
This book would make a great gift for writers or others who speak in public. It's a reminder that there's humour to be found in even the most humiliating moments, and that even the best writers start at the bottom. Kudos to them for sharing their embarrassing moments to give the rest of us a laugh.
Sarah Turner - Sarah K. Turner's writing has been published in the Utne Reader and Event magazine, where she was a winner of their 2006 annual Creative ...
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