"Last official event!" In Japanese we say "otsukaresama deshita," which literally translates to "you are tired/it is tiring" but means something more like "thank you for all your hard work." I am sure you are also tired, but from the bottom of my heart, thank you for all your hard work George. For your books, your teachings, your time, warmth, and generosity of spirit you bestow upon us Story Clubbers. Otsukaresama deshita! These behind-the-scenes posts have been so much fun and I'm a little sad it's already coming to an end.
Hey StoryClubbers, you might want to checkout the rather profound podcast dropped today by The Ezra Klein Show called “George Saunders on the Braindead Megaphone that makes our politics so Awful”.
It’s rich with reflection, ambiguity, and revelation. My favourite line is George’s stated goal: to burn through disillusionment.
I was at George's event last night at the Writer's Guild. i think that makes me winner of the Number One George Nerd Prize, since i went to both of his los angeles events. It was very different from the one moderated by Judd Apatow. Nick Offerman was very funny and engaging, and he and George clearly adore one another. But overall, it was a more subdued evening. The crowd was, perhaps, older...? The room less packed. And the atmosphere less festive for whatever reason. But I feel perhaps I'm being too picky and maybe it wasn't the room at all--maybe it was me, less nervous about seeing George in person since I'd already seen him a few nights ago. Hard to know. (For whatever reason, there were many seats toward the front that were blocked off as "reserved" and so remained empty all evening. This pushed the audience further back into the room and left a feeling of emptiness there at the front. I don't know why in the world they did such a thing, but it seemed to be a bad idea.) Nick Offerman started off by talking...a lot. I mean, maybe 10 minutes of him talking away while George waited patiently for a question to appear. (Later, Nick made a joke about his talking so much, which made him very human. He's so quick-witted! I can see why George loves hanging out with him!) George hit all of the key points. On my Bingo card, I got Hemingway, Lincoln, Chekhov, Tolstoy, the 500 pound tome on the Mexican wedding, Paula, Syracuse, Tobias Wolff, Custer in the Bardo, Buddhism....but he never said the words "micro-decisions" so I lost the game. Also, there was nothing about cats. For Nick Offerman fans who also adore George, it was a win-win. I have to admit to not knowing Offerman at all--I've never seen him in anything (yes, i skipped Parks and Rec entirely--sue me!) and I've never read his books. So he was a new element for me and i enjoyed his manner of speaking, his self-deprecation, and his underlying nervousness. Overall, the evening was really lovely, and George was his own sweet self, which was great. Congratulations on getting through all of it, George! I hope you feel love and adored, because you are. xo
For perhaps ornery reasons I have tried to concentrate on the stories we're all reading/thoughts on them and stayed away from the George Saunders home team adulations (not that GS asks for it, btw - it's us on story club that can get all gooey eyed). However, this morning's dog walk/pod cast listen I tuned into Ezra Klein's pod cast to perhaps get some perspective on the Midterm madness that played out last night. But, instead of electoral politics . . . there was George. Being in the biz I am, I deal with a lot of politicians, corporate CEOs, leaders of various stripes and a few sports icons. That world was taken over about thirty years ago by the rise of the professional "Media Trainer". It's only gotten worse to the point that, now, no matter how much thought you put into an interview, conjure up tricks to subvert or go around a media trained "celebrity", attempts to get something genuine or even spontaneous out of your subjects it is almost a complete impossibility. So feeling especially blue about this state of affairs after last night's elections I inadvertently stumbled upon our fearless leader on Klein's show. And, what leapt out in like the first minute, what arrested me, was that I was listening to that endangered species, a real honest-to-god human being. One who listened, honestly conversed with the host and even if some of his material is, by necessity (the book tour, doncha know) schtick or warmed over, it was astoundingly genuine. And the effect of that on Klein was pronounced. He's usually pretty humane, not a jerk, but does have his rock ribbed opinions. But soon into this interview with George you could feel him soften so that it became this interesting and specific conversation between two really intelligent guys. To use the cliche, it was like water in the desert and made those of us who toil in the public world yearn for more and despair for how far we are away from that. Hopefully, we're now back to the world of story with (huzzah, huzzah) that great one himself, Mr Chekov. But for now, I've a card carrying member the gooey eyed story clubbers in a sincere paeon to George.
Commenting because you encouraged me to! :) Thank you for such an insightful, funny, and motivating conversation. I’m beyond grateful to have gotten the opportunity to hear you speak and also the bonus honor of saying hi afterwards.
Bombard away George. I've loved being updated on your tour. I'm deep into Manuel Munoz, deep is how think of my reading since starting Story Club. And deeper how I think of my writing. Looking forward to more Checkov, more instruction and even more heavy bombardment.
I wonder what Mr Chekhov would think of having one of his stories as “a return to normal”? Come to think of it, he’d probably think “yeah, that’s about right” (except in Russia of course).
Hey Story Clubbers, here's some news: George will be on Colbert this Thursday, preceded by Emily Blunt. (So, a nice, classy show.)
And George, if you're out there, a question: At which Beverly Hills hotel were you a doorman? I graduated from BH High School; my family lived there until 1999, so I know downtown BH very well. And loads of experiences at the nice, intimate Writers Guild Theatre. (Fun fact: Directly across the street from that theater is the Los Angeles Consulate of Afghanistan.)
Having read Nick Offerman's book with the hilarious chapter about his Glacier National Park adventure with George and Jeff Tweedy, I loved seeing this photo. Happy George got his glasses back. ;). And love this podcast interview. Glad there's still time for me at age 62. Now off to finish Liberation Day …
"Last official event!" In Japanese we say "otsukaresama deshita," which literally translates to "you are tired/it is tiring" but means something more like "thank you for all your hard work." I am sure you are also tired, but from the bottom of my heart, thank you for all your hard work George. For your books, your teachings, your time, warmth, and generosity of spirit you bestow upon us Story Clubbers. Otsukaresama deshita! These behind-the-scenes posts have been so much fun and I'm a little sad it's already coming to an end.
(I also have to ask: why two mugs?)
Hey StoryClubbers, you might want to checkout the rather profound podcast dropped today by The Ezra Klein Show called “George Saunders on the Braindead Megaphone that makes our politics so Awful”.
It’s rich with reflection, ambiguity, and revelation. My favourite line is George’s stated goal: to burn through disillusionment.
I was at George's event last night at the Writer's Guild. i think that makes me winner of the Number One George Nerd Prize, since i went to both of his los angeles events. It was very different from the one moderated by Judd Apatow. Nick Offerman was very funny and engaging, and he and George clearly adore one another. But overall, it was a more subdued evening. The crowd was, perhaps, older...? The room less packed. And the atmosphere less festive for whatever reason. But I feel perhaps I'm being too picky and maybe it wasn't the room at all--maybe it was me, less nervous about seeing George in person since I'd already seen him a few nights ago. Hard to know. (For whatever reason, there were many seats toward the front that were blocked off as "reserved" and so remained empty all evening. This pushed the audience further back into the room and left a feeling of emptiness there at the front. I don't know why in the world they did such a thing, but it seemed to be a bad idea.) Nick Offerman started off by talking...a lot. I mean, maybe 10 minutes of him talking away while George waited patiently for a question to appear. (Later, Nick made a joke about his talking so much, which made him very human. He's so quick-witted! I can see why George loves hanging out with him!) George hit all of the key points. On my Bingo card, I got Hemingway, Lincoln, Chekhov, Tolstoy, the 500 pound tome on the Mexican wedding, Paula, Syracuse, Tobias Wolff, Custer in the Bardo, Buddhism....but he never said the words "micro-decisions" so I lost the game. Also, there was nothing about cats. For Nick Offerman fans who also adore George, it was a win-win. I have to admit to not knowing Offerman at all--I've never seen him in anything (yes, i skipped Parks and Rec entirely--sue me!) and I've never read his books. So he was a new element for me and i enjoyed his manner of speaking, his self-deprecation, and his underlying nervousness. Overall, the evening was really lovely, and George was his own sweet self, which was great. Congratulations on getting through all of it, George! I hope you feel love and adored, because you are. xo
These extra normal posts have been great. I'm getting a good dose of vicarious fun.
For perhaps ornery reasons I have tried to concentrate on the stories we're all reading/thoughts on them and stayed away from the George Saunders home team adulations (not that GS asks for it, btw - it's us on story club that can get all gooey eyed). However, this morning's dog walk/pod cast listen I tuned into Ezra Klein's pod cast to perhaps get some perspective on the Midterm madness that played out last night. But, instead of electoral politics . . . there was George. Being in the biz I am, I deal with a lot of politicians, corporate CEOs, leaders of various stripes and a few sports icons. That world was taken over about thirty years ago by the rise of the professional "Media Trainer". It's only gotten worse to the point that, now, no matter how much thought you put into an interview, conjure up tricks to subvert or go around a media trained "celebrity", attempts to get something genuine or even spontaneous out of your subjects it is almost a complete impossibility. So feeling especially blue about this state of affairs after last night's elections I inadvertently stumbled upon our fearless leader on Klein's show. And, what leapt out in like the first minute, what arrested me, was that I was listening to that endangered species, a real honest-to-god human being. One who listened, honestly conversed with the host and even if some of his material is, by necessity (the book tour, doncha know) schtick or warmed over, it was astoundingly genuine. And the effect of that on Klein was pronounced. He's usually pretty humane, not a jerk, but does have his rock ribbed opinions. But soon into this interview with George you could feel him soften so that it became this interesting and specific conversation between two really intelligent guys. To use the cliche, it was like water in the desert and made those of us who toil in the public world yearn for more and despair for how far we are away from that. Hopefully, we're now back to the world of story with (huzzah, huzzah) that great one himself, Mr Chekov. But for now, I've a card carrying member the gooey eyed story clubbers in a sincere paeon to George.
Commenting because you encouraged me to! :) Thank you for such an insightful, funny, and motivating conversation. I’m beyond grateful to have gotten the opportunity to hear you speak and also the bonus honor of saying hi afterwards.
Since we're going back to Rus in a bit, here's some footage of 1896 Mockba that's been restored with AI...
https://youtu.be/6FN06Hf1iFk
What a great thing to wake up to this community and all the posts full of hope and energy. Enjoyed the podcast.
Bombard away George. I've loved being updated on your tour. I'm deep into Manuel Munoz, deep is how think of my reading since starting Story Club. And deeper how I think of my writing. Looking forward to more Checkov, more instruction and even more heavy bombardment.
Bombard away, George! Excellent conversation with Sam. And, we like photos.
I wonder what Mr Chekhov would think of having one of his stories as “a return to normal”? Come to think of it, he’d probably think “yeah, that’s about right” (except in Russia of course).
Hey Story Clubbers, here's some news: George will be on Colbert this Thursday, preceded by Emily Blunt. (So, a nice, classy show.)
And George, if you're out there, a question: At which Beverly Hills hotel were you a doorman? I graduated from BH High School; my family lived there until 1999, so I know downtown BH very well. And loads of experiences at the nice, intimate Writers Guild Theatre. (Fun fact: Directly across the street from that theater is the Los Angeles Consulate of Afghanistan.)
Thank you as ever, George, and to everyone in this kind community.
Having read Nick Offerman's book with the hilarious chapter about his Glacier National Park adventure with George and Jeff Tweedy, I loved seeing this photo. Happy George got his glasses back. ;). And love this podcast interview. Glad there's still time for me at age 62. Now off to finish Liberation Day …
This was a very honest soulful conversation. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Have a great event tonight, George. Enjoy!