Literary Inspo: Makkai and Powers in the City
We be literary.
As a fairly committed hermit, I'm often caught in a glass cage of emotion regarding author events. They are always at night, and I do not do nighttime outings anymore (especially after listening to Sally Hepworth recite her "No List" on an Australian podcast - completely genius way to give yourself permission to not say yes to everything!)
For me, anything in the city, especially at night, is a HUGE no (thank you summer 2020 PTSD). . .
except when my two most favorite authors are at a single event and my sister said she would go with me!!!
Last Saturday, we ventured to downtown to see Richard Powers and Rebecca Makkai at the Chicago Humanities Festival, and I can say with great certainty: it was worth leaving the house.
While I've devoured every podcast featuring these authors, and watched Rebecca on numerous StoryStudio Zoom classes, being in the same room with two of my heroes was an entirely different experience. It was magical. I fought back tears for no reason other than sharing physical space with these literary heroes, people whose work changed my life.
Literary Heroes In Action
To see these authors in 3-D, humans who conjured entire worlds and affected me in a concrete way — AND, having studied their work intensely, hear them dissect Powers’ latest novel on a craft level — well, it was very different from watching lawyers on Corporate Counsel panels. I felt motivated, inspired, in awe and left the event knowing deep down that writers are MAGICIANS.
(If you have not read The Overstory or Great Believers, please do!)
(And a special shout-out to my friend Pauline who purchased the books immediately after I recommended them - I hope you love them!)
A copy of Powers’ latest release, Playground, was included with the ticket - I can’t wait to read it and report back. (Since The Overstory made me move from the city to a leafy suburb in search of communion with trees, who knows where I’ll end up moving after reading this novel about oceans.)
Powers' latest novel & its mesmerizing metallic foil cover
In sum, this event reminded me why I chose to pursue this profession. There's something truly magical about making stories for other people, stories in which they (hopefully) immerse themselves for a few days, and maybe linger longer.
Also, Rebecca Makkai is #goals. Not only was her outfit on point as always, but she is a funny and excellent public speaker with a boundless amount of energy (based on all of her events and novels and classes and Substacks and retreats and residencies and MFA teaching jobs). She does not know this, but I have adopted her as my unofficial literary mentor.
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Have you ever had a similar experience at a literary event? Which authors would inspire you to break your own rules and venture out for an evening? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
