Writers

Inducting Gene Wolfe

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Gene Wolfe accepting the Fuller Award, 2012. (Photo by 8 Eyes Photography)

In 2012, it was my privilege to help develop a new award for the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, the Henry Blake Fuller Award, honoring a living author for their outstanding lifetime contribution to literature. We honored Gene Wolfe with the first Fuller at a beautiful ceremony at Sanfilippo Estate in Barrington Hills on March 17, 2012. My account of the evening is here on my blog. It was magic.

It has been almost a decade, and Gene is no longer with us. Tomorrow, on Sunday, September 19, 2021, we will induct him into the Hall of Fame proper, along with Carlos Cortéz, Jeannette Howard Foster, and Frank London Brown, in a ceremony at the City Lit Theater in Edgewater.

I will be presenting Gene’s award to his daughter, Therese Wolfe-Goulding. Kathie Bergquist will be our emcee, and there will be speeches by the other presenters, Tracy Baim, Carlos Cumpián, Kathleen Rooney, and those accepting the awards on behalf of the other inductees. While it won’t be broadcast live, there will be a recording of the event that will be up on the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame website later.

My tribute to Gene, along with rest of the program, will also be available on the website after tomorrow. (I’ll add it to the post here.)

It was challenging to find the words… actually, it was challenging not to go over the word limit for what we had the space for in the program… to celebrate this wonderful writer who contributed so much to literature and whom I was honored to call my friend.

I miss him, his anecdotes and unusual facts; his stories about growing up, writing, and convention adventures; his kindness, his smile, and his sense of humor. I treasure those conversations, and I will be so happy to present the award to Teri.

I hold onto the fact that I have those memories, and we have his words—his stories and novels, his letters and interviews. It makes me happy to know that he will be joining the ranks of other important writers who have called Chicago home, and who have previously been inducted in the Hall of Fame, including Studs Terkel, Gwendolyn Brooks, Nelson Algren, Lorraine Hansberry, Richard Wright, L. Frank Baum, Saul Bellow, Roger Ebert, and Mike Royko. The full list, along with biographies, is on the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame website.

One of my favorite photos of Gene with his daughter, Teri at the Fuller Award Ceremony. (Photo by Carl Hertz)

I’m going to share a video that I stumbled upon when I was doing a little research. In 1982, Gene Wolfe, Harlan Ellison, and Isaac Asimov appeared on a show called “Nightcap:  Conversations on the Arts and Letters” hosted by Studs Terkel and Calvin Trillin.

At the time Gene was 51, only a few years older than I am today. It was interesting to see this younger Gene, just over a decade into his career, and yet he’s much the same Gene I got to know at 80. 

 

We don’t often to get to know and love our literary heroes. It’s definitely a gift when we do, and I think it changes us for the better, but the rest of that I’m saving for my speech tomorrow night.

xxo

 

Live from Chicago…This Saturday

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When I was young, I didn’t know that science fiction conventions or fandom existed. A gathering place where people dressed up in costumes, met with “actual authors,” and talked about the stories they loved would have seemed as fantastic as some of the stories themselves. Reading was a solitary activity, and I didn’t know a lot of other kids (or later adults) who loved sci-fi or fantasy.

I attended my first convention in 2012, when the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) was held in Chicago (and called Chicon), and it opened up a new world to me. It was a joy to share that world with the kids in 2018 when we brought them to Worldcon in San Jose. 

If you’ve never been to a Worldcon, then you probably have never heard of “Stroll With the Stars.” Every morning at Worldcon for the last decade, fans have been invited to join guests to “Stroll With the Stars.” The activity was Stu Segal’s idea after he was challenged by artist Frank Wu to find a way to introduce fitness into fan activities. Stu came up with “Stroll with the Stars” to lure fans out for “some gentle exercise in the fresh air by strolling along with Hugo and Nebula winners and nominees, Grandmasters, artists and celebrities.” The strolls have been going strong ever since. 

This year’s Worldcon (which was supposed to be in New Zealand) is going virtual because of the pandemic, and it was suggested that during the lockdown, we have “virtual strolls.” To make sure the strolls are accessible to the fans in the Americas, UK, Australia, New Zealand, et al, they selected 4PM CT (10PM London, 9AM Auckland, 7AM Sydney, 2PM San Francisco), as the best time when most folks are awake.

Every day last week, an author, artist, or editor has done a Facebook Live Video on the “Stroll With the Stars: Home Edition Spring 2020” Facebook Group. Some have done a tour of their home or work space, others have taken us along on a walk in their neighborhood or garden. It’s been entertaining to hear how they are keeping safe and busy during these strange times. Guests have included: Ellen Datlow, Scott Edelman, Lawrence Schoen, Joe and Gay Haldeman, and others; and over the next month or two will include Ellen Kushner, Derek Kunsken, Steven Silver, Kate Baker, and many more. (Stu keeps updating the list on the Facebook group page.)

Nighttime calm after a long day.

Stephen and I will take our turn hosting a stroll this Saturday, May 2, 4pm CT. I’m not sure exactly what you’ll see, but we’ll be live on Facebook for 15 minutes or so, to give you a little peek into our quarantine lives. You can also chat with us in the chat window. Here’s the link to the group page, and we’ll post about it again on Facebook as we get closer. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/258166815210814/

You can join the “Stroll With the Stars: Home Edition Spring 2020” Facebook group if you want, or can tune onto Stephen or my Facebook page next Saturday when we’re live. The video will also be saved and available for watching afterward (we’ve watched a few of them in the evening after work hours). In the meantime, you can access previous strolls from the Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/258166815210814/videos/

I’m not much of a television (or YouTube) watcher. There’s just not a lot of time left over after work, kids, house, checking in on friends and family, and writing. Most of what we watch, we watch with the kids. Much of it is stuff they choose to share with us, or things we find to share with them.

I was never one to enjoy the reality shows of the past few decades; however, I have found recent joy in some of the programming the kids have shared with us during this quarantine time. From the Bon Appétit chefs cooking in their home kitchens to John Oliver broadcasting in his basement to the cast of Hamilton coming together via Zoom, I have enjoyed these honest glimpses into people’s homes and lives.

I appreciate the candor and generosity of people sharing some of the things that challenge them and inspire them right now. It highlights a shared humanness that I don’t think we often get to see. I hope that we can share the same with you this weekend. 

 

Ukrainian Connections

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I was delighted to be a part of the “Trapped” Reading last week at Trap Door Theatre in Chicago when the publisher Whiskey Tit arranged for two of its writers (who happened to be of Ukrainian descent) to fly into Chicago for a reading.

After a tasty dinner and lively conversation with Stefan O. Rak and Svetlana Lavochkina, we moved over to the theatre and welcomed guests.

The audience was enthusiastic, the musical accompaniment provided an unusual, creative twist, and both Stefan and Svetlana were wonderful and engaging readers.

I had broken my reading glasses an hour before, and one of the members of the audience was kind enough to lend me their glasses for the reading. It helped. 🙂

Jennifer B. Larson, another member of the audience shared her zine, Pulp Oddyssey, with me after the reading. It was fun to be handed a print zine. (I will always love the feel of paper and newsprint.) You can learn more at: www.disappearingmedia.comI don’t get to go to nearly as many readings as I would like to–one of the many challenges of being a parent of three and a working writer. I love getting the change to hear a writer read their own work live, especially when that writer is an excellent reader, as were both Stefan and Svetlana. I was caught up in both their stories, and I cannot wait to read their books! I’m also thrilled to have finally met Miette Gillette, who is doing an amazing job with Whiskey Tit. I look forward to following what her press and authors are doing in the future.

You can purchase their books direct from the Whiskey Tit website or on Amazon! 

The rest of the week was devoted to Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Fuller Award ceremony planning, spending time with friends in from the UK, and closing off the weekend by celebrating Liam’s performance at Thirsty Ears Music Festival, put on by his fabulous music school, ACM (Access Contemporary Music). I can not say enough about the instructors and staff at ACM. They are incredible musicians and generous, patient, and supportive teachers.

In the afternoon, Liam performed his original piano composition “Mist” on a gorgeous baby grand:

Then the evening closed out with ACM’s Sound of Silent Film Festival screening, where Liam’s Film Score class had the opportunity to watch a live ensemble perform their original musical score for the film, Hope by Michael Scherrer, performed by live musicians. It was remarkable. Each of the 5 students, ages 13-17, wrote a minute’s worth of the composition. The class was run by the incomparable Trevor Watkin, a talented musician, composer, and instructor.

AND our advance author copies of FORKING GOOD arrived! They’re beautiful, and we are so excited. We can’t wait until October!

If you want to get a copy in your hands before the release…during August, there is a Goodreads giveway to win 1 of 25 advance copies of the cookbook. The giveaway ends 8/30 and is U.S. only.

You can sign up here: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/295726-forking-good-a-cookbook-inspired-by-the-good-place