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Ferociouskitty
Veteran Poster
Username: Ferociouskitty
Post Number: 494
Registered: 02-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 17, 2008 - 10:41 am: | 
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...because I've got a new May-December secret celebrity crush, and his name is Walter Mosley!
I heard him read his work and speak (Q&A) last night...and I'm in love. He's obviously a great artist and an activist, plus funny, irreverent, and down-to-earth. He did not mince words last night about white folks (it was a mixed crowd), racism, politics, the publishing game, you name it.
He talked about the impetus for writing "Killing Johnny Fry", his "sexistential" novel which not everyone loved, but I did.
He talked about being mistaken a lot for Pittsburgh's native son, August Wilson--and then learning that Wilson was being mistaken for him. He also gets mistaken for Billy Joel.
The best part is that there was a large group of high school students in the audience. He'd spoken with them earlier, privately, and apparently it was a good time. I was so happy that they were there soaking him in. He had a lot of important and challenging stuff to say, but he did it in a very engaging, accessible manner. He talked about the election, he talked about slavery and its legacy, he talked about "n*gger", and on and on. AND he had solutions, not just talk.
Yes, he was wearing the trademark hat, and yes, I got my book signed ("The Tempest Tales"). I think I purred when he asked me my name.
The wonderful Cave Canem Foundation was one of the organizations responsible for bringing him to town. Another reason to love them. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 12965
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 17, 2008 - 12:30 pm: |
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One of the more engaging things about Walter Moseley is that he is a natural-born, gifted writer. In college, he did not major in jouralism but got his degree in computer science. He was a techie nerd who gravitated toward the art of writing where he proved to be equally adept. |
Ferociouskitty
Veteran Poster
Username: Ferociouskitty
Post Number: 495
Registered: 02-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 17, 2008 - 12:55 pm: |
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Cynique, I was reading in the program bio how "The Color Purple" was the book that awakened his interest in writing. That, and one sentence he wrote about some blacks folks sitting on a porch in Tennessee (I think it was Tenn.). I had assumed he'd been writing much longer. |
Libralind2
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 1112
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 17, 2008 - 04:46 pm: |
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I too Love Mosley
LiLi |
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