The reason that week was particularly busy was that I decided, after deliberating over it for three years, to apply to a few low-residency MFA programs this year and all the applications are due by March 1. That day, I got home and did some work on the personal essay for my application. I was a little worried because the reading started at 7 and I wasn't sure we'd make it on time, but luckily I was able to finish my edits just before it was time to eat dinner and leave.
It was so much fun to hear Pam Houston read. Besides the fact that I like her writing and she spends some of her time in my home state of Colorado, Contents May Have Shifted has the elements of a travel narrative. Plus, it seemed like the novel was full of insight. It's about a fictitious woman named "Pam" who takes trips all around the world looking for answers to fundamental questions about life and about her own past. Each short chapter is named after a place she's visited. Every word seems to be carefully picked to convey a sense of place, as well as hints of what she learned on that trip. But Houston complicates the answers by turning the questions on their heads and surprising the narrator and the reader. It's a very smart novel; in fact, some of the jokes went right over my head. She only read about five chapters, but I heard enough to know that I'd like to pick it up.
Now for the serendipity part. While talking, she mentioned that she's the director of the creative writing program at the University of California, Irvine, as well as an instructor at a low-residency MFA program. After the reading, I looked her up on my phone and discovered that she teaches at Pacific University, which I am planning on applying to! It felt like a little sign from the universe that I was doing the right thing.
I originally posted a version of this blog post on ramblinbess.blogspot.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment
hey! thanks for commenting.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.