A Continuing Literary Quest

Andre Dubus III did a reading of his from his latest book, a memoir called “Townie” at a session of the Newburyport Literary Festival in the Unitarian Universalist Church on Pleasant St.

The church is a dazzling white affair with black shutters and the architectural clarity of a newly renovated 1700’s building. The inside is separated into boxes with pews inside. I went to the front, nearest the altar and sat in an odd shaped box that had a musician’s music stand in it.

At the front middle of the church sat a waist high Masonite table with a neat pile of hymnals. An attractive, gray haired lady was adding to the pile of hymnals, testing that the microphone was the correct height for ‘reading.’ It was a few minutes to the hour and Andre wasn’t there yet. The church was nearly full. There were other seats in my pew and a wildly beautiful woman with black hair and an expensive camera was placed in the pew with me by the grey haired lady. We were in close quarters so we moved the music stand to the side.

“Are you part of the Press?” I said, indicating her camera.

“No, I’m his wife.”

“Oh.”

“He’s always late.”

“Is that him?” A man from the back of church was making his way forward.

“No, that’s not him — he’d be a little neater. My name is Fontaine.”

We shook hands.

“My name is Paula.”

“You know that one of the librarians that read the book, ‘Townie’, said it was the best book she had ever read. Not the best memoir, the best book,” said Fontaine proudly.

Shortly, another woman arrived who was older with black hair, neatly dressed and beautiful, as well. It was Fontaine’s mother, Andre’s mother-in-law. I didn’t get her name because the noise level went up appreciably as Andre had arrived.

He was up front with his arm around the grey-haired lady, Vicki Hendrickson, the woman in charge of the Newburyport Literary Festival. All I heard from the mother-in-law was, “It’s a great book. I couldn’t put it down for three days.” I immediately loved these two women for their good humor and the intense loyalty to Andre was infectious.

Andre Dubus III is about 5’10” tall with medium brown hair in moderate brushed back look and side burns and deep set eyes. I would say he was about 50 years old. I’m not particularly good with ages; he said he was 50 years old. His face was pleasing and he smiled easily. He was dressed casually but neatly in jeans and blue shirt and a casual suit jacket – as neat as Fontaine had said.

He was known for his book; “House of Sand and Fog” which was picked by Oprah’s Book Club and was made into a major motion picture. The movie was up for several Academy Awards and starred Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley. It was about a deeply depressed woman who lost her house for some minor tax issues and it was acquired by Ben Kingsley’s character, a fiercely proud retired Iranian General. The book is about pride and cultural clashes and what a home means. It is very intense and remarkably well-done. I was a limp dish-rag when the film ended.

Fontaine retired to other areas of the church to take pictures. Then Andre read from, “Townie”, his newest book, a wrenching memoir of his life in Haverhill and along the Merrimac River as a young man. He read for a good half hour. There is nothing in my mind like an author reading from his own work.

The first time I had heard it and was impressed was when I heard Sebastian Junger read from, “The Perfect Storm” on Book TV. I had shared this experience with Fontaine while we were waiting for Andre.

“But isn’t Sebastian cute?” Fontaine added. 

“Yes, cute”, I agreed.

Andre’s reading paused twice because he had a couple of swear words and he wanted to check if any children were in the crowd. In the question and answer session. I asked the only question I always ask a successful published writer because I have been trying to write a historical fiction novel for the last three years.

“How do you work?”

“I write longhand with a #2 Ticonderoga pencil on white paper and then the next day I type it up.”

“So one day you are the artist, the writer and the next you are the editor.”

“Are you a writer?”

“I have been working on a book for three years.”

He continued, “I have a student who has to have every sentence perfect as she writes it. It’s like having a baby and it’s gooky and yucky and it’s not all the way born and you don’t even know the sex of the child and you are trying to comb it’s hair and that’s not the way to write. Just write and get it on paper then fix it up.”

After the question and answer session I went to the back of the church in foyer and purchased “Townie” and stood in line for an autograph. I gave him my card which says writer and my name and my pen name.

“Good pen name.  What is your book?”

“I am not as brave as you – I am writing about family but in a historical fiction format.”

“That’s hard. There’s a book by Doctorow called “The March”. It’s about the Civil War. Read that.”

His autograph in the front of my book said, “Here’s to you and your work. Warmly, Andre Dubus III. I walked to my car a little lighter and better informed.