Back in July, Jim Ruland interviewed me for his Vermin on the Mount blog. He asked about the most unusual experience I’ve ever had at a reading.
Here’s what I had to say…
“Many years ago I saw William Vollmann read at the Booksmith in San Francisco. He walked into the store, stood at the lectern, took a sip of water, and pulled out a gun. Three or four times throughout the reading, he picked up the gun, aimed it at the ceiling, and pulled the trigger. The gun, of course, wasn’t real; it was a cap gun, but it was fucking loud, and I was sitting in the first row. My ears were still ringing the next morning. Vollmann was weird and edgy and intense. He wore a white t-shirt and stalkeresque windbreaker. His glasses were very large. In The Catcher in the Rye, doesn’t Holden say something about how wouldn’t it be great if you read a book and could then call the writer on the phone and become pals? I wouldn’t want to call William Vollmann.“
Yeah, that’s weird. I’ve heard Hunter S. Thompson readings were spectacles.
Hey Jason,
Oh yeah. I saw Hunter S. Thompson when I was in college. He was completely incoherent. People started leaving.