My Recent Bookstore Conversation and Reading with Abigail Thomas

People who couldn't attend asked if the event would be recorded. So I made sure it was.

Photo by Jennifer O’Donnell

Last Sunday I had the great pleasure of being in coversation with master memoirist Abigail Thomas at Rough Draft Bar & Books in Kingston, NY, where I live. It was an honor to be asked, and great fun to talk and read with her.

The focus of the event was Thomas’ most recent memoir, Still Life at 80: The Next Interesting Thing, published last spring by Golden Notebook Press, a new publishing project from The Golden Notebook in Woodstock, NY—another of my favorite local places to shop for books and attend events.

Buy the book.

But Thomas is so generous, she insisted that it be a joint book event, in which I also read from my memoir (which she was kind enough to blurb), and that we discuss both books.

In the middle of the conversation, she upped the ante: When we were discussing our processes, and the additional creative pursuits that support them (Thomas is a former painter who now works with clay; I make crayon drawings and sing) she persuaded me to croon the chorus of Blue Bayou (the Ronstadt version, of course).

If you’ve read my book, you know it doesn’t take much to get me to belt out a tune. Still, I was taken off guard by Abby’s request and feel self-concious about my impromptu a capella performance. So, I’m putting the video behind a paywall, a) because I need more paid subscribers to keep doing the work I do here, and to keep paying contributors, and b) because I figure if you’re paying me to see the video, you’re less likely to be someone who’ll make fun of me.

*If you’re already a paying subscriber to Oldster Magazine, know that later today I’ll be posting the video behind a paywall there, too. Maybe you’d instead like to put your dollars toward acquiring some of Abigail Thomas’s many books:

Order books by Abigail Thomas

Bear in mind that in the video, there are times when Abby is not talking into the mic, and it’s hard to hear her. But for most of the interview, you can hear her, especially if you turn up the volume.

Below is our interview. Hope you enjoy it! - Sari