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Last night was the first local Writers With Drinks on a Thursday. It was also smoke-free, now that the new Cambridge ordinance has gone into effect.
There were five people in the line-up. First was Raquel Evita Seidel, who read her poetry. She reads well (a distinct skill from writing), and I liked her work. Most of it was bilingual, incorporating Spanish, while one fragment had Arabic as well. I wasn't sure if the scarf she was wearing was for religious reasons, since it wasn't in the same style as I've seen other Muslim women wear.
Tissa Hami was second, the only Muslim woman in the U.S. who's a stand-up comic. She was also wearing a head-scarf, a black one that was pinned under the chin in traditional fashion. Most memorable: her filk on Adam Sandler's Thanksgiving song, [edit Actually, it was the Hannuka song.] changing it to a song about Ramadan. *giggle*
Charlie not only hosted the event, she also read her article from the most recent edition of other (in stores now! :-), about boundary police.
After a break, Jeremiah Healy (aka Terry Devane) read a chapter from Stain Upon the Robe, his new mystery about priests who abuse children. It was an intense chapter, and his voice was good. He used to be a law professor before he turned to writing full-time, and he was very comfortable with all eyes on him.
The last person was Lise Haines, who read part (a chapter?) of an upcoming book, Milk. She has some beautiful language, but I thought the plot jumped around a bit more than I liked. As part of a larger work, though, this wouldn't be so noticeable as it was in this excerpt.
There were five people in the line-up. First was Raquel Evita Seidel, who read her poetry. She reads well (a distinct skill from writing), and I liked her work. Most of it was bilingual, incorporating Spanish, while one fragment had Arabic as well. I wasn't sure if the scarf she was wearing was for religious reasons, since it wasn't in the same style as I've seen other Muslim women wear.
Tissa Hami was second, the only Muslim woman in the U.S. who's a stand-up comic. She was also wearing a head-scarf, a black one that was pinned under the chin in traditional fashion. Most memorable: her filk on Adam Sandler's Thanksgiving song, [edit Actually, it was the Hannuka song.] changing it to a song about Ramadan. *giggle*
Charlie not only hosted the event, she also read her article from the most recent edition of other (in stores now! :-), about boundary police.
After a break, Jeremiah Healy (aka Terry Devane) read a chapter from Stain Upon the Robe, his new mystery about priests who abuse children. It was an intense chapter, and his voice was good. He used to be a law professor before he turned to writing full-time, and he was very comfortable with all eyes on him.
The last person was Lise Haines, who read part (a chapter?) of an upcoming book, Milk. She has some beautiful language, but I thought the plot jumped around a bit more than I liked. As part of a larger work, though, this wouldn't be so noticeable as it was in this excerpt.