I have written the stories in A House Is a Body, all of them, as a map of the possible, as an act of survival. I ask myself Then what happens? and wait for the answer to come--it is the question that builds the house, sentence by sentence, page by page.
--"The Story House: An Essay," Shruti Swamy (from A House Is a Body: Stories)
Thank you to everyone who joined the discussion on Sunday, October 21, of A House Is a Body: Stories by Shruti Swamy, a San Francisco-based writer.
Shruti Swamy's first novel, The Archer, was published in September. Her schedule of readings and conversations is posted on her website. The novel is available at Books Inc. in hardcover or eBook.
Links and notes from the book discussion:
"Mystery and Pleasure: A Conversation with Shruti Swamy" (Asian American Writers' Workshop)
"Shruti Swamy: The Intensity of Language" (Guernica)
Shruti Swamy was one of five writers featured in a 2020 Litquake event on the art of the short story. (This is the link to the show on Apple Podcasts; you also can find Litquake's Lit Cast through other podcast apps.)
In "Earthly Pleasures," one of the stories in the collection, Swamy writes about a Mark Rothko painting at SFMOMA.
In the same story, she writes about the Rothko Chapel in Dallas. Take a virtual visit.
(A side note: In 2019, SFMOMA sold a different Rothko painting as part of its deaccession strategy to diversify the collection. The painting sold for $50M.)
Other literary and artistic links to note:
The Litquake festival is happening now, with in person and virtual events. The Litcrawl returns this Saturday. Check out the schedule.
Rabih Alameddine, whose novel An Unnecessary Woman earned praise from our group, has a new book, The Wrong End of the Telescope, that is centered on the Syrian refugee crisis. He discussed the novel last week, as part of this year's Litquake festival. The fascinating conversation can be viewed on YouTube.
SFMOMA's Joan Mitchell exhibition has opened. One of our members, a docent at SFMOMA, has recommended Mitchell's work.
Our November Book
On November 21, we will discuss The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America by historian Timothy Snyder.
"In this forceful and unsparing work of contemporary history, based on vast research as well as personal reporting, Snyder goes beyond the headlines to expose the true nature of the threat to democracy and law. To understand the challenge is to see, and perhaps renew, the fundamental political virtues offered by tradition and demanded by the future. By revealing the stark choices before us--between equality or oligarchy, individuality or totality, truth and falsehood--Snyder restores our understanding of the basis of our way of life, offering a way forward in a time of terrible uncertainty." (more)
Discussion details:
Sunday, November 21
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time
Online, via Zoom (audio-only call-in option available)
For information, including the link, please sign up for the email list using the link below.
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