Halloween Haul
Last week was jam packed with activity, and I feel like I didn’t have much time to catch my breath. I had two readings in New Orleans. One was at Bar Redux, the same venue where Kechi and I got married six weeks ago. (Sunday) and the other was at the Milton H. Latter Memorial Library, also in New Orleans.
I dearly love the Latter Library, especially around Halloween. Years ago, I went to Jon Padgett’s Halloween reading there, and it was, without a doubt, the most atmospheric horror reading I’ve ever been to. The best place to read there is the room with the fireplace. Usually, there are long tables with chairs in there, but those are moved out of the way, and thanks to the brilliant planning and outreach work by Shelby Goddard (who is a literal joy and a treasure) the place is always packed out. An enormous hand-carved mantelpiece dominates the room, and I’m honestly surprised I’ve never put it into a piece of fiction. To tell you the truth, the more I write about this, the more certain I am that I’m going to have to include a Latter Library set-piece in DEAD END BOYS.
When Jon read there, he turned out just about all the lights, except for one mounted on his lectern, and he read from his then-new collection, The Secret of Ventriloquism. I honestly believe that that book is essential reading for horror fans. It’s a collection of linked stories infused with a Ligottian sense of gloom and cosmic horror centered around the already-creepy concept of ventriloquism. Jon is a lapsed ventriloquist himself, and I love the way he’ll sometimes pull out a dummy head to chill listeners to the bone.
Jon also has an excellent reading voice—he narrates the audiobook of Secret of Ventriloquism himself, as well as several of Ligotti’s books, as well as others. You can sample his work for free on the Nightmare Magazine podcast and on Pseudopod. I know I’m forgetting some venues, but those are the two where I’ve found his most impactful work.
Anyway, one of the things I love most about that Halloween reading in, what, 2014 or so? Was the fact that Jon’s light on the lectern threw up an enormous silhouette behind him, and as he read, I began to feel that if I watched it closely enough, I might catch it moving independent of Jon’s gesturing.
At Tuesday’s reading, Ariadne Blayde read from her novel Ash Tuesday while Marita Woywod Crandle read from her newest book, Mosquito: Southern Vampires, out from Pelican Press. Marita owns a few vampire-themed café’s and bars in New Orleans, and herself has an impressive set of fangs. It seems to have become an annual tradition that attendees and other library patrons submit two-sentence horror stories that Shelby reads aloud between authors. I even wore my Fred Flintstone costume. Since Halloween itself got badly rained-out here in Baton Rouge, I’m going to have to trot it out again just to feel like I got my money’s worth. The Latter reading was a beautiful event, and I look forward to it every year—not least because Shelby is so good at planning, outreach, and execution.
Ariadne was also on Sunday’s reading at Bar Redux, which also included Nikki Ummell, Adam Karlin, and Adrian Van Young. Everyone on that reading was also a knock-out. Everyone showed off beautifully-written work, fiction, nonfiction, and autofiction.
This is getting a little long, so I’ll stop soon! On Friday, Kechi and I caught Pass Over, the Nola Project’s new play starring DC Paul and Martin “Bats” Bradford. It’s a racially informed riff on Waiting for Godot, and it was truly powerful. The play was performed on the grounds of the New Orleans African American Museum in Faubourg Treme, and one thing that has stuck with me was the way the production incorporated ambient neighborhood sound and the actors reacted to sirens near and far, as well as the helicopters flying overhead. We also spent some time at what is rapidly becoming our most-frequented comedy venue, Sports Drink, over in the Garden District. Listen, if you’re ever in New Orleans, make sure to hit the place up. By day, it’s a charming little coffee shop, and on weekend nights, it’s a tightly-packed comedy club that plays host to nationally touring comics that you can see up close, supported by New Orleans comics.
I don’t have anything to say about the election. Let’s say it’s because Kechi and I voted a week ago, and not because the subject gives me fucking hives. Like hurricane season, it should be over soon, and I hope as many of us as possible come through it in one piece.