"You've Really Gotta Pulverize That Thing"

Frank Bascombe has a cool Q&A with Richard Price over at Ain't It Cool News. Price talks about Lush Life, his screenplays, adaptations, and this little interesting bit about autobiographical details in fiction:

I feel like whatever you write is autobiographical, even if every character is a different race or speaks a different language- it’s all you. Because every time your character hits a crossroads, they make a choice that you’re making for them. And that is predicated on your values and what you’ve experienced in life.

Price Lines

Last night I had the honor of introducing Richard Price at his Free Library of Philadelphia book tour stop. I've been a Price fan since Clockers, and was truly knocked out by his latest, Lush Life. So, of course, I spent a lot of time preparing some notes for my intro. It is not cool to sound like an idiot in front of one of your heroes.

I thought about what I really admired about Price's work, and realized that it's the same thing I love about Elmore Leonard and George Pelecanos: the raw, powerful street reporting that energizes the work. Price's method is to go somewhere and absorb his surroundings like a kind of psychic battery; it might be a year or so before a plot even develops. Last night, Price talked about how he knew he wanted to write about Manhattan's Lower East Side, so he just went there an opened up a conversation. One source led to another, which led to another... which is pretty much how good cops and reporters do their jobs. But it wasn't as if Price was chasing after a perp or a news hook. He just opened his eyes and ears and took it all in. The result is Lush Life, which is a fascinating look at a single neighborhood where at least six different worlds collide... and a murder investigation that slices through all of them like a tracer bullet.

I tried to capture some of this in my short intro; I hope it came across.

Then Price took the stage to read from Lush Life, and he just killed. He handled rapid-fire conversation between multiple characters without any of the usual contortions/voices you might hear from another writer. Every punchline, every piece of dialogue, every pause was dead perfect. He could have kept reading for two hours, and he wouldn't have lost a soul. This is rare. I've been at too many readings where after 10 minutes I'm like, Get me the fuck out of here.

(Note to self: Channel Richard Price at next reading.)

Afterwards, a bunch of us had drinks with Price, which was a blast. We ended up at McCrossen's Tavern, a few blocks away from the library. Conversation wound around cities, novels, kids, sports, childhood obsessions... but the coolest discovery? Price is a fan of old-school horror—Gothic horror novels, Arkham House editions, Twilight Zone episodes—as well as 1950s/60s satire mags like Mad and Help! Of course, I shouldn't be surprised. Price's novels are packed with that same blend of gallows humor.

Big thanks to Andy Kahan at the Free Library for inviting me to the event, as well as Mr. Pettit and Mr. Wolkow, who helped make it look like Price had employed the biggest, nerdiest bodyguards ever.

Update: Over at Phawker, Jeff Deeney serves up an excellent recap of last night's event.