Last night I got to live my dream of channeling Gertrude Stein to host my very first salon in Amsterdam, featuring the amazing author Jami Attenberg who read from her memoir I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home.
This was truly a dream come true for me — for one thing Jami is an author whose writing I deeply admire and I subscribe to her Craft Talk newsletter where she writes personally about writing, and as most aspiring writers know, getting a glimpse into a writer’s process is like pulling back the magic curtain. Jami lifts the veil for her readers, sharing details about her writing process with a specificity I find practical and inspiring. So imagine how thrilling it was when she tweeted she’d be in Europe for a small book tour and I tweeted back that I wish she were coming to Amsterdam and she replied that she was but didn’t have a reading scheduled and I wrote back well, how about I host one for you in my living room and invite all my friends and she SAID YES.
Jami is a New York Times best selling author of seven works of fiction, including The Middlesteins and All This Could Be Yours. She read from her memoir, I Came All This Way to Meet You, which I would describe as how a woman searched until she found an authentic, creative life in the world and how she has found her way home both on the page, and in life.After Jami read she answered questions and signed everyone’s books. The evening had an intimate, cozy vibe but in retrospect I probably should have worn real shoes (the rest of my outfit was pretty excellent though, if I do say so myself). We had a great turnout. I invited my book-loving friends and fellow writers, and also some of the women from the American Women’s Club bookclubs in Amsterdam and Haarlem and everyone brought their wonderful curiosity and enthusiasm, which made the night so perfect. Brian was so annoying. He was delighted everyone was there and assumed they all needed him to greet them (repeatedly) and he made the rounds the entire time Jami was reading, weaving his way in and out between everyone, his ridiculous toenails that he won’t let us clip clicking on the hardwood, knocking over one wine glass with his tail and nearly knocking the table holding Jami’s wine right into her lap at one point. If I had shut him out of the room it would have been worse because he would have stood outside crying the entire time. What can you do? He is who he is and (mostly) everyone loved him. The spread. I also ordered bitterballen to be delivered so Jami could get a taste of authentic Dutch fareHosting, reading, writing, and hanging out with like-minded creatives are my favorite things in life so this night was as good as it gets for me. I often tweet that I want all my favorite artists to move to Amsterdam and recreate the Parisian avant-garde scene of 1920’s expat life here in Amsterdam with me. I guess if you build it, they will come. Here’s me and Brian — Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas at your service.
Jami also does a writing bootcamp called 1,000 words of summer, which is free and anyone can sign up. It’s a great way to write in a focused, deliberate manner for a concentrated period of time, and nearly 20K people are signed up for the next session which starts on June 4. It’s not too late if you want to join — it’s a great way to connect with other writers. Here’s a link with details: https://twitter.com/jamiattenberg/status/1524111686948507650?s=21&t=BgFGqfRW0mXAbTwHHROobg
