Subject: (urth) Seattle report

From: Nigel Price <nigelprice at onetel.net>
Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:04:57 +0000

Mantis gave me permission to reproduce his account of the weekend in
Seattle. Wish I'd been there!

Nigel

-------------------------------------

Hello there Nigel,

>How was Seattle? Did you get to talk to Wolfe at all?

It was wonderful!

There was some stress in getting there (we left immediately from the
last day of school, with heavy road traffic and unexpected road
construction--we had all but given up on making it to that flight,
but by running through the airport, and the public address system
urging us on by name, we managed to get there after all) and some
tedium in getting back, but the part in the middle was magic.

Gene Wolfe had told me in a letter that they would be at the hotel at
around one and I should contact him as soon as we arrived.  I wasn't
sure what day he meant, but I dutifully called, and finding they had
arrived, I left a message for them at around 7:30.  (Turns out that
they were at the museum's costume event, which we had originally
wanted to keep as an open option, explaining why we had booked such a
razor-close flight, but we had not RSVPed for the event, we hadn't
gotten costumes for the girls, and we were frazzled by the day--Cordy
had the ceremony of leaving elementary school, on top of the purely
travel stuff.)

We slept in late.  On the way down to breakfast, I saw a man
coming towards us with a bucket of ice.  It was, of course, Gene
Wolfe.  I tried to take the bucket from him.  He took it back.  He
apologized for not returning the call the night before, explaining
that they had gotten back from the museum at around midnight.  I
introduced my wife and children.  He said we should have breakfast
together downstairs.  And so we did.

It lasted for a wonderfully long time.  Gene's daughter Terri, whom I
had never met in person, came over. Gary K. Wolfe, the _Locus_
reviewer, came over for a while.  Katherine Cramer and David Hartwell
came over.  Laura took the kids away to the museum when they were
done.  We were late in getting away to the first of two panels.

After the second panel I met up with family again and we had lunch.
Then we tried for a nap.  I set the alarm and fell right asleep, but
then the girls woke me up fifteen or twenty minutes later and I
couldn't go back, even as they conked out.

I finally gave up and got up, then I realized that the book signing
was going on downstairs--might even be over.  It was around 4
o'clock, I think, when I rushed down there.  There was just the tail
end of a line. David Hartwell said someone was looking for me,
Michael Straight (from the list), and I found him quickly, or he
found me right there.  I was happy to meet him in person and asked if
there were any others from the list around.  He said James Wynn was,
but he hadn't seen him.  I admitted that I had seen a James Wynn in
the audience at the panel and thought the name was familiar, but I
didn't have a name tag myself at that point.

Gene was just sitting there by himself, so I got Michael to buy the
Dreamhaven chapbook and get it autographed, then we sat there and
chatted with him until he had to leave.  Astrid Anderson Bear (whom
I'd never seen in person) drifted over and sat with us but said
nothing. First she was drinking a red beverage in a martini glass,
and when that was done she took up some knitting.

It was time for dinner and Michael didn't have any plans so I invited
him to join me and my family for sushi.  We puzzled over how to find
James Wynn.  As we were walking to the restaurant, Laura used her
cell phone, which reminded Michael that he had James's cell phone
number (but no cell phone of his own), so right there we called him
up and invited him over.

Dinner was a lot of fun but suddenly it was time to go get ready for
the big event!

Michael Straight and the couple Wynn went ahead.  They thoughtfully
saved places for us at their table.

Gene Wolfe's part was the last segment of the event, and I found it
very moving, to the point of shedding happy tears.

Afterward we were all hanging around in the area where the museum
wanted to take photos of the inductees, but where was Gene Wolfe?
Well, it's like that's my "Bat Signal" or whatever, so I left
everything to lend assistance.  I looked where the Wolfes had been
before, and I looked around from there.  I didn't do much in that
mazy place, but then they appeared at the end where I'd expected them,
and then I jumped into action, clearing chairs from their path
like an icebreaker and opening the doors for them.

My point is that I was only gone for a minute or two, and when I came
back, Michael Straight had somehow found another member from the
list!  So there were three from the list.

The Wolfes left shortly after the photos.

The next morning on our way to breakfast we saw Gene sitting by
himself in the lobby, so we stopped to talk with him.  Gene
Rodenberry, Jr., who was waiting for a cab, joined in.  Laura said
later it was like matter and antimatter--not that they exploded or
anything, it was all friendly talking--just that Wolfe's philosophy
is largely the opposite of Star Trek's.

That's it in a nutshell.  I should try to write down at least an
outline of what was said.  Already I can't remember who was there
when Gene told one story or another--I'll say something to Laura,
assuming she had been there, and find out she hadn't.

Of course there's also the problem of interpretation!

When I tried to take the bucket from him, I heard him say, "Oh, Ma!"
like I was trying to take the kid's load from him before he dropped
it.

Laura heard, "Oh, now!"

And look how simple =that= is, with us being located in a quiet
corridor!  Contrast with the Hatter's Tea Party of breakfast.

=Michael=

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From: Roy C. Lackey <rclackey at stic.net>
Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 18:30:57 +0000

Great, Nigel! Mantis is good at writing that sort of thing. But that doesn't
relieve Rostrum -- far from it; it only adds to the burden. We need his
perspective, and Crush's, too, and any other unidentified list attendees.

-Roy

---

From: Michael Straight <mfstraight at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 19:19:10 +0000

Never fear, Roy.  I was just busy comparing notes with Mantis.

I'll start with the award banquet.  Neil Stephenson was the MC. He was
brief but very funny.  Unfortunately, he didn't have anything to say
about any of the inductees, including Wolfe.  There were two
posthumous awards, artist Ed Emshwiller and Gene Roddenberry.  Wil
Wheaton was there to introduce Roddenberry, whose award was accepted
by Roddenberry's son.  Wheaton gave a little paean to the Star Trek
ethos and I had to wonder what Wolfe thought of it all, since I see
Wolfe's body of work as a pretty strong rebuke to that kind of
optimistic humanism.

Wheaton also told a moving story of how when his character, Wesley,
was (in the show) promoted to ensign, Roddenberry took his own ensign
bars from Roddenberry's actual military service and gave them to
Wheaton.  Wheaton said, "Gene had told me that Wesley Crusher was the
closest he had come to writing himself into the show. I was only
filling Gene's shoes as an actor, but you [speaking to Roddenberry's
son] more than anyone else have filled his shoes and carried on his
legacy in real life." And then he passed Roddenberry's ensign bars
along to his son.  Pretty classy thing to do, I thought.

Ripley Scott was filming in Europe and so Wolfe was the only inductee
actually present to receive his award.  David Hartwell introduced
Wolfe.  He told about how when he left one of his first publishing
houses, he was allowed to take one writer with him.  Wolfe had
published Fifth Head and Hartwell had seen drafts of Shadow of the
Torturer.  So when Hartwell told them he wanted to take an author who
was working on an intellectual, literary SF book, the suits all broke
into grins and shook his hand.  Of course, Wolfe went on to win the
Nebula award soon after.

Hartwell said that in his professional opinion, Wolfe's body of short
fiction is unequaled by anyone alive. He also mentioned that Wolfe had
a book published almost every year since the 1970s.

We'd heard each presenter explain why each inductee's stand-in was the
appropriate person to accept the award in his place. So then Wolfe
came up for his award and said (paraphrasing):

"I'm not the most appropriate person to receive an award for Gene
Wolfe.  There are many people here who know him much better than I do:
his wife Rosemary, his daughter Teri, David Hartwell, Gardner Dozois,
Michael Andre-Driussi.  I know Gene Wolfe as a scared little man,
always groping around for an idea he can use.  Not just an idea, but
one that will bear fruit.  I might plant it, but it is the sun and the
rain and the soil and God that do most of the work to make it grow.
This is one of the greatest honors of my entire life and standing here
before you I feel shaken to my very core, so I hope you will forgive
me if I do not stand here any longer."

I gather Mantis felt pretty honored to receive a shout-out from Wolfe
in that context.

I'll post more later about meeting Wolfe and hearing about the books
he's currently working on.

Rostrum

---

From: Roy C. Lackey <rclackey at stic.net>
Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 22:01:13 +0000

>he's currently working on.

I'm looking forward to it. And I know for a fact you took a camera and used
it! Surely someone here has web space to put the pictures up for all to see.

Meanwhile, here are some more tidbits you and Crush might find amusing.
Mantis gave me leave to pass this excerpt along.

-Roy
-------------------------------------------------

>Are you going to write up a second account, detailing your conversations
>with Gene and/or others? I would like to read it, and I imagine a lot of
>other people on the list would like it too. I, at least, like the informal
>tone of your accounts.

I think things will come through with Rostrum's report.  Of course
I'll also mention things to you and you can pass along whatever you
want.

At the moment I'm still trying to figure out the scene at the
signing.  When I got there I saw the guy with the suitcase putting
his books in.  Then David Hartwell said Hey, this guy's looking for
you.

Which is a riot, because even though nobody can say my name
(dree-YOU-see), still, they communicate to each other.

So then I basically turned around and within a few steps met Rostrum.
Look, the place was small, but it was divided in two by this
fireplace so there was a bar side and the lobby side where Hartwell
sat and I stood.  The line of signing seekers went on the bar side
and ended at Gene's little desk, which was in sight.

So I'm talking to Rostrum and he's saying Have you seen James Wynn?

And I say I saw him at the panel but I blah blah blah.  So I try to
describe him.

Meanwhile, at dinner we learned that James was next in line behind
the guy with the suitcase!  So he was only ten feet away as we're
wondering where he might be.  And while Rostrum is facing toward the
signing area, he has never seen James before, whereas I, who have
seen James, am looking the wrong way!

Honestly, at that point there were only six or eight people in the
area, including the two guys from the University Book Store behind
their table, Gene Wolfe, and David Hartwell.  People who miss each
other because of a big pillar type of obstruction--creatures running
around a tree, nearly colliding.

Or that's the way it seems to me in reconstructing things.  Maybe the
suitcase guy took a detour before packing up and James was long gone
by then, but I definitely saw the suitcase guy packing up.

It is also possible that there was more than one suitcase guy.

Another bit: Rostrum and I were over at the table, and he asked me
which collection "Trip, Trap" is in.  Someone called out "ORBIT 2,"
and I looked over to see it was Gardner Dozois!  I should've gone
over and shaken his hand as being among the first of all Wolfe fans,
but it was too boggling at the time.  (I'd just been thanking Dwayne
of University Book Store for being one of the best at selling the
Lexicon--I'd never met him in person, either.)  At the Big Event,
Hartwell in his presentation told how he first looked at Wolfe's work
because of the recommendation of Dozois!  Kingmaker!  Now I feel I
should buy him a drink or three!  Next time I will!

At dinner I also reminded everyone about the enigmatic movie version
of "The Death of Doctor Island."  Rostrum and Crush were blank on it,
as if they never heard of it before.  Pondering the mystery, James
suddenly said, "Why don't you ask Wolfe?"  Indeed!  I should do that.

=Michael=

---

From: Michael Straight <mfstraight at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 22:48:26 +0000

Part the Second - chatting with Wolfe.  Minor spoilers for future
Wolfe books ahead (of the sort you might get from reading the back
cover).

I had brought a copy of Soldier of Sidon for Wolfe to sign.  When it
was my turn, I thanked him for all the great stories and novels and
told him I was particularly glad he had returned to Latro because the
Soldier books are my very favorites of his novels.  I told him I
thought this new one was every bit as good as the other two, but that
I couldn't say for sure since I'd only read it once.  He loved that,
and told me I really shouldn't rush to judgment.  He signed my book
"To Michael (for his insight)."

James (Crush) Wynn's wife had the absolute best comment for Wolfe,
which I shall be forced to repeat if he doesn't show up and repeat it
himself.

While other people were standing in line, I was glancing at name tags
hoping to recognize a name and found myself talking to David Hartwell.
 He was carrying around what looked like an advance copy of _Pirate
Freedom_, cover art and all, and said it would be out in November.
Hartwell introduced me to Mantis.

Later, Mantis and I had the chance to sit down with Wolfe.  He said
_Pirate Freedom_ is about the son of a Mafia don whose dad sticks him
in a monastery in the Caribbean in hopes that the son will not get
caught up in the Mafia life.  The son gets cold feet before he can
take his final vows but then finds himself transported back to the
1600's winding up on a pirate ship where he unsuccessfully struggles
to avoid becoming a pirate himself.

Wizards and Warp Drives: Hartwell said that Wolfe's next book (_An
Evil Guest_) is a horror novel, but when I said that to Wolfe, he
strongly disagreed with that characterization.  He described it as a
near-future tale in which warp-drive space ships are available to the
very rich and the protagonist is hunting for a wizard (I wasn't clear
whether he meant a magical wizard or a "computer wizard" type wizard.
I wouldn't be surprised if it's not clear in the book either.)  Wolfe
says he's about ready for the fourth draft on this one.  I believe it
was this book (or maybe the next one) in which he said the protagonist
tries to use an attractive woman as bait for catching the wizard, and
that Wolfe had the (for him) rare experience of a character (the
woman) completely running away with the novel. To the extent that
Wolfe was rather upset that the novel ended and said he was going to
miss her.  The book is told in the third-person which Wolfe claimed he
had stuck with all the way through this time.

I'm wondering if Hartwell feels obliged to sell this one as horror
because of the title.  I'm trying to think, when was the last time you
saw an SF novel with the word 'evil' in the title? Not since Heinlein
that I can think of, and even there, it comes across as an allusive
phrase not a reference to something Evil. The idea of Good and Evil,
such that you can refer to a guest as Evil, is usually restricted to
fantasy and horror.  (Evil Genius is the closest I can think of, but
that's almost always used in a silly or ironic way.)

Wolfe said he was also making progress on a third novel (_Sorcerer's
House_ according to Mantis) about a confidence man who is released
from jail and goes to buy an old house in the country, offering to do
the work of renovating it in exchange for a deal on the price.  His
offer is accepted in accordance with the will left by the former
owner, a dead sorcerer, a will which mentions the man by name.  The
novel is told in the form of letters to the man's twin brother and to
his former prison cell mate.

I congratulated Wolfe on the excellent art he's had on the last few
novels (Wizard, Knight, and Sidon).  He was of the opinion that art
directors are the hardest people to work with in the publishing
business.  My impression was that he meant that with sympathy toward
the conflicting demands they have to deal with, because he also talked
about the difficult task facing the art director of a magazine.  Ever
cover of a magazine, he said, has to simultaneously say: "This is that
same magazine you love," and, "This is a new issue you've never seen
before."

I asked Wolfe about the tale of the Sidhe at the end of Peace,
wondering if it was based on an some existing Celtic tale, but Wolfe
said he thought it was his own invention, attempting to match the
style of other Celtic tales he'd read.

Wolfe seemed to be having a lot of fun, both at the events themselves
and in terms of enthusiasm about his writing.  I thought it was sweet
seeing him taking such good care of his wife Rosemary, pushing her
around in her wheelchair and waiting on her.  I thoroughly enjoyed
meeting him.

Rostrum

---

From: Matthew King <automatthew at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 23:20:05 +0000

On Jun 20, 2007, at 5:48 PM, Michael Straight wrote:

> Hartwell said that Wolfe's next book (_An
> very rich and the protagonist is hunting for a wizard

_An Evil Guest_ is, according to a Sci-Fi Channel article, set in the  
same world as the recent novella "Memorare"

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=5&id=40135