This Week in the Mercury
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Books Trillin With a T
Posted by Unpaid Arts Intern on Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 11:14 AM
Posted by Arts Intern Matthew Vollono
On Tuesday night I went to go see Calvin Trillin, noted humorist, writer, and self-appointed parallel parking expert at the Newmark Theater. Following a distinguished introduction—Trillin read at the inaugural Portland Arts and Lecture series in 1984—the author took the stage dressed in a corduroy sports jacket and flowery necktie. After comparing his rationale for writing silly verse about politicians to the act of building a life size model of the Palace at Versailles out of beers cans, he took on a vast range of topics, skewering everything from The Nation (it was like writing for “a pinko magazine printed on cheap paper”) to the supposedly humor-proof public persona of Barak Obama (“if worse comes to worse we can always make fun of the little girls”).
One of the pleasures of seeing Trillin read was watching an author who knows the precise way in which to present his material. There were no inarticulate mumbling or false starts or verbose explanations. He read with a single single droll, comic delivery, pausing only when the audiences laughter blocked out the sound of his voice. This informal approach lent the event a sense of intimacy, like sitting down to dinner with an incredibly lucid and hilariously crass old man. And that's always refreshing.
Most Commented on Blogtown, PDX
-
Mandatory French Fries on Sandwiches: CONDEMN OR ALLOW? by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey
-
TriMet Budget Cuts Rundown: Fare Increase, MAX Cuts, Killing Free Rail, Oh My! by Sarah Mirk
-
Let's Play the Game of
LoveThrones by Erik Henriksen -
Win Valentine's Dinner for Two at Central by Alison Hallett
-
In Which Bobby Roberts Attempts to Ruin the One Thing That Made Me Happy Today by Erik Henriksen
-
Should Portland Ban Cops From Using Horses and Pepper Spray to Bust Up Protests? by Denis C. Theriault
-
Tonight! KATU Wants Everyone to Be Afraid of Marauding Crazy People! by Denis C. Theriault
-
New Paris Laws Give Bikes Okay to Run Red Lights; Ooh-La-La! by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey
-
CAT BREADING UPDATE: Which Mercury Employee Succumbed to the Pressure? by Bobby Roberts
-
"I Have Chickens Too!" by Alison Hallett
Our Friends
- UrbanHonking
- Culture Shock
- Portland Roundball Society
- Steph Cassano
- Cort and Fatboy
- Street Roots
- Powell's Books Blog
- Portland Transport
- Portland Afoot
- Bike Portland
- Eater: PDX
- Portland Food and Drink
- Mr. Movie
- Sunday Softball
- BlueOregon
- Sightline Institute
- Ultra: Arts Portland
- Bitch Magazine
- Blazer's Edge
- Reading Local: Portland
- Portland Food Carts
- Stumptown Vegans
Our Enemies
The Handyman Pro - Your Honey-Do Specialist
Don’t let our name fool you. The Handyman Pro, LLC is a repair and remodel service provider with over 25-years experience. We cover all aspects of construction and repairs for residential and commercial clients.
About Portland Mercury
RSSGoing to Seattle?
Comments (0)