Writer’s Hands III, hands of Candyfreak author, Steve Almond, signing a copy of his latest book, (Not That You Asked) Rants, Exploits, and Obsessions, Minneapolis Central Library, downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 2007, photo © 2007 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
It’s late and I’m tired. But I wanted to write a short note. I just got home from Thai dinner, stimulating conversation, and late night writing practice with two of my writing friends, Teri and Bob. Bob drove all the way from Kansas City, Missouri, to visit and write with us.
And last night, Liz, Bob, Teri, and I went to the Minneapolis Central Library to see Candyfreak author, Steve Almond, read from his new book (Not That You Asked) Rants, Exploits, and Obsessions. He was grounded, stimulating, generous with his time, and did I mention, fun? (Check out The Original Smarties Necklace wound around his wrist as a bracelet!)
There will be more to come about this author on red Ravine. But for now, get out and hear Steve read and speak. Buy his books. You’ll be inspired and motivated to action. And best of all, you’ll go home wanting to write. And change the world.
Thanks to Steve, Teri, Liz, and Bob for making the night a memorable one. Without the support of other writers, what do we have? And, Bob, have a safe journey home. And don’t forget the magic word – Hemingway.
-posted on red Ravine, Friday, October 12th, 2007
-related to posts, Homage To A Candy Freak and WRITING TOPIC – CANDY FREAK
Great photo – The candy bracelet is so noticeable, because it is surprising contrasted against that masculine hairy arm.
G
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He’s a leftie!
Surely Steve will come to ABQ, right??
Teri, did you own up to your particular candy obsessions? Did Steve recoil when he heard?
I want to read the new book. He was bold enough to write it; we should be bold enough to read it.
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YB, are you a leftie? I knew you were sinistre…
Glad you’re back from banishment, you heathens!
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No, I’m a rightie with leftie tendencies ; – ).
Yes, we’re back…I think it was a glitch, as I since heard of one other blog that got suspended, too.
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Goo Goo Clusters are the bomb! It sounds like a great evening—I am jealous.
On a sombre note. I have a client who has chosen to die on Monday. He is completely competent, very logical and says that if the best we can do for him is the rest of his life in prison then he wants to die so the State is going to commit this killing on Monday with poison. Minnesota doesn’t have the death penalty. It is a better place.
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Wow, Franny. That he’s chosen death over life in prison says a lot about prison life. And that the state will honor his request — well.
Here’s what I didn’t understand about Catholics who voted for Bush in the last election. They claimed that you couldn’t be Democrat because Democrats are pro-choice, yet those Catholics got behind Republicans who are pro-death penalty. My dad’s priest urged his parishoners to vote for Bush. My dad left that parish. (Not that you asked.)
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BTW, QM and I were talking on the phone yesterday about Steve Almond, and our conversation turned to Minneapolis. It is a great place — very supportive of the arts. For various reasons, strikes me as a place with a conscience.
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YB: The Catholics, unlike other religious groups, have been great about the death penalty, actually, (I can’t explain the support of Bush). The Archbishop has written letters to the Governor asking for clemency. However, we are the only industrialized country, other than China, that has the death penalty. I will be doing some writing about Billy’s choice—-
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Franny, I’m guessing Steve would have had a lot to say about your death penalty comments. He seemed very grounded and quick to turn out well thought out responses to the hard questions that got tossed to him from afield. He believes writers can make a difference in the world. And I believed him. I wish everyone could have been there to hear him speak.
Minnesota as a whole is pretty level-headed and most times considers all sides of the argument before coming to a decision or a vote. I like that about living here. I think support of the arts goes along with that mentality. The arts (which include writing) are the conscience of the world.
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ybonesy, I’m just back from a day of pumpkin catapulting and rock buying in rural Minnesota (that’s another post!). And yes, Steve’s a lefty!
And, G, I noticed the contrast between arm and bracelet, too! And let me tell you, that arm was raking the candy that abounded into briefcase, right and left!
yb, I think Teri went out of town today. But I’m betting she responds to your questions when she returns. It was a great night all around.
Bob, hope you are safely back in Kansas City by now. And that your trip was peaceful. Lots of things about writing to think about along the way.
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Franny, why do you think we are the only industrialized country, other than China, that has the death penalty? When I went back up and reread your comments, I wanted to know your thoughts (from the unique perspective of someone who spent the last 30 years in a profession that bumps up against it every day).
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yb, I’m not seeing ABQ on his schedule 8 – (
Here’s a link for those who want to see where he’s going next:
Steve Almond Fall 2007 Tour (Not That You Invited Me)
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Wow… what a great experience for all of you! A (left-handed, writer) man with a candy bracelet… brave and creative. Nice. 🙂
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I just got back into town, and was thrilled to see Steve’s hand signing Bob’s book. Great shot, QM!
Steve spent 45 minutes before his library presentation talking writing with QM, Liz, Bob, and me. He very noticeably learned our names within the first minute, took us seriously, made us feel like we were the most important people he had met in ages, and was utterly approachable. It was an amazing gift. Between the private interview he granted us and his public reading, I felt like I had been given a million dollars. I am so impressed with him as a person, and so thrilled there are Americans speaking out as he does with intelligence and vulnerability about where we are heading as a people.
Oh, believe it or not, his opinion of Twizzlers didn’t even come up on my radar. He was that good.
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The official teaching of the Catholic church is pro-life and anti-death penalty…natural birth to natural death. So if you’re a practicing Catholic (I am), you immediately are unable to completely get on board with either political party. It is deeply distressing. It is a point of division and hardship. We witnessed it in 2004 and it will be here again in ’08.
I can’t imagine living in a state that has the death penalty. It is so far out of my field of vision. How many states do any longer?
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Teri, I checked it out and it’s easier to list the states that DON’T have the Death Penalty (since they are fewer). And it’s interesting that I see quite a few Midwestern states on the list of
NO DEATH PENALTY STATES:
Alaska
Hawaii
Iowa
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
North Dakota
Rhode Island
Vermont
West Virginia
Wisconsin
ALSO
– Dist. of Columbia
This is from the Death Penalty Information Center website (LINK).
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I couldn’t resist. Here are the states with the Death Penalty (from the Death Penalty Information Center (LINK):
STATES WITH THE DEATH PENALTY
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Indiana
Illinois
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York *
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Washington
Wyoming
ALSO
– U.S. Gov’t
– U.S. Military
* The New York (6/24) death penalty statute was declared unconstitutional in 2004.
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Teri, you mentioned Steve’s vulnerability and he definitely has a tender side along with the irreverence and edge in his writing.
The vulnerability (as when he was talking to us about his grandmother or his baby) gave us a way in. And allowed us to deeply listen to the loaded issues of the day that he is addressing. They worked together, the vulnerability and the edge.
You can also tell that he is a teacher. He could hold the audience. All of this was insightful for me as a writer. It’s so important to get out and hear writers and artists talk about their work.
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Wow,
This death penalty list is a shocker. I only hear about people being executed in Florida and Texas (and now Franny’s Nevada), so had assumed there were only a handful of states still clinging to it.
If a presidential candidate announced he/she was planning on nixing the death penalty if elected, they would have a bigger fight on their hands than I had imagined.
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Didn’t mean to turn a beautiful evening with Steve Almond into a death penalty discussion but my guess is that he wouldn’t mind. Why do we still have it? I suspect that this is also grounded in religion. People have mostly given up on any notion that the death penalty is a deterrant–it’s been proven that it isn’t. Death penalty crimes are crimes of passion and craziness for the most part, committed by people who have been very damaged as children (very few exceptions to this). There are some who say it is cheaper to kill somebody than to keep them in jail but mostly it is retribution that drives people, a mistaken sense that another death will give the victims “closure.” I was raised without religion so I don’t know about this “eye for an eye” stuff but I think that’s where our American view of why this could possibly be OK comes from. The states that kill the most are Arkansas, Texas, Virginia…might be a clue. On the other hand, California has a huge death row but doesn’t actually kill anyone very often.
I have started a short story about a lawyer talking to his client who has decided to give up all appeals and die. I hope to capture the ludicrous nature of state-sanctioned murder and also the humanity of someone in Billy’s position. I am in the writing practice mode.
Billy wants a double cheeseburger, a coke and a half gallon of ice cream on Monday.
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Franny, no need to apologize. I don’t think Steve would mind either.
And ybonesy and I have often talked about how, though we have some editing say about the posts on red Ravine, the Comments section of a blog post is a lot like Live TV – you never know what direction the Readers’ Comments are going to go. It’s part of what makes blogging so fascinating and engaging.
Your years of work and personal experience shed a whole new light on the death penalty issue. I’m personally struck by this line in your comment (20):
The closure piece – that’s the piece I think of when I wonder how I would feel if someone close to me was senselessly murdered and the person who did it was up on death row. Would that change the way I think and feel? I don’t know.
These are tough questions. I am going to think more about your comments. I’m looking forward to your short story. This is one of the ways that writers change the world.
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I haven’t seen Dead Man Walking in years, but remember how the parents of the two murdered kids responded? One was out for blood and couldn’t be moved from that position. The other stood in the midst of his deep pain. He let himself get to the point of asking himself if another death would really relieve any agony he was experiencing. I know the movie was supposed to be about the nun and her role in sticking with the man on death row, but I thought the father of the murdered girl was the real hero.
A few years ago, my priest did a whole series on capital punishment. There was a big case drawing national attention (I don’t recall it now), and it was making headlines daily. He was exposing all the myths of the death penalty, and one of them was the “cheaper to kill them” argument. As it turned out, between appeals and lawyers and whatever other costs are incurred (Franny would know, I don’t), it is actually cheaper to send people to prison for life than to execute them.
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Great photo, and Your writing makes that hand OUR hand –
That as if answers your unforgettable line “Without the support of other writers, what do we have?”
We can sign our book – and that as if symbolize our refusal to close in self and the awakening. We sign our book – we share our heart and welcome the light. Signing of the book is participating in the feast of gratitude for all who hear us … wow, what could be more desirable than that?
I live far away from you country and the names you have mentioned say nothing to me. Just few can read in the books in English in my country, but that means totally nothing. While looking at the photo and reading your joyful information I have recognized not the hand of the unknown, but our hand.
That’s great.
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We actually have a victim-based project that reaches out to victims in the way that Sister Helen Prejean did in Dead Man Walking. We have met some beautiful people who have learned how to forgive and who have been willing to be open to understanding a little about our clients. The father of one of the victims in the Timothy McVeigh case speaks out against the death penalty. We have also talked to victims who came to watch the perpetrator die and those that would talk to us tell us that the pain is still there. I think it is forgiveness which offers real closure or at least something like equipoise–somehow I don’t think that retribution ever completes the balance.
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Franny,
I have always assumed that victims who watched perpetrators die would find no lasting relief, but it is good to have that validated. What, however, do they say? I would guess there are common themes that emerge in the aftermath.
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Tomorrow is Monday. I imagine you are having a tough Sunday night. I’m thinking about his double cheeseburger, coke, half gallon of ice cream. I wonder what kind.
I don’t know what death by poison is supposed to be like. All I can think of is rat poison.
I don’t want to hit Submit Comment before finding something to say that wraps this comment up nicely. Yet, I have nothing to offer.
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[…] 24, 2007 by QuoinMonkey Steve Almond would have loved this! I was visiting with my brother in Pennsylvania a few weeks ago, when my niece and her friend […]
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[…] Almond Joy (Not That You Asked) Writer’s Hands III, hands of Candyfreak author, Steve Almond, signing a copy of his latest book, (Not That You Asked) Rants, Exploits, and Obsessions, Minneapolis Central Library, downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 2007, photo © 2007 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved. It’s late and I’m tired. But I wanted to write a short note. I just got home […] Sat, 13 Oct 2007 04:50:33 +0000 in Authors on https://redravine.wordpress.com/2007/10/12/almond-joy-not-that-you-asked/ – Original Article […]
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I went to Talk of the Stacks last night–the same auditorium where we heard Steve Almond about a year ago. I sat in the Natalie Goldberg chair (all the chair have nameplates of Minnesota writers or authors strongly associated with Minnesota). The author was M.T. Anderson–a writer of teen books. The event was billed as a good one for teens, and I’m happy to say there were many young people in the audience.
M.T. reminded me of Steve Almond–edgy, East Coast, political, smart, and trying to push the envelope to wake people up. His read us several pages from his book Octavian Nothing; it was interesting and obviously complex. He said a lot of people question him about this–can teens really get it? He spoke directly to the dumbing down of teen books (I think he called most of them pablum), and how teens will inherit a complex world. There’s no reason they can’t read complex books. The teens in the audience cheered.
During the Q & A, one of the teens asked M.T. what his favorite teen book is. He named one he had read as a teenager: I Am The Cheese by Robert Cormier, published in 1977.
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Teri, I know exactly where that Natalie Goldberg chair is at the Minneapolis Public Library. In fact, Liz and I contributed to it when all that was going on before the library opened. At the time, you could donate to support a certain writer’s chair and we donated to Natalie’s. It’s a good feeling.
Remember when we walked around the auditorium the night Bob was here and we saw Steve Almond and we all looked at all the brass plaques? I remember you were interested in Sinclair Lewis.
I’m glad you got to see M.T. Anderson. I don’t know the author but I bet a lot of people who work with or have kids who are teenagers do. He sounds pretty level-headed and grounded. I wonder why people do dumb down books for teens (?). I mean, why not write to make kids smarter and more well rounded. I’m guessing for the money.
Have you ever thought about writing books for teens or children? I know you go to hear many children’s authors. Do you think it’s a different mindset that children’s authors go into to write for kids? Or the same as all writers.
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When I was in college studying to be a teacher, one of the required courses was Children’s Literature. The professor, Dr. Kordenbrock, said something I’ve never forgotten. She said that writing children’s literature is often pooh-poohed as easy–a simple act of creating silly little tales. She said nothing is further from the truth. It is actually harder to write children’s literature, as the author has to create tension, intrigue, and develop interesting characters with limited vocabulary and short attention spans.
I’ve never seriously considered writing for children or teens, though when I was a teacher, I could predict with 100% (well, okay, maybe 98%) accuracy which books my students would fall in love with, and which they’d be bored by.
I did notice (with admiration) how M.T. responded naturally to the teens–even the ones who were acting oh-so-cool. He loved their energy.
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Teri, we’re sitting here watching Frosty the Snowman after having eaten dinner. I’m now eating popcorn, commenting on the blog, and trying so hard to stay awake. Anyhoo, we’re also waiting for one of Dee’s friends to come over for a sleepover; she had a late practice. I’ll ask Dee and her friend whether they’re heard of M.T. and his books. If not, perhaps a Christmas gift idea (smile).
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ybonesy, I’m curious about whether Dee and her friends read or have heard of M.T.
Teri, I think that gift of predicting with 99% accuracy which books teens will fall in love with could earn you a lot of $$$! We recently watched an Iconoclasts episode on Sundance channel with Clive Davis. He got rich and still earns a lot of money predicting which songs will be hits. He’s got a gift and recognized it at an early age. If only all of us could be so lucky. 8)
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[…] with Stein much the way I feel when I go and hear Nikki Giovanni, Ann Patchett, Patricia Smith, Steve Almond, or Mary Oliver talk about their work and have a chance to shake their hands when they sign my […]
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I was in Sioux City, Iowa this weekend, and went to one of the factories Steve Almond visited for the writing of Candy Freak. I was at Palmer Candies, makers of the famous Twin Bing.
Unlike other cities, Twin Bings are in Sioux City vending machines–right next to the big names that Hershey’s puts out. In the convenience stores, there are big displays of Twin Bings in the aisles.
I’m meeting three writing friends in October to write by Lake Michigan, all readers of Candy Freak. By special request of one of the writers, I have Twin Bings for everyone…hot off the factory line.
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When I got back to Minneapolis, I re-read the section in Candy Freak that talks about Sioux City, Twin Bings, and Marty Palmer. Steve talks about the terrible smell of Sioux City. It is a meat-packing town.
The smell is ghastly.
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used to be meat packing near Milwaukee’s downtown area. I remember that smell very well. Nothing like it!
Oh thank you for the Twin Bings! Ive never seen them for sale here.
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When I was growing up, we raised (and butchered) our own chickens. I was the only one of my sisters who could handle the “off with the head” part, so my mom and I always did the dirty deed behind the chicken coop. I don’t think I could stand it now. It carries with it an unmistakable smell. I didn’t know I remembered the aroma, until I got to Sioux City last weekend.
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Teri, thanks for stopping by this post with the update on visiting Palmer Candies of Candy Freak fame. I still remember quite a bit of the details of reading that book for one of the workshops.
So did you actually take a tour of Palmer Candies? We used to tour Hershey’s factory and it was fascinating to see the way they make candy.
I know the smell of meatpacking plants only from driving by them. It’s hard to imagine living near that smell all the time. But I wonder if you get used to it? I’ll never forget the smell of the paper mill in Augusta, GA and how we used to smell it going across the bridge, same spot every time.
I’m trying to imagine you butchering chickens as a child and just can’t reconcile it with who I know you to be now. You must have been a girl with a lot of guts. It’s a whole other way to look at the way we come by much of our food.
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I’ve been traveling to the Southwest. I noticed Twin Bings were **everywhere** in Nebraska. I guess the long arm of Hershey’s isn’t so strong in the Cornhusker State.
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That’s refreshing to know, Teri. I wish I could remember how all those different treats tasted. I’m craving something with almonds, marshmallows, and chocolate–a sort of Rocky Road.
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There was one candy (next to the Bings) that is made in St. Joseph, Missouri. I thought, “Ah-ha! Bob knows this candy! It was called Cherry Mash. Or maybe Cherry Smash.
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It’s a Cherry Mash which are available at the St. Joseph Visitors’ Center at the East Hills Branch of the St. Joseph Public Library/Visitors’ Center. You can also find them in stores in the city.
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Bob,
Are they good? When I saw them in Nebraska I had this silly hope you worked at the Cherry Mash factory as a teenager.
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Do they have juicy maraschino cherries in them, because if so then I know I wouldn’t like them. Don’t like chocolate covered cherries, although I like dried tart cherries in chocolate. Bob, you must reveal everything you know about them. 8)
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