Craig Davidson

Saturday, November 24th

All Killer, No Filler

AKA: A bunch of links with very little blab-blabbing from me.

First, a neat project I participated in:

http://americareads.blogspot.com/2007/11/pg-99-craig-davidsons-fighter.html

Second, an old reading I did while at Iowa. I cannot, of course, listen to it without wanting to hurl myself out my window (since I'm on the ground floor, that would really just be a waste of time). I love the fruity strings accompaniment that starts things off. Julie Englander is the notorious host of the Prairie Lights reading series. A real ballbuster. I didn't realize that until some time into it, though I was notified afterwards. Too late! Still, it's sort of fun getting grilled.

http://at-lamp.its.uiowa.edu/virtualwu/index.php/archive/record/craig_davidson_reading/

Third, something my father alerted me to:

http://www.barbelith.com/topic/27997

Fourth, the two current MySpace musicians I'm listening to for free, running their "times played" song counters through the roof:

http://www.myspace.com/editorsmusic

(Smokers Outside the Hospital Floor, #3)

http://www.myspace.com/katenashmusic

As for me: almost done another novella, making that 3 of 5 towards the next book. Weird how quickly this turned into something like a real project. After that a few freelance pieces then onto the next novella.

All best, Craig.

Craig Davidson on 11.24.07 @ 02:23 PM EST [link]

Saturday, November 17th

Back from Italy / Links

Hi All,

Back, battered and bruised, from my Italian soujourn (sojourn?). Not, not so battered or bruised, but a lot of fun times packed into 8 or so days left my 32-year-old bones exhausted and in need of recuperation. But a great time: lots of great food, wine, met some wonderful people, lost a few drinking contests (no matter where I go on tour, I always get into some contest and I always lose!) and had a good time. Shouts out to Marco, Elisa (tireless publicist extraordinaire who shepherded me around Italy whilst battling a raging fever half the time; Me: "Elisa, you're coughing and sneezing; why don't you go home, have some soup, take a nap?" Elisa: "No, you must---hack*hack*---see the Coliseum! Onwards! Avanti!"), Andrea, Danilo, Fillippo, Georgio, Elisa #2, Fransesca, Ivano, all the guys from Birra, Helen and Jordan and Angela from Granta and McSweeney's respectively, Antonio and Steve and Maurico in Rome, Pietro in Florence, Pietro and Alberto in Turino, and in general and in total everyone I met over there who helped get me drunk and helped me have a great time. And the book, by Edizioni BD, looks fantastic.

There were tons of pictures taken, mostly of the impromptu "Beer Club" event in Perugia where I lost to Danilo Denotti in a beer-chugging exhibition. First rule of Birra Club: you don't talk about Birra Club. Second rule of Birra club: if your name is Craig Davidson, you lose in Birra Club. But still, better to lose a beer-chugging competition than get my face knuckled over, so that was nice. Anyway, when and if I get any links where those pictures may be displayed, I'll pass them along.

So, in total, a great time. I certainly hope the book does well for them---Edizione BD is a graphic novel publisher who has recently moved into novels; mine is the first that has nothing to do with graphics, although certainly it is a graphic novel in terms of its content. So, I hope this crossover works well for them as they certainly went all out in its production and in taking me around and getting me out there to the Italian public.

Now, a few links that I heard about while I was gone. First is from the Picador UK website, where they've posted my blog about my trip to Scotland for the festival. My editor, Kate Harvey, had to edit it and I cannot in any way blame her. My only excuse is this: when I wrote it I hadn't written anything in like, a week and a half. That's a loooooong time for me to be away from the writing desk. So it's sort of like a guy who goes off his meds: what he comes up with is pure unadulterated id, just a seething tangle of weirdness. And too damn long. So I'll give the link to the cleaned-up version and post the whole version below, for anyone bored or weird enough to want to read a very bizarre and jagged and in some ways hidous example of a writer who needs to write every day and if he doesn't, things get pent up and those things come out in twisted ways.

Second is a link to Brett Savory's Broken Pencil column where yours truly is brought up in the company of some other, truly fantastic writers.
www.panmacmillan.com/picador/ManageBlog.aspx?BlogID=8caaa1d6-1ae5-42ec-b338-004f728fb626&BlogPage=Permalink

www.brokenpencil.com/indieartist/view.php?indieartid=14

Okay, that's all for now. I have much catching up to do. And much sleeping.

All best, Craig.

Craig Davidson on 11.17.07 @ 12:01 PM EST [more..]

Saturday, November 3rd

Italian Tour

Hi All,

So, slowly gearing up for my tour in Italy to promote THE FIGHTER. Leave on the 7th, back on the 16th. I know there's a festival in there, the Umbrialibri Festival, and after that stops in Rome, Milan, Turin and perhaps one in Bologna or Florence. So, lots of traveling but that's great. Never have I been to Italy, pitiful provincial that I am, so I'm looking forward to it.

I've been in touch with a fellow named Danilo there, who really was the first person I ever spoke to in Italy regarding my writing. He says he's going to take me out drinking, to which I said sure, and also we'd eat a local dish involving cooked pigeon and I said sure again, based on the idea that the Italians are such good cooks I'm sure they can make even gutter bird taste good. And besides, pelicans love them:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNNl_uWmQXE

... so, y'know, if pelicans can eat them, so can I. And happily so!
Craig Davidson on 11.03.07 @ 08:14 PM EST [more..]