Craig Davidson

Monday, December 25th

Davidson on MySpace!

Hi All,

First off, Merry Christmas to all of you. I received some great gifts, most of them clothes given to me by people who are continually affronted by my lack of fashion sense, my love of deerskin coats and such, and bought me new "snazzy" togs that bring me into the 2000's, at least, fashion-wise. It was tough hanging up my poncho and bellbottoms, but alas, it was time.

A few months ago my publicist at Soho, Kathy Daneman (who is now with Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux) asked me to set up a MySpace page to help with some grassroots publicity. Well, since I'm a total luddite when it comes to technology---I used to rub two sticks together to try to access this blog until one of the Penguin computer gurus told me how to do it properly---I had to wait until my brother showed up and lead me through the maze of Myspace signup. And by "lead me through" I mean, more accurately, "do it all for me." So big thanks to Graham, my first Myspace friend, for setting the whole shebang up. There's not a whole bunch there that most blog readers haven't read yet, more of a plug into the 142,000,000 MySpace users than anything else, but if you frequent MySpace or even if you don't, check it out. And if you don't want to, well, to hell witcha!

No, no, not to hell witcha. This being Christmas, a MERRY to hell witcha!

The Myspace page is:

www.myspace.com/craig_b_davidson

It will be updated every so often. Me and Graham are working on a short "skit"---we're such drama hams---that will be uploaded in a few weeks. I'll let y'all know.

Again, the merriest of Christmases to you all and Happy New Year, too!

All best, Craig.

Craig Davidson on 12.25.06 @ 05:11 PM EST [link]

Thursday, December 21st

...Or how about this review, from the Kitchener-Waterloo Record

Another one here, by journalism student and copyeditor at the newspaper on record. My thanks, Brandon, for your review. I'm sure it's excellent, but I'm not going to read it at this point and find out. Once the novel I'm working on is done, though, yes, yes, I'll read it. I'll read them all.

A bit of frivolity---I was driving home from the gym today and saw this sign in the parking lot of a knife shop:

KNIVES---THE PERFECT GIFT!

Then, in smaller print below this:

FOR KNIFE LOVERS.

Knives are also the perfect gift for serial killers and self-mutilators. I don't know why that's not down there in the small print, too.

All best, Craig.
Craig Davidson on 12.21.06 @ 05:43 PM EST [more..]

Edmonton Journal reviews THE FIGHTER

Hi All,

Another one here, this one by a fellow named Brian Hodgson. As ever, I didn't read it. As ever, I thank Brian muchly for reviewing it at all. I'm a little surprised my hometown paper, the Calgary Herald, didn't review it; they didn't review my collection, either. Then again, since nobody showed up at my Calgary reading in October, it may just be a situation of the city you live in not necessarily being the city that feels any compulsion to support you. Maybe I should move to Edmonton, whose paper reviewed both my novel and collection. Go Oilers!

All best, Craig.
Craig Davidson on 12.21.06 @ 10:24 AM EST [more..]

Wednesday, December 20th

National Post Review

Hi All,

Another review of THE FIGHTER, this one from the National Post. Again, I didn't read it. I've gotten a few email from my buddies calling me a terminal wuss and a jackass for refusing to read my reviews, but to them I said: Blow it out your ass. Well, not really; I acknowledged I was indeed a wuss, but that admission didn't mean I was going to read my reviews.

I like the reviewer---I mean, as I writer; as perusual, I don't know him from Adam as a human being. But I dug his book Baroque-A-Nova. I have no idea if it's a good review or not, but I appreciate him reviewing it nonetheless.

All best, Craig.

Craig Davidson on 12.20.06 @ 12:34 PM EST [more..]

Monday, December 18th

Back From Iowa, Searching For Gainful Employment

Hi All,

Well, back in Calgary. My great US odyssey is finished---for awhile, anyway. Won’t rule out heading back at some point if there’s a good opportunity to be had. But at present, back in Cowtown, living in my folks’ basement like a little mutant light-sensitive troll until the people who are currently living in my house move out, at which point I will move in and continue my trollish ways, though, since I will have run of the entire house and will no longer be shut up in the basement like Ma and Pa’s dirty little secret, I suppose my sensitivity to natural light will abate.

Craig Davidson on 12.18.06 @ 09:42 PM EST [more..]

Sunday, December 3rd

BOOK TELEVISION TRANSCRIPT

Hi all,

This is, I think, a transcript from a TV program---I think it is called THE WORD THIS WEEK---that had a segment about THE FIGHTER. I didn't see it, so I don't know. Again, sent on to me out of the blue.

Do you all want to know the most upsetting/traumatizing part? I don't recall ever giving this interview. Honest to God! Who is Lars-Peter Bjornson? Sounds like a retired tennis player. It's a total Twilight Zone scenario. I think I might be punch drunk.

Maybe you can make some sense of it. The transcript makes me sound semi-intelligent, at least, so I appreciate whoever transcribed my words---which I don't recall ever saying.

I'm off to the Memory Recovery center.

Who is Ron Price from the red corner?

Craig Davidson on 12.03.06 @ 09:37 PM EST [more..]

Saturday, December 2nd

Globe and Mail review of THE FIGHTER

Hi All,

So I wake up this morning to an email from a buddy of mine. He says he read a review of THE FIGHTER in the Globe and Mail. I got the sense it might not be a great review. In fact, a slam. A slam or a dismissal or a nothing sort of review, neither here or there. Which, as I’ve said, is perfectly fine: maybe the book deserves to be slammed, or ingnored, or dismissed. I’m clueless at this point.

www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061202.BKFIGH02/TPStory/Entertainment/Books

Craig Davidson on 12.02.06 @ 11:52 AM EST [more..]