The Politics of Art & Authenticity

http://www.dn.pt/inicio/artes/interior.aspx?content_id=1694985&seccao=Livros

Listening to Katherine Vaz read from her new novel was my first time at an author’s reading. And for most of what she read I was getting nothing of what I thought I should. When hearing an author of fiction read I want to feel motivated, inspired to do literary things, to read more or write the next great American novel. But I didn’t want to write. I wanted to leave. Vaz likes to, as she describes, “put a tassel on every sentence.” It’s fair to extend that description of her writing to her characters’ backstories. She read excerpts that went into Bronte-esque character history; I was totally lost. It was a headache to follow and made me think her five hundred-page novel would be tedious to read. Granted, it must be tough to pick short passages from a five hundred-page book that will make sense out of context, but all the details about characters I am unfamiliar with mean nothing. This first time experience was, for the first twenty minutes of a thirty-minute reading, a bust.

Then came the “Romeo and Juliet scene.” This described one of her characters, I have no idea who, climbing up to his “Juliet’s” room. Nothing I could write about this scene would do it justice. I didn’t know who the characters were; I didn’t need to; I didn’t care. This was the first time I felt something special coming out of Vaz’s mouth. Though she kept her speaking level at a disinterested storyteller’s tone, I felt everything when she said in the midst of a classically-romantic, romantic scene, “He discovered happiness is never wanting anything else.” All of Vaz’s tassels made sense and she finally delivered what I think needs to be the focal point of an author’s reading– emotion.

When I actually read some of Vaz’s work, the details and tassels made sense. I was able to appreciate the rich character histories she creates. These give meaning behind emotion delivered when two characters meet, or the reasons why something simple is affecting a character so deeply. Her writing is very rich, often times metaphoric, and is best appreciated on the page. I have found it is best to sometimes read a page a second time before moving onto the next because it is easy to miss something important betwixt all her flowing detail. But this isn’t to her discredit because every word on the page has a purpose.

There was a lot to be desired in Vaz’s reading; this does not discredit her as a writer. Her style unfortunately diminished what I got out her performance. But the last few minutes gave me an insight to her work. Ultimately reading what she wrote allowed me to understand Vaz as a writer. I don’t think one can fully appreciate the skill of a writer just by a reading. After all, novels should be read not performed. And I almost missed how great a writer Vaz is. But I would say readings are worth going to, even if its for one “Romeo and Juliet scene.”