Richard Price

While sitting in the room waiting for the reading to commence, I noticed a man sitting down in the front row with his back facing me, seeming to be oblivious to whatever was around him; he was reading a book and seemed unaware of everyone standing and talking around him. Little did I know that that man was actually Richard Price himself.

Contrary to my belief that he was a reticent man, his readings from Lush Life and of his encounter with a “woman prophetist” were so engaging that I found myself inching further to the edge of the seat, drawn to his storytelling. Every single sentence he spoke aloud were abundant in description and details. The slang terms used by the policemen and the descriptions of the city streets made the story more engaging for listeners.

His question and answer session was even more interesting to me; I would think that a writer who includes so many minute details and captivating imagery would have to take notes, but he informed the audience that he rarely took notes, and he called himself “just being a sponge” and learning through osmosis about life in the Lower East Side and the separated communities there. He spoke of the fact that he learned on his own, pursuing his writing career with only encouragement and validation from his teachers when he was in school. His down-to-earth conversation with the audience brought me to realize that this author was not ostentatious, but extremely humble, and in one word, talented.