A mini-interview with Patricia Ann McNair

Some months ago, Chicago fiction writer Patricia Ann McNair interviewed me, and it's now on her website here. My favourite question was "If your writing were an animal, what animal would it be?" That took some thought.

Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate, Chicago, 29 December 2012

 

Agora, Chicago

Enlarge any image by clicking on it.

You can learn more about this public sculpture by reading its entry on Chicago's tourism website.

Home without a home

I'm hours away from returning to my hometown, but for the first time in my life, for the first time in the 23 years I've been living away, there is no family home awaiting me. It's been sold, and if I'd been in a position to buy it, I'd have considered it seriously. I can't explain how strange it's felt throughout my journey, making my familiar trip but without the familiar destination.

Having missed the downstate bus by three minutes, I have almost four hours to wait for the next one. I used to wait it out in the dreadfully overlit and uncomfortable bus center, but at some point I ventured into the O'Hare airport Hilton en route and found their sports bar. I'm no fan of sports bars, but here they make a decadent Caesar salad and have Sam Adams on draft, not to mention the free wifi. It gives me my first chance to blog (read breathe) in weeks.

I'm only in my hometown for three nights and two packed days before heading to Chicago for the AWP conference. I've fit in a little poetry, though; my nephew Brandon has arranged for me to speak to Olympia Middle School's eighth grade on Monday morning. I'll read a little poetry and fiction and answer the students' questions. I suppose that's to say there'll be small space for mourning, though already I feel I'm teeming with that and so much else.

A little tour

I fly to Chicago tomorrow for both a visit home and some readings in Illinois and Indiana for The Tethers. On Sunday 23 August, at seven o' clock, I'll read with James Shea (Star in the Eye, Fence Books--warmly recommended) at Myopic Books in Chicago. Between 9 and 12 September I'll read in Indiana, but the events are still being confirmed; I can say for certain that there will be a reading at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute and hope to read in Bloomington as well. On Tuesday the 15th of September I'll be at Illinois Wesleyan University in the Bloomington adjacent to my hometown; I'm visiting a seminar with the wonderful name of Poetry of Ideas/Ideas of Poetry, taught by Mike Theune, and giving a reading with a subsequent question and answer session. Here's hoping American audiences are as receptive to the book as the English have been!

My Chicago

A fellow writer-friend asked me for recommendations on what she should do on her forthcoming trip to Chicago, and as I love the city, I thought I'd share them here.

"In Chicago you must

1) go hear blues music. A couple places to go are Legends and Kingston Mines. If you're staying with friends, ask them. Different people have different favorites. One performer I really liked on my last trip was Joanna Connor, a big girl who can play Hendrix, Cream, trad blues, etc.

2) have stuffed and/or deep pan pizza at Gino's East, touristed for a reason. A recent MA also recommended Giordano's.

3) go to the Art Institute of Chicago. Take a journal and spend the day. When you feel saturated, head to the cafe for a break and start again when you're ready. It's outstanding and overwhelming.

4) go to Rush Street if you're looking for bars or just some variety.

5) go to The Cheesecake Factory if you like/love cheesecake. The turtle cheesecake (chocolate, caramel and pecans) is my personal favorite. Divine. Plus the restaurant food is gorgeous (the jambalaya and the Factory Burger are a couple I'd recommend) and served in quantity, to say the least.

6) check out the bookstores near the University of Chicago--Powell's is great for used books, The Scholars' Co-op for new. Set a budget and expect to break it. For events &c. I've heard Women and Children First bookstore is a place to go.

7) when you're in the University of Chicago/Hyde Park area, find The Dixie Kitchen and Bait Shop for delicious Southern food.

8) for a wonderful breakfast of any kind--crepes, french toast, pancakes, omelettes, etc., etc., go to Yolk. Freshly, ideally made, with large portions and good prices. On weekends it's best to go early or you'll have a wait."

I'd be glad to hear about others' favorite Chicago places, restaurants, etc.

Moments from the AWP in Chicago, February 2009

Phoebe Woodward's exquisite dessert at The Park Grill

Molly Peacock and Tim Liardet at The Chicago Firehouse Restaurant

Joe Liardet and I, across the table from Molly and Tim

After a conversation about insomnia, Molly shares her iPod with Tim 

(I think it was an audio book she uses to get to sleep)

The second anniversary

I knew it was in February, but I didn't realise it was at the start. 

On 1 February 2007, my dad entered BroMenn Hospital in Normal for a kidney biopsy and treatment.

On 15 February 2007, he stopped breathing and was rushed into surgery. Afterwards he slipped into a coma.

On 16 February 2007, my mother called to tell me about it. It had to have been at least three minutes before I learned he was still alive.

On 21 February 2007, still in the coma, he received a tracheotomy, as he couldn't breathe without assistance. I learned that a doctor had told Mom that the nature and location of the injury were comparable with Christopher Reeve's.

On 26 February 2007, he was, to everyone's surprise, able to breathe on his own.

In March 2007, he came out of his coma. I learn that the wound that developed from the bedsore that led to the abscess on his spine (and the subsequent paralysis) is large enough to hold a fist.

In early April 2007, he was moved to Provena Hospital's physical rehab facility in Urbana. I visited. In the course of my visit, I saw him regain his awareness of where he was and what had happened (short-term memory is often lost during a coma).

In May 2007, the bedsore that led to the abscess on his spine has become infected and he is moved from Provena to St Joseph's Hospital in Bloomington.

On 15 June 2007, my poem "His Pantoum" appears in TLS. It addresses Dad's time in intensive care and my surprise at his suddenly becoming old--though this could have happened to anyone.

In June, he's reached the point where he can sit in a wheelchair for a full hour at a time (though he has to be moved from the bed there and back again by hospital staff).

In July 2007, he stands on his own, bearing his own weight. He talks about walking and cycling again as if they're inevitable.

On 4 September 2007, he is rushed from the rehab centre (a different one locally, Manor Care; he must have gone there in June or thereabouts) back to hospital on account of a high fever, indicating a new infection.

On 26 September, Dad turns 67. The year before he was cycling 20+ miles a day.

On 7 October, I remember that the night before I dreamt of my father walking--stiffly, dragging his right leg a little, but walking.

On 23 October I learn that Dad's been moved to a different hospital because the MRI was broken at the first one, and I learn that he's in so much pain that the strongest pain meds aren't really helping.

On 25 October I learn that he's developed a new abscess on his spine, and it will be biopsied and cleaned later that day.

On 26 October, high on morphine, Dad calls Mom thinking he's called from an insurance company office in downtown Bloomington.

On 22 December 2007, Dad comes home from the hospital, his first time home since the first of February.

On 3 January 2008, Dad is taken to St. Joseph's Hospital with another fever and infection. The next day, Obama wins the Iowa democratic primary.

In March 2008, I order and have sent to Dad the third season of Battlestar Galactica, so he can catch up with one of our joint favourite shows.

On 21 August 2008, on a visit home, I dream that I see my father walking, then I see him curled in his hospital bed in the living room (where it's been since December '07, when he first came home), as paralysed as ever.

In September 2008, a large Chicago law firm agrees to takes on Dad's case on a no win-no fee basis--in other words, they think it will succeed.

In October 2008, Dad returns to the physical rehab centre, Manor Care.

In November 2008, as he is being lifted from bed, Dad's leg breaks. Obama wins the election.

In January 2009, the Chicago law firm representing my father submits its claim against BroMenn Hospital.

Me and Obama on restaurants

I was in Chicago last July to give a reading, and on my way to the venue (I rather underestimated the distance between it and the Metro) I stumbled across the Dixie Kitchen and Bait Shop. Now I find that back in 2001 Obama recommended it on a local TV show--we even had the same entree, The Southern Sampler--gumbo, jambalaya, and red beans and rice.

"Chicago Amplified - Series A: Carrie Etter and Andy Gricevich"

Chicago Public Radio channel WBEZ recorded my and Andy's reading at Series A on 22 July and have posted it here. I read exclusively from Yet.