James Cañón

The book tour continues…

Boston
Last Tuesday night I read at the Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge. It was the same night president Bush delivered his State of the Union Address, so I wasn’t expecting many people. I’m happy to report that a good number of very smart people chose me over the president, which doesn’t surprise me: my tales, fantastic though they are, are much more credible than his. Also, I’m a much better story-teller. Thanks to Amanda Darling and the staff at Harvard Bookstore for doing such a great job organizing and promoting the event. Thanks also to Scott Van Der Meid, Director of Study Abroad at Brandeis University and friend of mine, who invited his colleagues to the reading and later on took me to an amazing Vietnamese restaurant in the neighborhood.
Audience Highlights: 1. Lovely Laura, my friend Rick Murphy’s mother, who had pre-ordered the book and sat on the first row. 2. A beautiful Colombian girl from Pereira, whose name I can’t spell (her mother made it up). She told me, in less than three minutes, a moving family story worth writing a novel. 3. A tall woman who smiled at me all throughout the reading, only each time from a different corner. She just kept moving across the room, like trying to find a better angle. When the moment came to buy the book, she disappeared. She had found the angle she was looking for: the exit door.

New England College
The largest audience I’ve seen so far came to hear me read at the Simon Center Great Room of New England College yesterday. I have no doubts that Douglas Haynes (poet, professor and friend) had a lot to do with that: he invited me to do the reading and was in charge of promoting it. Thanks, Douglas. This appearance was sort of an experiment for me, for it wasn’t just a reading but also a discussion focused on writing in a second language, and incorporating source material in your own work in creative ways. I’m hardly an authority on any of this (this is my first novel after all) but I was happy to share my own experiences with both students and faculty, and I trust they enjoyed the discussion as much as I did. After the reading, I’ve had the opportunity to chat with some of the faculty members who wanted to know more about the current social and political situation in Colombia, and how it receives little or no coverage in the mainstream media.
Audience Highlights: A Colombian guy (a graphic design student), also from Pereira, who showed up to the reading wearing the t-shirt of a popular Colombian soccer team… sweet!

Stereolab were an alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England. The band originally comprised songwriting microsoft training team Tim Gane (guitar/keyboards) and Lætitia Sadier (vocals/keyboards/guitar), both of whom remained at the helm across many lineup changes. Other long-time members include Andy Ramsay (drums) and Mary Hansen (backing vocals/keyboards/guitar). Called “one of the most fiercely independent and original 70-630 exam groups of the Nineties”, Stereolab were one of the first bands to be termed “post-rock”. Their primary musical influence was 1970s krautrock, which they combined with lounge, 1960s pop, and experimental pop music. They were noted for their heavy use of vintage electronic keyboards, and their sound often overlays a repetitive “motorik” beat with female vocals sung in English or French. Stereolab often incorporated socio-political themes into their lyrics. Some critics say the group’s lyrics carry a strong Marxist message, and Gane and Sadier admit to being influenced by the Surrealist and Situationist cultural and political movements. a+ essentials practice test The band were released from their recording contract with Warner Bros. Records when Warner’s imprint Elektra Records folded