And Now I am in Idaho: A Quick Update and a Couple of Interviews
Earlier this week I was in New York finally visiting the Art of Scent exhibit at the Museum of Art and Design. On Tuesday I flew home to Austin, slept for six hours, and then got on a plane to Boise, Idaho where I am now, visiting my parents. This past Friday I was the featured speaker at a fundraiser for the amazing Learning Lab, a nonprofit dedicated to helping children and adults achieve literacy. I can’t imagine my life without reading–my mother tells me that as a toddler I chewed on cloth books instead of playing with dolls–so I was honored to participate. It was quite an event (840 guests! Including my third grade teacher!). I’m eager to tell you about it and to write up my thoughts on the Art of Scent exhibit and my recap of the Elements perfume trade show (oh I smelled some lovely things!), but I also want to take advantage of my time here to be with my family, so it may be a few days yet.
In the meantime, here are a couple of interviews I did for Idaho Public Television’s Dialogue, with very smart host, Marcia Franklin, the last time I was here. The first is about half and hour and includes lots of general conversation about perfume, feminism, reading and writing. The second is a shorter “web extra” in which I attempt to share some perfume (Eau d’Italie’s Paestum Rose, Ginestet’s Botrytis, and a vintage version of Balmain’s Jolie Madame) with Marcia on the air. After the interviews were over the whole studio staff hung out with me for awhile, sniffing and trying things on. It was great fun.
If you’ve seen these before–they aired over the holidays and were posted on Facebook and Now Smell This but never made it on to the blog–it is well worth checking out the Dialogue site for other author interviews. Ms. Franklin has spoken to quite a range of people, most of them far more interesting than me.
Image: The opening image for Paul Searle’s charming short video “Grown in Idaho,” Grand Prize Winner of the Idaho Potato Festival.
02/04/2013 at 7:08 pm
Thank you for sharing these videos. I had not seen them before and they were very interesting. Now I really have to read that Elizabeth McCracken book. I have read her other books but not the one you recommend.
As someone who is not dying her gray hair, I have to say how much I love Marcia Franklin’s !
02/13/2013 at 4:35 pm
Hi Barbara, sorry about the slow reply.
The McCracken book, An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination, is so incredible. I wrote my dissertation on trauma and storytelling–I was especially interested in how people tell terrible stories without giving into despair, becoming a subject for voyeurs, or deliberately inflicting wounds on the readers–and one of the feelings I had after reading that book was: Well, I could have saved myself four years of work if I’d just read this first. Stunning work.
If my hair were going gray as stylishly as Marcia’s I would want to keep that way, too!
02/12/2013 at 7:27 pm
The host really took the time to read an think about your book. Great questions. And you are so poised! I had the same sort of reaction to Ackerman’s book. And I’ve already gone on about my reaction to yours on NST and elsewhere, so I won’t repeat, except to say it was a joy and it is fun to hear you talk about it.
02/13/2013 at 4:36 pm
Thanks so much, Cheryl! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
And it’s true, Marcia really did her homework, which I can tell you is more rare than you might think.