I Think I Love Ann Patchett

I fell in love with Ann Patchett today.  Driving home from work , I happened to be listening to "Think Out Loud" on OPB Radio.  The conversation was a pre-recorded one, but I am so glad that no students made afternoon appointments with me.  It was kismet, fate, destiny.  My life had led me to my early afternoon commute.  Patchett's common sense, practical, and frank discussion about issues surrounding the writing life, teaching, waiting tables, making money, and a number of other things seduced me in an instant.

If you aren't familiar with Ann Patchett, she is the author of the book Bel Canto, State of Wonder, and the recently released This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage.  She is also the owner of an independent bookstore called Parnassus Books.  With these qualifications alone, I am bound to swoon, but the interview she gave to OPB sealed the deal for me.

Have you ever received a letter at the exact time you needed to hear from a friend?  Has a stranger given you a compliment at the exact moment you needed one?  Well, Ann Patchett arrived on my air waves at the moment I needed her.  She discussed the challenges of trying to be a writer while being a university teacher (check), she talked about how waiting tables helped her make ends meet as her "other job" (check again), and she discussed how freelance nonfiction writing can be a tool to desensitizing yourself to scrutiny while building up your skills for your creative work in fiction (check, check, and check).  Each of these things is happening to me now, in this instant, and I couldn't help but feel like the interview was given for me alone.  I know that is terribly ego-centric, but it felt delivered, spoken directly to all the fears and concerns that enfold me every day.  You can read or listen to the entire interview here.

I have yet to read Patchett's work, but I know who I am picking up next.  I may even buy her book from her independent bookstore because she promises to sign every copy purchased through their website.  I want my dollars to go directly into her pocket.  I want her to profit off her work and the hope she gave me today.  The last fifteen minutes of my commute were spent parked outside my house.  This was my view:

Oregon Public Broadcasting and National Public Radio call this a "driveway" moment.  A moment where the radio programming is so intriguing there is nothing else to do but sit in your car and wait for the segment to end.  I watched my neighbor blow his leaves out of his yard the whole time.  I don't feel a bit guilty.  It was the best possible use of my time all week.