Report on an evening with Pat Conroy....

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-15-2005
Report on an evening with Pat Conroy....
5
Sun, 10-02-2005 - 5:30pm
the author of Prince of Tides, The Great Sanitini, Beach Music, The Citadel, & more. What a wonderful presentation at the beautiful Allen Theatre, Playhouse Square, Cleveland. The place was filled with people & with tension waiting for Mr. Conroy who did not disappoint. He did not read from his books because he is an extremely good story teller sharing with readers everywhere the dark side of his family. All of his books are autobiographical. His father was a bully (The Great Santini), his brother was mentally ill (Beach Music)& a sibling did commit suicide (Prince of Tides). And that's just the beginning. Despite the darkness, tales of eccentric relatives, prankish classmates & snobbish townspeople peppered his stories & the laughter made the sadness easier to bear. This is what I remember most about the evening: Pat Conroy discussed his mother's love of language & words that inspired her to read to him every night that he lived at home. also he told a high school student in the audience who said she wants to be a writer, she should "shut off the tv, get rid of the computer games & read everything you can..." Sound familiar? I wish all of you could have heard him, & if the opportunity ever arises do not hesitate to treat yourself. Hope this was helpful, dee
Avatar for scrappy_ams
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Mon, 10-03-2005 - 10:32am

Dee, that sounds like a GREAT night! I've read a couple of his books (Prince of Tides and Lords of Discipline) and really loved them. DH read My Losing Season and really enjoyed that as well. What an experience to see hime live! I have Beach Music on my TBR shelf and will definitely move it up:) Thanks for telling us about your evening. BTW - were you able to get anything signed by him?

Scrappy

Scrappy
Avatar for cl_ladibbug
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 10-03-2005 - 11:00am

Dee ~


Thanks so much for sharing your evening with Pat Conroy :)


His books are autobiographical?

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-15-2005
Mon, 10-03-2005 - 1:45pm

Dee,

Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I love Pat Conroy. I think his novels are so engrossing and what a style he has!!! Let me say I envy you for having met and listened to him. What part of the country are you from? I just sent for "Lords of Discipline" on half.com but haven't read it yet.

thanks again, Sue

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-15-2005
Mon, 10-03-2005 - 2:31pm
Sue: I live about 30 miles west of Cleveland, OH on Lake Erie. (I returned here, to be near my large family, after 38 years in NJ)There are so many negative things said about Cleveland, but so far I've seen many positive things & been impressed with the events available in the arts. I recently read that the playhouse district here is second only to NYC which really surprised me. Pat Conroy is one of four authors appearing in the city sponsored by the Public Library, Playhouse Square Arts Assoc. & by an endowment fund. The other writers are Alexander McCall Smith, Jane Smiley, & Anna Quindlen. The cost is $25 with $6 for parking. Can't beat that. We will be going to see Anna Quindlen in May, '06.
BTW, my cousin who teaches high school American Lit requires that her students read Lords of Discipline. Her students, especially the boys, really enjoy the book & she said "they get it!" dee
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-15-2005
Mon, 10-03-2005 - 8:07pm
No we were not able to get anything signed. Mostly because as you can imagine, the line was forever & we had quite a drive home. However we were able to get near the signing table where he was joking & laughing with some other fans. Seems a nice man....a "regular" kinda' guy. dee