February 3, 2004
Contact: George Yatchisin
(805) 893-3494
e-mail: yatchisin-g@ sa.ucsb.edu

Anne Lamott, one of our best-loved authors,
reads at UCSB Campbell Hall

Summary Facts:

• An Evening with Anne Lamott
• Lamott is the beloved author of Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life and Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year
• Time magazine voted Lamott’s Salon.com column “The Best of the Web”
• Lamott is a Distinguished Fellow in the College of Creative Studies
• Monday, March 8
• 8 pm / UCSB Campbell Hall
• General public: $10 / UCSB students: $8
• Tickets & Information: UCSB Arts & Lectures at 893-3535

Anne Lamott, author of the bestsellers Blue Shoe and Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, will read from her work on Monday, March 8 at 8 pm at UCSB Campbell Hall. A Distinguished Visiting Fellow in the College of Creative Studies, Anne Lamott will be co-presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures. “In her novels and her nonfiction, Anne Lamott writes about subjects that begin with capital letters (Alcoholism, Motherhood, Jesus),” Newsweek opines. “But armed with self-effacing humor and ruthless honesty—call it a lowercase approach to life’s Big Questions—Lamott converts potential op-ed boilerplate into enchantment.”

Lamott’s Bird by Bird (1994) is widely acclaimed as one of the most helpful and enjoyable books for fledgling writers. More than just a how-to about the mechanics of plot, character and dialogue, the book preps one psychologically for the writer’s life, from accepting terrible first drafts to overcoming them, despite insecurities about one’s talent and jealousies for every other writer’s skill and success. The Seattle Times calls the book “a gift to all of us mortals who write or ever wanted to write... sidesplittingly funny, patiently wise and alternately cranky and kind—a reveille to get off our duffs and start writing now, while we still can.”

In all her novels, Anne Lamott writes about the loss of loved ones and loss of personal control. Instead of sugar-coating the sadness, frustration and disappointment, she tells her stories with honesty, compassion and a pureness of voice. In an interview Lamott has claimed, “I have a lot of hope and a lot of faith and I struggle to communicate that.” She does communicate her faith; in her books and in person, she lifts, comforts, and inspires, all the while keeping us laughing.

Lamott’s most recent novel Blue Shoe has been on The New York Times bestseller list and garnered much critical acclaim. The touching and hilarious tale of a recently divorced mother of two young children, the book explores the comforts and cruelties of family while attesting to the power of rejuvenating romantic love. “It’s a real novel, messy, brave and weirdly lovable,” writes The New York Times. “The characters in Blue Shoe are forever making classic Lamottian heartbroken quips, along these lines: ’She was sick of her worried, hostile mind. It would have killed her a long time before, she felt, if it hadn’t needed the transportation.’”

Lamott’s other novels include her debut Hard Laughter that established her ability to gaze clear-eyed at the family while leading readers to wipe away tears of both laughter and sadness; Rosie, a unique twist on the coming-of-age story; Joe Jones, a raucous novel of lives gathered around a waterfront dive named Jessie’s Café; All New People, about an engaging cast of characters struggling with the tumultuous changes wrought by the 1960s; and Crooked Little Heart, which continues the life of the tennis-playing title character from Rosie.

In addition to Bird by Bird, she has authored the nonfiction works Operating Instructions, an open and honest account of life as a single mother during her son’s first year, and Travelling Mercies, an irreverent and spiritual collection of autobiographical essays on faith that include her two favorite prayers, “Help me, help me, help me,” and “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Currently Lamott is on sabbatical from writing Word by Word, her biweekly online column on Salon.com that Time magazine voted “The Best of the Web.” While on that sabbatical, according to her December 19, 2003 entry, she hopes to “help George Bush find employment for which his unique interests and training are better suited.” She is frequently heard on National Public Radio, in particular on This American Life. She is also the subject of the documentary Bird by Bird with Annie (1999) by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Freida Mock about which the Boston Globe wrote, “Lamott’s indefatigable spirit makes the film shimmer.”

Courtesy of UCSB Bookstore, books by Anne Lamott will be available for purchase and signing at the event. They can also be purchased in advance online at www.bookstore.ucsb.edu in the “General Books” section.

Ann Lamott is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures and is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow in the College of Creative Studies. Tickets for this event are $10 for the general public and $8 for UCSB Students. They are on sale now and will be available at the door starting at 7 pm.

For tickets or more information,
call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535.

Editor: For photos, please call
George Yatchisin at (805) 893-3494.