Literary Lives

Ok, I'm still here. I just took a little breather in between Open Mic Night and the exhibition launch last night.

Literary Lives: The World of Francis Steegmuller & Shirley Hazzard is now on display in the Peluso Exhibition Gallery till January 31, 2011, but don't wait to come and see it. Curator Harriet Shapiro has created a fascinating look at this power literary couple. The exhibition catalog ($15) is a real treasure with photos of the couple in New York and South Italy and a captivating interview with Shirley Hazzard.

Let me just say, I LOVE Shirley Hazzard. From the moment she arrived at the party, she was surrounded by friends and admirers, and I feared I wouldn't get a chance to talk to her. I wondered whether she had even had an opportunity to view the exhibition herself. And then, at the very end of the evening, I managed to grab her attention for a quick moment to blurt out how much I love her work and how I was rethinking my next vacation in light of the entrancing photos of Capri in the exhibit. She gave me a big smile, said "oh, you must go", and as she was being whisked off into the night said, "I have to see these pictures myself"...