i'll be nice when i have sandra cisneros' agent, okay?

Last night we were supposed to go to the Dodgers/Giants game, but it was sold out unless we wanted to pay $35 or more. We did not, so AK and I found a not-too-shabby plan B in the form of a reading by Felicia Luna Lemus, Raquel Gutierrez and Claudia Rodriguez at IMIX in Eagle Rock. Claudia is my friend from CalArts, and she and Raquel both read beautifully descriptive, funny prose about genderqueer youngsters.

Felicia also went to CalArts, although we didn’t have any classes together, so I never got to know her. But I definitely knew of her—as the superstar who went out and nabbed Sandra Cisneros’ agent right after graduation, published her first book with FSG and wore gorgeous, bright-colored vintage dresses while doing it. Am I jealous? A little. A lot.

I used to be really ashamed of my envious tendencies—maybe because of the Why can’t you just be nice? look my ex would give me whenever I wrestled with someone else’s success. These days I stop short of embracing this particular deadly sin, but I don’t worry about it so much either. Better just to walk into the bookstore knowing what you’re dealing with and knowing, too, that by the end of the night you’ll remember that Felicia is really nice and a great writer—and that you’ll come away feeling more inspired and more like part of a literary community for having heard her read.

Speaking of the lit community, I hope you’ll be part of mine on May 11, when stories from The Commuters will be presented by talented up-and-coming actors as part of the New Short Fiction series at the Beverly Hills Public Library. I’ve seen other books presented in this series, and they always do really interesting interpretations of writers’ work. (And the best part is that I get to sit back in the audience and watch it all.)

So save the date—I hope to see you there!

Matt Ferrucci, Judy T. Marcelline, Suzanne Willard and Sally Shore
read The Commuters by Cheryl Klein

Friday, May 11, 2007 at 8 p.m.
The Beverly Hills Public Library Auditorium
444 N. Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills
(between Santa Monica Blvd. and Burton Way)
Admission: $10/Free Parking/Doors open 7:30 p.m.
For more information call 310-288-2220.

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