Neil Gaiman Talks About His Visit to Tuscaloosa, Alabama
From the post: “Of course, in Alabama the Tuscaloosa, but that is entirely irrelephant…”
I went to Alabama, to Tuscaloosa.
Before I left, I was interviewed by Tuscaloosa newspapers. “What do you expect of Alabama?” they asked “What do you know of Alabama?” I was a bit puzzled by that. It’s the kind of question you usually get asked by small, nervous countries who don’t get many visitors. (”Have you heard anything about Ruritania?” they ask, and you tell them that you’ve heard that the strudel in Strelsau is excellent and you’re glad that Jews can now own land there again, and everyone’s happy.) It’s not something I’d expected to be asked coming to a state. But then, I’d visited (if not actually signed books in) 47 states and I’d not yet been to Alabama, so they sort of had a point. I told them no, I had no expectations.
The strange thing is that, as an author, there are places publishers never send you, and the American South (if you don’t count Atlanta) is one of those places. When I’d ask, I’d be told it was because people didn’t really buy books there, or there wasn’t a demand, or something.
Read the rest of the article on Neil’s site. He had some nice things to say about Alabama and the misconceptions people have of the state in terms of its desire for good literature.
Filed under: Fantasy on February 23rd, 2010
I’ve never been to Alabama, either, though I do have some preconceptions.
“When I’d ask, I’d be told it was because people didn’t really buy books there, or there wasn’t a demand, or something.”
I’ve always wondered if that’s true. Seems like authors (the ones I read, anyway) rarely have Texas in their list of book tour stops. Even then, it’s always Austin. Understandable–Austin is known more as an arts hub. But it seems as if book tours rarely make it down here.
Believe it or not, we can read here in Alabama, and we do wear shoes
Now, we are addicted to sweet tea, that stereotype is true.