Mari Naomi at City Lights

Last week I was at City Lights bookstore to see Mari Naomi on the San Francisco stop of her book tour for Dragon's Breath and Other True Stories, a compilation of her autobiographical short story comics for The Rumpus. Ray Shea, who wrote the book's introduction, started off the event by reading one of his own short stories, a rueful autobiographical vignette about drugs & lost love. Ms. Naomi did a slideshow reading of 3 stories from her book & provided a few additional gossipy footnotes along the way. She then talked a little about getting the book published & answered a few questions from the audience. She told us that in LA a man tried to hit on her in the middle of her reading, & she admitted that she & her mother have factual disagreements regarding her story about the death of a bunny-eating snake.

The event took place in a cozy upstairs room of the bookstore & was standing room only. I had a seat against a bookshelf at the back of the room. When I reached behind my head for a random book to read while waiting, I of course happened to grab On the Road.

§ Dragon's Breath and Other True Stories
MariNaomi
City Lights Booksellers
Wednesday, September 24, 2014, 7:00 P.M.