revenge of the book eaters

s and i felt very privileged to attend "revenge of the book eaters" last tuesday, the fundraiser for 826 NYC, the wonderful writing-tutor secret lair behind brooklyn superhero supply (which i have written about here.) i am on their mailing list, and got an email a few weeks ago about the fundraising event, and bought tickets immediately. (poor s, i emailed him afterwards and was like "i'm going! you can come too! give me $50!" i'm lucky he loves me and books.)

it was described on gothamist as a music-saturated nerdfest, and boy was it. ira glass opened the evening with two stories. i have to say, seeing ira glass while listening to ira glass is a wholly different experience, especially sharing it with so many other people. usually listening to ira glass is fairly intimate for me, as i mostly listen to podcasts on myPod, so it's just me on the train with ira in my ears. john oliver, of daily show fame, mc'ed the event, and was totally fantastic. we loved his comedy, and were laughing to tears at some points. two new musical acts followed, very good in their own right but not necessarily my taste. kyp malone (of tv on the radio) read a really sweet story by 826 students about monkey love. then my heart almost stopped because paul simon, my life-long musical love, came out and played "mrs. robinson" and "the boxer" and a brand-new song he had recently written and never. before. played. (be still, my heart!) it just felt so special. he played with a very talented man whose name i cannot remember (so sorry!) who played guitar, cello, and a haunting woodwind (maybe a pennywhistle? not usually described as haunting, i know.) it was wonderful. equally wonderful was the next performance, a surprise from angelique kidjo. she has an incredible voice that sent chills down my spine, and sang two songs, the second an african blessing that she had everyone join in on. it was so powerful, hearing hundreds of voices soar through town hall.

dave eggers and sarah vowell (president of the board of 826 NYC) came out to do some thanking of the attendees, performers and volunteers, and to make some palin jokes (oh sarah, you're everywhere!) then the piece de resistance, a new play by jonathan franzen, read by the author with bobby cannavale, patricia clarkson, parker posey, and tunde adebimpe. it was adapted from the new book state by state, about the fifty states, and it was a love letter to new york state. it was a really wonderful end to a truly magical new york evening.

up in the sky! it's a bird! it's a plane! it's...

i think i'm in love. s and i have this joke (well, i have it. he sort-of laughs) that it's a good thing i don't work with jim halpert (and that he doesn't technically exist), or i would pull a pam on him. so it's not a good thing for my darling that dave eggers actually is real and clever and wonderful. but it is a good thing for him that i will never meet dave eggers, and that even if i did, he would probably ignore me. (which is generally how i feel about people who are so achingly cool.)

anyways, reasons i love dave eggers, in a semi-chronological order, eventually getting to a new york-related point:
+ s gave me "a heartbreaking work of staggering genius" to read and i was in love with it (and we had just started dating, and i thought "if this boy can give me this book, he is the one for me".) it was like reading a book that i want to write, and might even try to write, but i will never be able to write. because i cannot even describe it properly. but i did not want the book to end. ever. and i wanted to crawl inside it and live in it. in his life, even the hard parts. because the beautiful parts (made more beautiful by his prose) are so damn beautiful.
+ mcsweeneys, a periodical he co-founded and edits, is in general simply wonderful. it has a midas touch. and i want to own pretty much everything they publish ever.
+ the real reason my previously secret unrequited love is now being confessed: brooklyn superhero supply co. which is, of course, a cover-up. (those smart supers!) it's just a few blocks from us, and the first time we walked past it they were closed, but we vowed to come back. the second time, they were open and hosting a scrabble tournament. it was like walking into another world--everything is taken seriously (i took pictures, they are on the computer that has decided it no longer likes the internet), from the cloning fluid on sale to the fake identity kits (also available for purchase.) and it feels like you are in on the secret. it felt like a giddy twilight zone, a world you only ever imagined in childhood come to life.
+ it is, of course, for children, which is why i loved it so much. brooklyn superhero supply is a front for 826NYC, a non-profit that helps build creative and expository writing skills. dave and co. founded 826 valencia in san fran (the original is fronted by pirate supply), and now it has spread nationally, and is bringing words to children in new york, boston, chicago and seattle, among others. i ask you, how can you not love a man who promotes childhood literacy? through workshops and tutoring and summer programs and in-school events, they bring a love of reading and writing to children, and help them to discover their inner superhero.

i have been missing the feeling of being involved in my community recently (starting to volunteer was my one new year's resolution.) i filled out the application tonight.