Talk of the Stacks: Padgett Powell

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More About

• Padgett Powell
• University of Florida
• Books and Literature
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media

Would you have any interest in reading a book in which every sentence is a question? Does that sound like an appealing tome to tackle this fall? How does an author even write a book filled with nothing more than queries? What was Padgett Powell thinking when he wrote The Interrogative Mood (Harper Collins), a book of pages packed only with questions? Who is he? You remember his critically adored novels Edisto, Edisto Revisited, and Mrs. Hollingsworth's Men, don't you? Well, his latest book, obviously a wild departure from his others, certainly sounds intriguing, doesn't it? Do questions like "Are bluebirds perfect?" and "Do we need galoshes?" make you meditate on life and its challenges? Or is this nothing more than a super-meta, self-indulgent gimmick to move units? No, that can't be it, can it? Either way, don't you think it will be interesting to hear Powell discuss his book, which is the product of inane questions emailed to him by his colleagues at the University of Florida, where he teaches writing?
Wed., Oct. 28, 7 p.m., 2009