Ever since I’ve known Howard, he’s been dead. So begins author Patricia Kambitsch’s memoir, Looks Like Howard, a story about how her father, despite his untimely death, thrives through the collective memories and imagination of his widow and six children.
Two events in Cleveland will celebrate the release of Looks Like Howard:
● 10 am to noon, Saturday, April 19, at The Lit located in the ArtCraft Building, 2570 Superior Avenue, Suite 203: Book signing, reading, and author reception. Workshop presented by author titled “Truth, Lies and Memoir: The Shady Experience of Writing and Sharing Personal Nonfiction.” Cost: $55 per person. Writing a memoir can be tricky business. How reliable is “the truth” when memories fade, inner critics taunt and fears of offending loved ones threaten to silence the writer along the way? Included in this hands-on writing workshop are tips, strategies and structures for creating personal narratives based on memory. Call 216-694-0000 for more info.
● 8 p.m. Saturday, April 19, at Visible Voice Books, 1023 Kenilworth Ave. Reading and multimedia performances with characters in the memoir -- including members of Kambitsch’s own family. Observe such Kambitsch family antics as the “Dirty Word Scrabble and Sing-Along” in action. Guest performers include Cleveland memoirist Anna Kiss. Call 216-961-0084.
The quirky Kambitsch family also comes on life in Patricia Kambitsch’s memoir, in which questions of what really happened to Howard, the mild-mannered über-geek hero, give way to fantasy suspicions that include the next-door neighbor who was last seen with her father, secret government projects and alien abduction. Truer tales range from graveside family antics to playing Jesus on the sidewalk. Growing up in the shadow of grief never sounded so funny.
“Kambitsch writes with the neurotic wackiness of an Anne Lamott. She has a droll wit that reminded me of Anna Quindlen. Kambitsch is the real deal,” wrote Dayton Daily News book critic Vick Mickunas. “The book rises up and clamps right down on our funnybones.”
As one of 13 brothers and sisters growing up in Dayton, Ohio, Kambitsch triumphs over the chaos of her Cold War childhood by telling dark and funny stories about her unsuspecting family.
“In a world where sticky sentimentality is the norm, Looks Like Howard is a completely irreverent, original, funny, poignant romp through the wicked imagination of the author -- an imagination that finds Howard nowhere and, in a heartbeat, everywhere,” wrote Barry Heermann, author of Noble Purpose and Team Spirit.
Kambitsch also is an educator and advocate for the arts. She is offering workshops on themes related to her book, such as grief, humor and healing, as well as truth and lies in memoir writing.
Her other projects include the farcical self-published ‘zine, Fallen Away, which won Kambitsch a national following among recovering Catholics. She also is the host and facilitator of several long-standing participatory arts events in Dayton, including an interdisciplinary arts salon, creative arts workshops, expressive dance events, and writers’ groups. She resides part-time in the Dayton area and part-time in Toronto with her husband, Peter Jones.
Link: http://www.kambitsch.com
Link: http://www.visiblevoicebooks.com
| Hot Geek Love! posted on Thursday April 17, 2008 |
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