Peter S Beagle!
I met Peter S Beagle! He is even more awesome than I expected.
He was here as part of The Last Unicorn Tour. They were actually about an hour late, because they are awesome:
You can request the tour comes to your town through the tour website, and they had been contacted by a woman in Boise, whose young (8-10ish?) daughter had terminal cancer. The girl's favorite book is The Last Unicorn - her parents read it to her at night, she watched the movie during chemo treatments, she had a stuffed unicorn. The tour said of course, and planned to be there at the end of January.
They got news on Thursday that the little girl's condition had worsened, and wasn't expected to last the year. So rather from go from Eugene to Portland (a 2 hour drive), they stuck a trip to Boise in the middle. They found a theater and a bookstore that would host them on about 12 hours warning (and when Catching Fire was opening, so points to the theater), and drove to Boise. Apparently she dyed her hair pink, the better to be Lady Amalthea-ish for the show.
So, they were a little late getting to Portland, but of course no one minded.
They had a Q&A before the show, and Mr. Beagle's answers were delightful, thoughtful, and often funny. My favorite question and answer was, "What character in The Last Unicorn do you identify with the most? Has that changed since you wrote it?"
He said that he identified most - and always had - with the Butterfly. But he went on to add that he was most proud of Molly Grue, because, "I was a young man. I didn't have the experience, the insight, or the knowledge to write a character like that. I just keep looking up at whatever sent her to me, and saying 'thank you.'" Molly has always been my favorite (well, and the cat in the film), so it was nice to hear, especially because he touched on the parts of her I love most.
And then we watched the film! I remembered not liking the animation style much, but I found it didn't come across as creepy as I remembered (though the style still isn't my favorite). And, having not seen the film for about, oh, half my life? Wow, did I get different things out of it these days. I had loved the movie as a kid, I knew that, and I knew I loved the book more (of course) when I read it. But the movie had more in it, now that I was older, and could see it. (the least of which were some of the Butterfly's jokes, though those were delightful, too.)
More than that, though, being in a packed and sold out theater full of people who loved this story, was wonderful. The energy in the room was high, and loving, and everyone was talking across groups before and after the show, sharing when and how we first fell in love with that story.
Also, some kids dressed up (and a few adults). My favorite were the sister/brother pair of The Butterfly and The Red Bull (who was really cuter than he had any right to be). It always warms my heart to see the next generation of geeky, awesome kids.
Afterwards, I stood in line for 1.5-2 hours to get him to sign my books. I had my own well-worn, much-loved copy of The Last Unicorn, and my mother, who introduced me to the story but couldn't come out this weekend, and mailed me her copy as well. I also bought a book written by a friend of his, which is one of his favorite stories, and came with a special short story he wrote about it.
And he just sat and talked with me a little bit, which was so much more than I had hoped for. He signed everything - my two copies of The Last Unicorn, the book I bought, the short story that came with it, the frame from the film I won. And he told me a story about Schmendrick's origin, which just felt like a little secret prize he shared. He didn't rush (the opposite, in fact), and when I said I felt bad for taking up so much of his time, he said that well, if you dream about this kind of thing when you're young, you can't complain when it happens, and that he never thought this tour would bring people out like this. He had the kindest smile, with this little bit of excited old man in it. He is just a charming, delightful man, and I walked away feeling like I'd gotten a hug.
And, if you've read this far: If you go (and you should), and stand in line for an autograph (which: ditto), when you get up to the merchandise, tell them the raven sent you. Trust me.
He was here as part of The Last Unicorn Tour. They were actually about an hour late, because they are awesome:
You can request the tour comes to your town through the tour website, and they had been contacted by a woman in Boise, whose young (8-10ish?) daughter had terminal cancer. The girl's favorite book is The Last Unicorn - her parents read it to her at night, she watched the movie during chemo treatments, she had a stuffed unicorn. The tour said of course, and planned to be there at the end of January.
They got news on Thursday that the little girl's condition had worsened, and wasn't expected to last the year. So rather from go from Eugene to Portland (a 2 hour drive), they stuck a trip to Boise in the middle. They found a theater and a bookstore that would host them on about 12 hours warning (and when Catching Fire was opening, so points to the theater), and drove to Boise. Apparently she dyed her hair pink, the better to be Lady Amalthea-ish for the show.
So, they were a little late getting to Portland, but of course no one minded.
They had a Q&A before the show, and Mr. Beagle's answers were delightful, thoughtful, and often funny. My favorite question and answer was, "What character in The Last Unicorn do you identify with the most? Has that changed since you wrote it?"
He said that he identified most - and always had - with the Butterfly. But he went on to add that he was most proud of Molly Grue, because, "I was a young man. I didn't have the experience, the insight, or the knowledge to write a character like that. I just keep looking up at whatever sent her to me, and saying 'thank you.'" Molly has always been my favorite (well, and the cat in the film), so it was nice to hear, especially because he touched on the parts of her I love most.
And then we watched the film! I remembered not liking the animation style much, but I found it didn't come across as creepy as I remembered (though the style still isn't my favorite). And, having not seen the film for about, oh, half my life? Wow, did I get different things out of it these days. I had loved the movie as a kid, I knew that, and I knew I loved the book more (of course) when I read it. But the movie had more in it, now that I was older, and could see it. (the least of which were some of the Butterfly's jokes, though those were delightful, too.)
More than that, though, being in a packed and sold out theater full of people who loved this story, was wonderful. The energy in the room was high, and loving, and everyone was talking across groups before and after the show, sharing when and how we first fell in love with that story.
Also, some kids dressed up (and a few adults). My favorite were the sister/brother pair of The Butterfly and The Red Bull (who was really cuter than he had any right to be). It always warms my heart to see the next generation of geeky, awesome kids.
Afterwards, I stood in line for 1.5-2 hours to get him to sign my books. I had my own well-worn, much-loved copy of The Last Unicorn, and my mother, who introduced me to the story but couldn't come out this weekend, and mailed me her copy as well. I also bought a book written by a friend of his, which is one of his favorite stories, and came with a special short story he wrote about it.
And he just sat and talked with me a little bit, which was so much more than I had hoped for. He signed everything - my two copies of The Last Unicorn, the book I bought, the short story that came with it, the frame from the film I won. And he told me a story about Schmendrick's origin, which just felt like a little secret prize he shared. He didn't rush (the opposite, in fact), and when I said I felt bad for taking up so much of his time, he said that well, if you dream about this kind of thing when you're young, you can't complain when it happens, and that he never thought this tour would bring people out like this. He had the kindest smile, with this little bit of excited old man in it. He is just a charming, delightful man, and I walked away feeling like I'd gotten a hug.
And, if you've read this far: If you go (and you should), and stand in line for an autograph (which: ditto), when you get up to the merchandise, tell them the raven sent you. Trust me.