March 18 and 19, at the VIRGINIA FESTIVAL OF THE BOOK … Join me for a panel discussion at Barnes & Noble, 2 p.m. Friday, and a reading at the Green Co. Library, 4 p.m. Saturday.
Category Archives: Objects of Our Affection
High-Res Photos for Media
As a child, the author’s imagination was titillated when her parents referred to the ornately carved chest with domed lid and iron hasps as the Spanish mission chest, which conjured up the Spanish Empire with its distant Pacific possessions, the Philippine Islands.
The sandai chest traveled with the author’s grandfather, Charles Kilbourne, around the world throughout his distinguished military career. The hefty chest carried his essentials and had, his granddaughter eventually discovered, a secret compartment.
The rose medallion Canton tea set traveled in its own padded basket, and travel it did — a lifetime being shipped from military post to military post, coming to rest at last at the Kilbourne home in Lexington, Va.
In 1963, the author’s grandfather, retired Gen. Charles Kilbourne, visited Washington, D.C., where he was greeted by President John F. Kennedy. Six months later, only days apart, both men were dead, both given Full Honors Funerals with Black Jack, the riderless horse.
The author’s grandfather, Charles Kilbourne, on horseback in Germany after World War I. The photo is inscribed, “Bendorf on the Rhine, Jan 1919, CE Kilbourne – 3d Brigade, 2d division.
The pistols in the book’s title were revealed by the author’s mother to have been owned by Aaron Burr — but she made clear they were not the pistols used in Burr-Hamilton duel.
The armchair from which the author’s grandfather, Gen. Charles Kilbourne, held court after his retirement in the house in Lexington, Va.
An ashtray is more than just an ashtray when it is fashioned from the base of an artillery shell and stamped “Corregidor,” the Philippine island ingrained in the family’s history.
About the Book: What are Possessions?
What a great reading in North Hollywood (above & below), with many thanks to Jon D’Amore, Georgia Durante and Chef Karl for making it all possible. . . . Turns out West Coast folks do SO have issues with their possessions, and found “Objects of Our Affection” very relevant!
Objects of Our Affection, by Lisa Tracy
Some photos from this video, with captions, can be found here.
Interview with Lisa Tracy
Above video: In a wide-ranging and instructive interview with Bill Kenower, editor-in-chief of Author magazine, Lisa crisply recounts her journalistic past, how the book developed a narrative spine, and the almost mystical moment that led her to write “Objects of Our Affection.”
On the West Coast
Earlier This Year on the East Coast
Lisa Tracy shares a laugh with the audience at Moonstone Arts Center in Philadelphia, where she read from “Objects of Our Affection” and signed books on April 15, 2010. For other author appearances, click on the Events link above.
Letting Go
Could letting go of our stuff be a divorce? For some of us, it’s not far removed. People have cried during readings of OBJECTS. They are often the ones who’ve just had to deal with closing down a parent’s house, sorting all the stuff, throwing out, selling, donating … downsizing plus.
BOY, do I sympathize. This is not easy. It’s not even easy to sort the stuff on your own desk, let alone your parents’ attic.
It’s not a divorce. Put down that idea and step away slowly! It’s a passage; a transformation; it’s sending the kids off to college or to a great job in a new town where they will thrive … in this case, it might be sending the furniture or the tschotschkes off to a new house. It’s OK!
For more ideas about how readers and this author are tackling stuff and memories, go to the bottom of this NEWS page and look for the tiny balloon that says “COMMENTS.” And please, add yours!
Albuquerque
BookWorks is the bookstore par excellence … we had a big turnout despite our day there coinciding with an 11,000-person footrace through the city. INDIES RULE!
Thanks to Betsy, and to Connie and Dick, for their most excellent hospitality. Betsy’s book club turned out in force, and we had a really interesting discussion about the stuff and who’s right now struggling with how to lighten the load. It’s the stories … write ‘em down, put them somewhere secure … in about 20 years, someone is going to want them!
Arizona
Fort Verde, where grandmother Bessie was a little girl in Apache territory, welcomed OBJECTS for a 19th century day at the old Army post … compleat with church service, and then a reading. The book sold out. Thanks to Sheila Stubler and staff for a great day in the high desert hills there north of Phoenix. Fort Verde is an historical gem, with great tours and a great staff, and was recently on the docket to be closed because of Arizona’s budget crunch. Please, if you are in Arizona, put it on your must-see list. It has a marvelous museum and its archives are a researcher’s dream.
Tucson … ever a favorite city … where I caught up with some of my dearest friends and Suzanne, Betsty, Bev and I attended the gala modern dance concert dedicated to our star among the stars, astronomer Walter Rice … did a reading at the Borders on North Oracle, then got to see Joe McGrath in a stellar OTHELLO. Not poppy, nor mandragora, Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world…
My Word 