Biographers descend on DC, a trip to Hobart, and more

Updates from the Shirley Jackson files, #4

Last weekend I attended the annual conference organized by Biographers International Organization, or BIO, held this year at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. A biographers’ conference sounds like something out of a David Lodge novel, but I found many of the panels and talks quite useful. This was my second year at the conference and again I was struck by the incredibly impressive attendees (among others, I got to meet Linda Leavell, author of this terrific biography of Marianne Moore). The opening reception at Kitty Kelley’s Georgetown mansion was also a kick, though I wish I’d had the courage to ask her for the story behind the giant giraffe in her front hall. And I was pleased that Hermione Lee won the group's Plutarch Award for her biography of Penelope Fitzgerald, a beautifully written book that was perhaps the most under-appreciated biography of 2014.

The best talk I went to was by James McGrath Morris (biographer of Joseph Pulitzer and Ethel Payne), who spoke about one of my favorite subjects: research. I won’t give away all his secrets, but he was great on the detective work biographers do in order to track down subjects’ far-flung relatives (obituaries can offer good clues), find non-digitized newspaper articles (check the local paper’s morgue), and so on. He also spoke about the symbiotic relationship between research and writing — in the beginning of a project, you might research 99 percent of the time and write 1 percent, with the proportions gradually shifting as you progress, until by the end you’re writing 99 percent. As someone who tends to research and write simultaneously (my manuscript is nearing completion, but I’m still tying up a lot of loose ends), I found this heartening.

To be honest, though, networking — the raison d'être of all such conferences — is a huge challenge for me. Not only am I a natural introvert, but I have a mild case of face blindness. Social media has been a godsend — it’s much easier for me to approach someone I’ve already met online. I also try to stick with a more outgoing friend who will introduce me to others. I’d love to hear more tips!

In other news, I was tickled to appear in this Guardian article about Hobart, the “book village” of the Catskills, filled with secondhand bookshops. My nine-year-old daughter, who joined me on the trip, also has a cameo. She was genuinely delighted by the bookstores, but I think she might have enjoyed the shop pets — one dog and two cats — even more. In all seriousness, I’m so grateful to have two children who love to read. When her brother first learned to read (five years ago now!), I wrote this piece about realizing that I could no longer control the messages I wanted him to absorb, nor should I try to. With both my kids moving into YA territory — sex! drugs! god knows what else! — that feels worth remembering.

All best, Ruth

“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream.” – Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House