This notice serves as public announcement that I am running as Board Member for the National Book Critics Circle. Several people have suggested that I run. And while my political career has been limited to running for Treasurer in the seventh grade (and losing), I figured why the hell not? Someone needs to lay down the gauntlet and address some of the major problems that have caused the NBCC to remain a rather stiff organization. The time has come to inject more fun and debauchery into an organization that can do a good deal more for readers, critics, and the general public. I’d like to see the NBCC become a place that celebrates the reader, whether she be our most revered critic or the most prolific litblog commenter. Let’s do away with the print vs. online battles. I’d like to see the NBCC listen to and embrace its misfits and muckrakers, and transform this organization into a nexus point that offers a little something for everybody. I have more than a few ideas about how the NBCC can be a major force in getting people excited about literature and how it can even help young critics starting out. And I’ll be outlining my platform and positions in the forthcoming weeks.
But in the meantime, I plan a full-fledged political campaign. There will be commercials and testimonials. I’ll shake hands. I’ll kiss babies. But more important than any of this, I’ll listen to any problems or gripes you have with the way that the NBCC is currently conducting its business. You can start by leaving comments here. Let’s make the inner workings of the NBCC public, accountable, and transparent. With your vote, I pledge to communicate your concerns directly to the Board and make things happen. As Katharine Hepburn once put it, “You’re going to get back on that horse, and I’m going to be right behind you, holding on tight, and away we’re gonna go, go, go!”
And, by the way, if anybody wants to start an Edward Champion NBCC Blimp campaign, be my guest!
[UPDATE: Someone has been kind enough to create a Facebook group in support of my candidacy. I am happy to address any questions or comments from my supporters (or anyone on the fence) through this munificent use of technology.]
The Call by Yannick Murphy: The always interesting author of Here They Come and Signed, Mata Hari returns with a novel that whips up a worldview from a rather quirky set of limitations: namely, the call logs that a veterinarian maintains as his son is unexpectedly put into a coma and an unforgiving economy denies him work. What emerges is a surprisingly optimistic, often funny, and very moving account on how one family uses acceptance and forgiveness as a way to atone for hard knocks. (
Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber: Forget Franzen and Eugenides. If you're looking for a social novel that counts, Diana Abu-Jaber is the author you're looking for. Building from the free-form exploration of consciousness and identity in Crescent and the gripping procedural structure of Origin, Abu-Jaber's latest novel is her finest, equally fluent with gutterpunk culture and smarmy real estate men. It has been suggested by The Washington Post's Ron Charles that you will likely gain some pounds while reading this novel. This is certainly true. Abu-Jaber's description of food is so precise that it often made me want to do more cooking. But I very much admired the way in which Abu-Jaber presents all her characters as unwitting victims of rough capitalism, which permits them some dignity even as they perform terrible acts.
The Last of the Live Nude Girls by Sheila McClear: This memoir isn't so much about the decline of the Times Square peepshow, as it is about one young woman's efforts to pull herself up by by her bootstraps when presented with few economic options. Filled with self-introspective candor and a quiet dignity, McClear's story is one that might befall any of us in these volatile times. While McClear does get back on her feet, her book leads one contemplating the terrible fates of other young women now moving to New York and falling into deadlier vocations. (
I’m not sure that I can offer a blimp campaign but I might be able to muster a YouTube endorsement from my Talking Dalek alarm clock. Provided your campaign slogan is, of course, “Ex-ter-min-ate!”
Good luck!
So is that what you look like?
Oh dear, Edward, you have gotten me terribly excited! Wonder what unfathomable tricks you have up your sleeve!
-An NBCC member
Good for you. The only thing I object to is that you’re another Brooklyn writer!
It’s that picture that gets me terribly excited, baby.
Right, ed’s not uptight.