By Kenneth Nolan III
On Saturday, February 16th, 2019, I walked into the Midtown Scholar Bookstore in anticipation. I entered the bookstore in order to attend a reading from Ross Gay, a renowned poet and writer who teaches at Indiana University, promoting his new collection of essays entitled The Book of Delights. Prior to the reading, I had read two of his poetry collections, Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, and Bringing the Shovel Down, both of which are a mix of intense imagery and hope. As I sat down, I looked around at the audience– a mix of younger people, most likely students at nearby universities, older folk, and anyone in between; clearly his audience spans age. I was taken aback at first, but as soon as he was introduced I understood that his material speaks to everyone.
Ross Gay began his reading with some informal conversation with the audience, but he quickly delved into his collection. The Book of Delights spans a year of Gay’s life in which he wrote an essay a day, using the smallest moments as inspiration. His essays ranged from the seriousness in his strained relationship with his father, to the hilarity in the severe need to urinate, yet having nowhere to do so, and instead urinating in his car. My favorite essay of his was one entitled “Toto” and was about, yes, the American rock band. The essay, and his conversation surrounding the subject, was astonishingly deep: he talked about how the band is made up of very average looking men and that’s, simply, okay. He references their music videos for “Rosanna” and “Africa,” and mentions that in today’s visual society it is nice to see a group of men making music without looking perfect. Of course, this cannot be said for today’s pop stars, but because of the current state of the music industry, it is nice to see average men being, well, average. He argues that misogyny and the demand to be visually appealing creates a disconnect with the American public and that it is okay to not look perfect. In fact, many musicians do not look like a model.
Sustained dialogue with the audience was vital to the tone of his reading. In between each essay he would give a bit of background information along with some call-and-response questions for the audience to participate in. For instance, in one essay he discusses being very afraid of the movie “The Exorcist” when he was a child, and how he thought he was perhaps possessed. Right before he mentions a funny anecdote about how his brother did nothing to assuage his fears, he asked the audience if they, too, had ever been afraid of a movie when they were younger– resulting in an excited “yes!” from the audience. This ongoing conversation with the audience created a warm rapport, as if he was merely a friend telling the audience some funny stories.
The mix of funny and serious essays, the easy-going personality of Ross Gay himself, and the eager excitability of the audience resulted in a book reading that was incredibly rewarding, and seemingly close-knit. After the reading Ross Gay stayed for a book signing, and the audience began to talk amongst themselves– I noticed people who had not come into the reading together becoming friends over coffee, milling about the books, and animatedly talking about the essays in the collection. Overall, it was a very positive experience, and I am glad that Ross Gay made the Midtown Scholar Bookstore a stop on his tour.