Tuesday 17 November 2015

Carrie Brownstein's Book Tour

Words can't express how excited I felt to not only see Sleater-Kinney perform this year, but to also see Carrie Brownstein in the flesh for a second time as she stopped in Manchester as part of her book tour for "Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl".

While Carrie's book mainly focuses on her early experiences leading up to Sleater-Kinney, ending at the point when the band went on hiatus, she seemed happy to discuss pretty much anything tonight.

Also, this probably isn't a surprise to anyone who watches Portlandia, but Carrie is really fucking funny (her book has had me laughing out loud many times, and I'm not even halfway through). Her self-deprecating humor mixed with her open vulnerability are part of what make her so easy to relate to.

One of the things that struck me was how Carrie had no interest in pretending writing is easy; I feel like there's this myth that surrounds literary works, this image of authors sitting down and words just flowing onto the page, no rewrites needed. It was refreshing to hear somebody talk about not only how not easy it can be, but also about the extra work and research that can go into something as seemingly straightforward as writing about yourself.

Carrie also read a couple of excerpts from her book during the conversation, which had me simultaneously wanting her to keep talking while also really looking forward to getting home and reading it for myself! My personal favourite was the story of Carrie's incredibly awkward audition for 7 Year Bitch.

I'm currently only part-way through the book, but I can confirm that, so far, it is all Carrie fans hoped for.

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