Lunacon 2014 (2c): Reading by Merav Hoffman

Saturday 12 Noon

Panelist: Merav Hoffman (duh)

I don’t attend a lot of readings, because I generally prefer reading things at my own pace.  I don’t find the timbre of the author all that engaging.  On the other hand, Merav was a very welcoming presence at my first Lunacon and I wanted to make sure I at least caught her to say Hi, and this seemed a good time to do so.

I came in at the tail end of someone else’s reading, and I can’t really comment on it.  Then, after a few minutes’ break, Merav asked us “Dogs or elephants?”  Apparently she writes childrens’ stories and had two ready to go.  The common consensus was, dogs.

Ironically, she  then read a story of hers called (I think) “Circus”, but it wasn’t about a circus, it was about a dog named Circus. (It did also have acrobats in it.)  It was sweet and simple, and flowed really smoothly.  I was reminded of the Bard writing group at Hun, back when that was a going concern.  (Part of me wonders if it would be worth reviving in some form.)

After “Circus”, she also read a reinterpretation of Rapunzel, or rather, a sequel of sorts.  Almost as an aside, Merav mentioned that the origin of Cinderella lies in a story from China, which I had never heard.

A propos of nothing, I also have to comment on the surreality of the con: While Merav was reading about Rapunzel, a troop of Star Wars stormtroopers loped past the open door.