From today’s “Publisher’s Lunch” (“Published Daily. Except When Not.” HA.):
Children’s book author Jon Scieszka has been named our first national ambassador for young people’s literature by the librarian of Congress, James Billington. The post does not come with specific responsibilities; rather, Scieszka is expected to act as “an evangelist for reading.”
An evangelist for reading, eh? Can we have an evangelist for reading Romance? Please? I’ll do it! I’ll cast out the spirit of evil wooden dialogue and virgin widows, and bring the light of fluid prose and spicy sexual attraction to all readers and writers! And I’ll wear a really, REALLY hot pants suit while I do it? On stage?
According to the Church of Christ OldPath.com archive, “Public scripture reading is an important part of the work of an evangelist.” Well, then. I’m down. I’ll take my Count’s Blackmail Bargain out to the street – it’s 15F and feels like 3F so I better get points for braving frostbite in the name of Mantitty – and read aloud with great dramatic flair. Anyone want to meet me in Central Park at 12:30 pm? One of the characters smotes his chest, so this is perfect reading!
Anyone? Anyone? Can I get a “Amen?”
Amen!
(and I can’t wait to see the erotica evangelist!)
Sarah, I’d love to be in Central Park by 12.30, but … um … I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it due to the non-existence of a decent bus connection. (Hehe) But! We could form a chain of romance evangelists around the world, stretching from continent to continent, from pole to pole, an unbroken chain of women (and a few men) reading from books with glorious man-titty covers!
There’s a joke hiding in there about snake-handling too, but I’m not going there. Nope, can’t make me do it…
Maybe the Naked Cowboy can help you. Don’t forget to post the pics!!!
Scieszka is awesome. I say this partially because no one famous ever graduated from my alma mater, so he’s the closest we’ve got. And partially because he wrote The Stinky Cheese Man, which is sort of like the story of the Gingerbread Man, except no one wants to chase him because he’s made of Stinky Cheese.
Ooops, I think I missed the point. Um… Amen?
You know, it’s not the snake handling I’m worried about. It’s the speaking in tongues.
Amen!!!
Jon Scieszka is great- check out his useful and smart-assed guide to pronouncing some of the trickier children’s authors’ names.
OK, crap. That didn’t work out like I planned. But cut & paste, it’s worth it.
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/articles/1990_96/nov96_scieszka.asp
That link is fantastic – I had to read the phonetic parts out loud and laughed like a loon. And probably sounded like one too.
The link, the link…that is sum gud sheit
oh! Amen!
Well, with a day’s notice, I would have been all jazzed up to meet you, but I already have a lunch date 🙁