Jesse Ball presents "Autoportrait," with Max Porter

Jesse Ball joins us to celebrate the release of his latest book, "Autoportrait," in conversation with Max porter. This virtual event — brought to you by Community Bookstore, Seminary Co-op Bookstores, Third Place Books, and Powell's Books — took place on Zoom. To purchase a copy of the book from Community Bookstore: https://www.communitybookstore.net/bo...

About the book:

A work of unflinching honesty, "Autoportrait" is a hypnotic memoir of reflection, loss, and everyday joy from one of America’s best contemporary novelists

Jesse Ball has produced fourteen acclaimed works of deeply empathetic absurdism in poetry and fiction. Now, he offers readers his first memoir, one that showcases his “humane curiosity” (James Wood) and invites the reader into a raw and personal account of love, grief, and memory. Inspired by the memoir Édouard Levé put to paper shortly before his death, "Autoportrait" is an extraordinarily frank and intimate work from one of America’s most brilliant young authors.

The subtle power of Ball’s voice conjures the richness of everyday life. On each page, half-remembered moments are woven together with the joys and triumphs—and the mistakes and humiliations, too—that somehow tell us who we are, why we are here. Held at the same height as tragic accounts of illness or death are moments of startling beauty, banality, or humor: “I wake in the morning, I sit, I walk long distances. If there is somewhere to swim, I may swim. If I have a bicycle, I will ride it, especially to meet someone. There is no more preparing for me to do, other than preparing for death, and I do that by laughing. Not laughing at death, of course. Laughing at myself.”

An extraordinary memoir that reminds us what is possible and builds to the kind of power one might feel reading Anne Carson’s "Glass Essay," or Joe Brainard’s "I Remember." "Autoportrait" will leave you feeling utterly invigorated, inspired, and a little afraid.

About our guests:

Jesse Ball was born in New York. He is the author of sixteen books, and his works have been translated into more than a dozen languages. He is on the faculty at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, has won the Paris Review’s Plimpton Prize for Fiction and was long-listed for the National Book Award. He was named one of Granta’s Best of Young Novelists, and has been a fellow of the NEA, Creative Capital, and the Guggenheim Foundation.

Max Porter is the author of three novels. His fourth, "Shy," will be published by Graywolf Press in Spring 2023. His work been translated into more than thirty languages and he frequently collaborates with artists, film-makers and musicians. He lives in Bath, England.