Author and director Stephen Elliott signs books for fans after speaking in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library last night. Photo by Sage Curtis
Stephen Elliott, a novelist, memoirist and film director, read his largely autobiographical works to an audience of SJSU students and fans in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library on Tuesday evening.
Elliott is the author of seven books, including the memoir ?The Adderall Diaries,? and directed his first feature film ?About Cherry? in 2011, according to information from the Center for Literary Arts.
His work centers on his experiences of growing up homeless and as a ward of the state of Illinois, as well as his unique ideas of sexuality and identity.
?You have to admire the intelligence and persistence of who (Elliott) is,? said Andrew Altschul, the director of the Center for Literary Arts. ?He?s accomplished more in the last ten years than most writers accomplish in a lifetime.?
Altschul referenced Elliott?s community efforts to organize progressive political advocacy readings and his efforts to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Elliott read from his works and spoke about his process for writing works that are autobiographical and sexually charged.
?For me, every time you write a book you come a little further out of the closet,? Elliott said. ?It?s like a transvestite. All you can think about it putting on the dress, then you put on the dress. Then you go outside and all you can think about it going dancing. Then you go dancing in your dress and you can not even remember when half your time was spent thinking about the dress.?
Elliott related his writing process always finding himself coming out of another closet only to find another skeleton.
?The difficulty is how to say something meaningful in the closet,? Elliott said. ?You can?t just write something shocking. It can?t just be confessional. You have to connect to the reader.?
During the reading, Elliott also read from his new screenplay of his novel ?Happy Baby.?
?Writing a screenplay is much different from other styles,? Elliott said. ?Most screenplays aren?t very fun to read because they aren?t written by writers and I think screenplays should be page-turners just like books.?
His unique style of writing and life story provided the audience with a look into a life most people have not lived.
?It was very interesting and enlightening to listen to someone who has, as he said, come out of the closet,? said junior creative writing major Nichole Zito. ?He?s so open and true about himself and who he is. Seeing that side of life that is so different than my own was really fascinating.?
His reading on Tuesday will be accompanied by a showing of his film today in Sweeney Hall at 8 p.m, which will be followed by a panel discussion featuring the author.
Elliott?s other books include ?My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up,? ?What It Means to Love You,? ?A Life Without Consequences,? ?Jones Inn,? ?Looking Forward to It? and ?Happy Baby.?
Elliott has won many awards, including a San Francisco Chronicle Notable Book of 2009 and best book of the year from Time Out New York, according to Altschul.
The reading was co-sponsored by Elliott?s own online-only literary magazine ?The Rumpus? and The Oshman Family Jewish Foundation.
Source: http://spartandaily.com/90871/stephen-elliott-shares-his-skeletons-with-audiences-at-sjsu-reading
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