The air was thick and the rows tightly packed. The chairs, with slightly tilted seats, beckoned their occupants to lean toward the man onstage. In a crowded seventh floor room of the William & Anita Newman Library, Richard Price stood behind a small lectern and read the opening from his eighth novel Lush Life.
A self-proclaimed “OCD writer,” Mr. Price writes novels and screenplays. Born in the Bronx, he has lived and written about New York City his entire life. Price dressed casually in a flannel shirt, slacks and moccasins. He paired his yellow and black plaid button down with a matching set of yellow socks. The ends of his glasses disappear beneath a head of wavy brown hair, lights picking up faint streaks of silver. His face remained placid during his introduction, when the weight of accolades are at their heaviest. His voice was clear, his tone calm and his pace steady. Using humor to lighten a heavy setting, he created a pleasant mood for the rest of the evening. “They told me to read for 1 minute and answer questions for 59 minutes,” he said, drawing what would be a continuous flow of laughter from the diverse audience.
Ironically, the reading ended up as the supporting cast of the event. Nonetheless, it was an intriguing read. It is always interesting to see how a writer reads his own work aloud. He gave his characters voices that readers may not have picked up. His long list of shops that line the streets is read in short, curt sentences, as are his dialogue sections. His second reading came from a manuscript he was writing. A story about Harlem, the selected section was rich with detail and comic relief. It consisted of a religious rant about pop culture, politics and anything else not relating to religion. A similar listing style was used in both, with one word being emphasized as the end of each line. “Corner” was used to close the list of businesses in Lush Life while “God” was used to close successive religious broadsides.
The star of the night was the question and answer portion of the event. In whack-a-mole fashion, the two microphones being passed around could hardly keep pace with the rate of hands. While the questions yielded several clever one-liners (“Cable is anarchy,” he said, referring to his work in television), they shed light on how Mr. Price thinks when he is writing. They drew out his writing style, his methods and thoughts. “I’d just hang out with people long enough to be able to put words into their mouths. I really believe in being a sponge.” He answered to a question about how he’s able to create dialogue. He believes in being a “fly on the wall,” contently observing without being intrusive. “I’m more into the little rivulets of truth.” In regards to writing dialogue for example, he said, “All you really need to know is what’s plausible and what’s absurd.”
Even when he appears serious, there is still a dry wit about him that shines through. “Everyone’s got their own brand of sarcasm.” He said. Pushing the point that writing is intuitive and individualistic, he said, “You have to have a driving force behind what your write.” Though, his driving force may tend to stall a bit. “It feels like I’m wasting a few years when I’m writing.”