An Evening with Peter S Beagle

By Tori Morris
March 1, 2006

— On Saturday, the 11th of February, I found myself in a cozy Irish pub forty minutes outside of Chicago and sitting right next to one of my most beloved authors of all time, Peter S. Beagle. The event had been organized by a student at the University of Chicago and advertised on Neil Gaiman's weblog, so it was no surprise at all when attendance was quite good for a miserable snowy night in the middle of winter.

Despite having wonderful food and a warm atmosphere, the pub was quite a bit more active than had been initially hoped and wasn't exactly suited for the promised reading. After everyone had eaten, Connor Cochran, Peter's new publisher/business partner, arranged for everyone to pile into a car and for the reading to be held in Peter's huge hotel suite. Apparently, he was also attending a convention as the guest of honor, but as I was not a con attendee, nor were most of the others, it seemed like we were possibly getting away with a special treat.

The first reading was a chapter from Summerlong, Peter's new adult novel that will be published sometime this fall. The chapter we were read involved a late middle-aged fellow who enjoys playing the harmonica, his neighbor who decidedly does not and the mysterious woman named Lioness who rents out his garage. It appears that Lioness has some peculiar abilities, as in the chapter we were read she has taught the neighbor's children how to spring new flowers from bare earth. The chapter we read had all the lyrical magic I expect from a book written by Peter S Beagle, and looks like it'll be a real find of the year.

The second reading was a short story called "The Fable of the Octopus", in which the titular octopus becomes quite obsessed with his quest to know God. Eventually the octopus runs into an elderly fisherman and the story ends quite gently and beautifully, with a few jibes at the publishing industry along the way. After this story, Peter had been reading for about half an hour straight so Connor took over the reigns to read another short from the same collection, "The Fable of the Tyrannosaur." This one was quite cute and charming, and I'm not sure I'll be able to read it without hearing the voices that Connor provided for the characters. Both of these stories are from a collection of several stories called The Line Between coming out in July from Tachyon Publishing.

If this seems like quite a bit already, then Connor assured us this is going to be the year that ends the long drought of new material by Peter. Seven projects are scheduled to be out this year by Peter, and I couldn't be happier about that. Between these readings, the group exchanged stories and questions for about forty-five minutes, ranging from the reason Conlan Press hasn't been able to publish the audiobook version of The Last Unicorn [Ed. note: Mr Cochran has just informed ST that there is a download from the Conlan Press site, and the problems with the CD have been resolved] to how Connor and Peter met working on the script version of A Fine and Private Place.

After this, Peter shared a lengthy but really touching piece he had written about teachers who had inspired him along the way in his writing career, from High School through working in Hollywood. By the end of it, I felt I had learned much, much more about writing and the world of publishing several decades ago than I had ever known. It, too, is going to be published shortly in a book of non-fiction essays he has written. It had a hilarious title, but unfortunately it has slipped my mind, as this was the point of the evening where I started to need a large amount of the room service coffee the group had ordered! [Ed. note — Mr. Cochran says the title of the book in question is Smeagol, Deagol, And Beagle: Essays From the Headwaters of My Voice]

As it was getting late (about ten thirty), Connor and Peter did a little more chatting about possible future films and films that hadn't happened for various reasons. To wrap up, Peter pulled out a guitar and played us all a wonderfully funny song about the things garbage men deal with on their rounds. People got books signed, pictures taken, and I got a ride with a lovely group of people back to town. All in all, I would say we spent about four and a half hours in each other's company, and I got to know a few people in the group. E-mails were exchanged at the end of the evening and promises to keep up.

I've had very few experiences with events like this where I've felt as comfortable and open to talk as this one, and the credit goes to Connor and Peter for being incredibly open inviting people, and to Mae, the student organizer from University of Chicago. It was a truly wonderful night I'll never forget.

Peter Beagle — Peter Beagle's Website
Conlan Press — Conlan Press — Peter Beagle's Publisher
Help Peter — What You Can Do To Help Peter Beagle