Interesting topic. I haven’t myself, but enjoyed reading your interesting experiences (except the rudeness involved).

I’ve met quite a few movie stars, all nice except one very very rude actor, but that’s a different genre. :)

I had an oversized emotional response after reading Lie Down in Darkness— I probably should not have read it pretty much straight thru during several hot August days. A couple scenes in the book take place in my town.. It’s an intense book and I felt like I also was going a bit crazy—sympathetic response to a main character.

the following summer I was working in a restaurant that William Styron frequented— thrilling but never able to have any actual conversation.

I have met quite a few literary figures. I helped run my school's well funded Literary Featival, so Allen Ginsberg, Joyce Carol Oats, Larry McMurtry, Magaret Atwood, Jay McInnerny, have all ridden in my old college Volvo from the airport to my school. They were all pretty nice, though some were more or less present/interested/impaired during our time together. Tom Wolfe was my favorite. He was incredibly gracious and willing to indulge me in a very long conversation about his work and current events at the time.

Zalco, that’s a list of legends, wow! I’m a big fan of every one of them.

Zalco your story reminds me of one my mother told about Jim Harrison (who wrote "Legends of the Fall" and other such books) giving a book talk at her library. She said, and I quote: "He was soused and the whole talk didn't make very much sense."

Your story also further illustrates why I thought I was odd that John Trudell didn't have anyone from the college accompanying him . . . so I don't know what was up with that but that might also have been part of his bad mood, whatever happened before . . .

Jinx, my old school, in Dallas near Mockingbird and Central, still hosts that Literary Festival every spring. It is open to the public and there are often parties with the authors.

Thanks, Zalco, will check it out. :)

Zalco, I’m glad that you enjoyed Tom Wolfe. Was he wearing a white suit?

Lissam, Yes, Aabsolutely wearing his white suit, fancy shoes and hat.

About 15 years ago I saw him at a local restaurant at 7/7:30 am, eating breakfast alone, and naturally, looking just like himself. I desperately wanted to say hello, but restrained myself.

Larry McMurtry was my creative writing teacher, but I also met William Burroughs in San Francisco when he was giving a reading in North Beach.

Zalco, I was at that school in the early days of the festival, but I never went to any of the events. Wish I had!

Not heros but writers that I enjoyed reading before I met them..

At a small dinner party in Charleston, Pat Conroy (RIP). He was a friend of the host, I had no idea he was going to be there. This was back when the movie, Prince of Tides, had just been released. I was starstruck but he was gracious and made me comfortable.

Michael Connelly spends part of his time here (very nice home in Tampa). We’ve been at the same functions a few times. A few years ago he introduced me to his friend, Carl Hiassen. It was a good night.

Wow, bpath! I was there in the mid 80s.

I worked on Women's Symposium and the school paper, the Chaplain's office, and Democratic club, plus the debating society- just in case we overlapped anywhere ;-)

I was still in Dallas but I graduated in 1980, so no overlap. I did date a professor in the late 80s lol.

Does it count that Tom Pynchon taught me union songs?

Wow, suero. He makes my head hurt, but wow, all the same :-)

I briefly met Gore Vidal when he was at a Venice campaign event for a primary candidate for the U.S. House. This was after he moved back to the Hollywood area from Italy.

My ego was pleased when he mentioned that his favorite Italian writer was the same as mine — Italo Calvino.

I had afternoon tea with Allan Paton in his garden in South Africa. It was 1981-- i was an exchange student and had written an essay about Cry, the Beloved Country. It was a wonderful experience but I was too young and too naive to really make the most of that special time with him one on one.

Not literary or philosophy but I also had an opportunity to meet my science idol at a cocktail party when i was a Neuroscience grad student. He was a leader in Neuroscience and the head of the program at UPenn. I so admired his work and his writing-- but when i met him, he was a total ass and worse, he was wheeling and dealing, trading his backing on research grant submissions for favors and post-grad students. Now I know it is just business but it was a rude awakening for me. I was an idealist research student who had just learned that even research science is a BUSINESS. What research projects get off the ground are wholly dependent on who you know and what you do for them. I feel silly even sharing this now. I really was naive back then. Anyhow, I left the program within a year-- not only because of this experience but it definitely changed my perspective on my intended career.

I met Isaac Asimov, author of the Foundation trilogy (a fave) and many other works of science fiction at a party in NYC in the 80’s. Not that impressed.

Pink, wow, he rolled his eyes? That is just so jerky!

What a lovely image Funky, that must have been one heck of an essay.

I really have to think to come up with someone in this category. The town we moved from was pretty close to NYC and overrun with journalists and entertainment folks, but the only author I can think of was our neighbor Jonathan Alter, a political writer/commentator who has written a number of books on former presidents. Perhaps also in this category I would put meeting with Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the Fed. I think I am still missing someone but then I guess if I can't think of them they weren't all that important to me after all LOL.

Well, I say "sort of" meaning it was about 17 years ago and that was the "mental note" I made of the experience, like "Oh that was not a very pleasant response to my telling you how much I admired your work . . . " but I did not make note of the exact expression he had on his face, for posterity. Perhaps because it sort of surprised me. But who knows why he treated me that way. Like I said, I was surprised that such a well known poet was wandering around a building looking on his own for the lecture hall where he would be presenting . . . so something might have been up even before I ran into him. I have no context for what a person like him has to put up with from fans on a daily basis or how uncomfortable he might have been given modern American culture is vastly different than Native American culture. In fact, Trudell writes extensively on that, which is why I was surprised when he didn't much touch on that in his talk . . . . also again, who knows maybe he just had indigestion or a headache . . .

Funkyart, I have watched several movies and/or tv shows and really broke out laughing when someone leaves the rat race to take a job teaching at a college, or says they are going into teaching as a respite from the personal stress and greed of the business or professional world of some other field . . . One of the most egregious examples is the movie "The Last Time" about the machinations of salesmen trying to get ahead, starring Michael Keaton and Brendan Fraser. Good movie, but laughable ending . . . people need to rewatch "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?" as a cautionary tale . . .

Speaking of reading people, somewhat OT, but years ago I was at a BAD training for adventure based counseling, and we were being constantly "debriefed" by a woman who thought she knew it all, but often grossly misread the personal and group dynamics. She was so judgemental and NOT insightful that the group of professionals started making fun of her when she was not around. Not just because of that, because of the way the people running the sessions were treating everyone, won't go into all the details, but it was one of the worst and most unprofessional experiences I have had in my field and it amazed me that these folks could even be in business after I finished the weekend course. But anyway, we were having a required debriefing session around a campfire in the evening, people were talking about things that bugged them, and one guy turned to me and said, "You look like you have a headache. Can I get you something for it?" That was the most spot-on diagnosis and counseling I got over the whole weekend!! I had a terrible headache and had run out of painkillers! At the end of the training we were gathered into a circle and we had to go around and tell about the most helpful experience we had over the training. And despite hours of sessions, I chose that as the most helpful by far. It also both bugged and mildly amused me that some of the people (and these were all counseling professionals) made up stories just to play along with the facilitator, telling her what she wanted to hear, so to speak. I knew that because they talked about doing it ahead of time, they so despised her behavior. Of course this bugged other folks too, because that was also unprofessional. But it was a great learning experience for me. As a teacher, I have to remember that sometimes, the student is just constipated or has menstrual cramps, not regressing back to some abusive event . . . and also, if you are running a training for a group of professionals who work with adjudicated youth, where you can't mess around and you have to stare down some very stressful situations to be successful, and you don't treat them like professionals and with respect, well they are going to start acting out, and they learned from the best . . . it was also bad that some of these folks were forced to go by their supervisor who was there, and they believed that their job security would depend on the outcomes of the trainings. Such a very bad set up to begin with. Really taught me how important context and prior information and real relationship is to educational and counseling outcomes . . .

This came across my opening google page today, so if anyone is interested in learning more about John Trudell, it's a good background piece. Not really many examples of his more eloquent speeches or poems, but it gives you some idea of why he might have been not the most upbeat person to talk to, his life was a whole series of tragedies.

The Pirate Radio Broadcaster Who Occupied Alcatraz and Terrified the FBI