Larkin Square is pleased to welcome back Ann Hood in a virtual book talk with Jeff Porter. Jeff is the author of the new memoir, Planet Claire, edited by Ann Hood as part of her Grace Belle imprint.
Planet Claire is the story of the untimely death of the author’s wife and his candid account of the following year of madness and grief. As his life unravels, Porter analyzes his sadness with growing interest. He talks to Claire as if to evoke a presence, to mark a space for memory. He reports on his daily walks and shares observations of life’s sadness, while reminiscing about various moments in their life together.
Jeff Porter is the author of Lost Sound: The Forgotten Art of Radio Storytelling, the memoir Oppenheimer Is Watching Me, and coeditor of Understanding the Essay. His essays and articles have appeared in several magazines and literary reviews, including the Antioch Review, Northwest Review, Shenandoah, Missouri Review, Hotel Amerika, Wilson Quarterly, Contemporary Literature, and the Seneca Review. He loves cameras, dogs, and guitars—though not in that order. He lives in Iowa City and teaches English at the University of Iowa.
Ann Hood has previously spoken twice in Larkin Square along with a virtual talk in the spring of 2020.
Planet Claire is the second title from Ann Hood’s nonfiction imprint with Akashic, Gracie Belle. Modeled after her experience writing the memoir Comfort: A Journey Through Grief, and named after her daughter Grace, Hood’s imprint reaffirms for authors and readers that none of us is alone in our journeys. She is the author of the best-selling novels The Obituary Writer, The Knitting Circle, and The Book That Matters Most. Hood was born in West Warwick, Rhode Island, and currently lives in Providence, Rhode Island. She is the editor of Providence Noir.
The Larkin Square Author Series is presented in partnership with Talking Leaves Books. Planet Claire may be purchased in store or ordered on line through Talking Leaves.
Larkin Square Author events are presented by KeyBank and sponsored by Independent Health.