MEETING HANNAH KENT

Thursday, 20thOctober, 2016

I can't believe THIS just happened…

I looked over my shoulder and saw a pic of Hannah Kent in a magazine and tapped the lady on the shoulder and said, ‘What mag is that?’ She held up the big issue and then gestured for me to read it. 

I said, ‘I’m getting off next stop.’ Then seconds later her arm outstretched towards me and handed me the magazine to keep!!!!

THE NIGHT I MET HANNAH

REWIND to the night when I met Hannah.

Saturday, 26thJuly, 2014

I arrived at the substation early to notify that I would need to have a seat near the front due to my hearing loss. Sometime later I was upstairs before the crowd and given one of the many small café style tables on hand. 

While the show a little different to a normal author event because the topics where switched. The musician on stage was to discuss his reading habits and Hannah was to speak about her music. Although she was writing the book The Good People at the time, most of us were there as massive fans to her first book ‘Burial Rites’ (see my post here)

Then as the show finished, we all scurried out into the hallway with our Burial Rites books to join a line to meet Hannah as her line snaked its way out to the front door, practically the length of the Williamstown substation! 

Hence, I was near the beginning of the line I didn’t have long to wait. 

I mentioned how I felt a presence when I bought the book that didn’t leave until almost near the end. (Which I felt the book should have ended at that moment) 

Then she said, ‘While writing I felt as though someone else was writing through me. And many weird things happened.’ 

Meanwhile the book was fiction, and Hannah only knew four facts, I do believed Agnes wanted her story told.

I walked out glad that my book was signed. (And still have it)

Although I was eager for the second book, it didn’t have effect on me and after some time I donated my mint copy to the local library (which the don’t take books) they allowed it because of the line of requests. 

While this whole experience would not have happened as it was my friend Anna who shared the story of Hannah with me over a lunch once the book was aired on Australian stories…Anna held full faith that I would probably write the same way.

May she’s right?

Let’s see.

Post written 20th October, 2016 (Thursday)