Michael N. McGregor

Author: Michael N. McGregor

  • Working on a Brian Doyle Profile for Notre Dame Magazine

    Working on a Brian Doyle Profile for Notre Dame Magazine

    My dear friend and fellow writer Brian Doyle died at 60 on May 27.  Like many people who knew him or had simply read his marvelous books, I felt the loss deeply and wanted to remember him in some way, so I contacted Notre Dame Magazine, the alumni magazine for his alma mater, about writing a piece on him, focusing on his place in the Oregon literary community and at the University of Portland, where, over 25 years, he turned the alumni magazine, Portland, into one of the best magazines of any kind in America.

    I’m collecting stories and thought about Brian for my piece now and will be writing it over the next couple of weeks, for publication in the magazine’s fall issue.  If you knew Brian or have had a profound experience with his writing, please send your stories or thoughts to me at mcgregorpdx@yahoo.com

    Here’s a link to one of Brian’s many astonishing essays, Joyas Voladoras, about the hummingbird and the heart. It was selected for Best American Essays 2005.

    To see Brian talking about his writing and his life, view Oregon Public Broadcasting’s 2015 eight-minute ArtBeat feature on him here.

  • I’ll be READING in BOSTON 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 18 at Brookline Booksmith

    If you live in or near Boston, I hope to see you at my reading from Pure Act: The Uncommon Life of Robert Lax at 7 p.m. this coming Thursday.  The reading will be at the great independent bookstore Brookline Booksmith at 279 Harvard St. in Brookline.

  • A Note from A Canadian Reader

    I recently received the note below from a Canadian reader.  It expresses so well the kind of response I would hope for–to my book and to Lax–that I had to share it.

    “Thank you so very much for writing Pure Act! Like Robert Lax’s poetry it’s a welcoming place to go to as the competition, chaos and anxiety of the 21st century become ever-more overwhelming. At 66, I don’t think I’ve ever read a biography or memoir that is both so enlightening and comforting—one of which I can say, ‘This is thoroughly necessary.’”

  • Talking About Biography and the Catholic Literary Imagination in NYC this Friday

    From 9:15 to 10:30 a.m. on Friday, April 28, I’ll be talking about writing my Robert Lax biography on a panel titled “Biography and the Catholic Literary Imagination” in the McNally Amphitheatre at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus.  The panel is part of the 2017 Catholic Imagination Conference with its theme “The Future of the Catholic Literary Imagination.”  Appearing with me on the panel will be:

    Dana Greene from Emory University, who has written a biography of Denise Levertov
    Mark Bosco, SJ from Loyola in Chicago, who is making a film biography of Flannery O’Connor
    Moderator Angela Alaimo O’Donnell from Fordham University, who wrote a short biography of Flannery O’Connor and is helping Bosco with his film

    The conference runs all day Friday and Saturday, April 28 & 29.  Featured speakers include Alice McDermott, Ron Hansen, Dana Gioia, James Martin and Mary Gordon.  For complete details, go to the conference website, where you’ll find times and summaries for all of the talks and panels.

  • Talks, Readings, Workshops and Seminars

    Talks, Readings, Workshops and Seminars

    I’ve added quite a few events to my appearance schedule in recent weeks.  Check the Talks page for a full list.  If you’d like to discuss a possible talk or reading in your area, please contact me using the Contact form on the About page.

  • I’ll Be a Visiting Professor at St. Bonaventure University in March

    I’ll Be a Visiting Professor at St. Bonaventure University in March

    I’m pleased to announce that I’ve been selected to be the Spring 2017 Lenna Endowed Visiting Professor at St. Bonaventure University in Olean, New York.  I’ll be on campus for the last two weeks of March, giving talks, visiting classrooms, meeting with students, and chatting with the Franciscan friars.

    I’m especially honored to receive the Lenna Professorship because the first recipient of it, when it was established in 1990, was Robert Lax.  St. Bonaventure is in his home town and, as those who’ve read my biography of him know, he and his mother went there often.  The friars were an important early spiritual influence on him.

    The dates for the public talks haven’t been set yet but they should be soon.  I’ll post them in the Talks section of my website.  If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll come!

  • Video of Fordham Editor Talking About the Acquisition, Design and Selling of PURE ACT

    Video of Fordham Editor Talking About the Acquisition, Design and Selling of PURE ACT

    I didn’t know this was available online but found it yesterday: It’s a video of my editor, Fred Nachbaur, talking about the acquisition, design and selling of my book, PURE ACT: THE UNCOMMON LIFE OF ROBERT LAX. It was presented at a conference as an illustration of what university presses can do beyond their usual markets:

     

  • A Year of Pure Act

    A Year of Pure Act

    The image here is of the bottle of vintage French wine Sylvia and I opened to celebrate signing my book contract with Fordham University Press two years ago.  Pure Act: The Uncommon Life of Robert Lax has been out in the world just over a year now, and what a year it has been.  The unofficial end of the book’s debut year came three weeks ago when we attended the Washington State Book Awards in Seattle.  Pure Act was a finalist in the Biography/Memoir category.  It didn’t win but it was a great honor to be recognized in my home state.

    All told, Pure Act was a finalist for four awards: the WSBA in Biography/Memoir, the Religion Newswriters Association Book Award for best religion book of the year, the Association of Catholic Publishers’ Excellence in Publishing Award in Biography (it won second place) and the Catholic Press Association’s Book Award in Biography (it received an Honorable Mention).  It has been nominated for an Oregon Book Award too, but the finalists for that won’t be announced until early January 2017.

    For a big book by a first-time author about a little-known poet published by a small publisher, it has done pretty well.  It’s in its third printing and a paperback version will be published in March 2017.  It was favorably reviewed in the New York Times Book Review, the Times Literary Supplement in the U.K., Publishers Weekly, the Oregonian and over 20 other publications.  The American Association of University Professors recommended it as one of ten nonfiction books and only two biographies (the other was of Mark Twain) in the area of American Studies for libraries to purchase in 2016.  I’ve had a chance to read from it at bookstores, universities and community events across the country.  And it has led to my being asked to be a keynote speaker at the 2017 International Thomas Merton Society conference at Saint Bonaventure University.

    I’m reluctant to let this wonderful year end, but time marches on, of course, and I’ve already drafted my next book, a memoir about a year spent in the San Juan Islands.  A huge thank you to all who were part of a marvelous experience.

  • PURE ACT a Finalist for a Washington State Book Award

    PURE ACT a Finalist for a Washington State Book Award

    Pure Act: The Uncommon Life of Robert Lax has been named a finalist for the Washington State Book Award in Biography/Memoir.  You’ll find a full list of finalists and information about the awards ceremony here.

    If you live in the Seattle area and are interested in attending, the awards ceremony will take place 7-9 p.m. in the Microsoft Auditorium at the Seattle Public Library’s central branch (1000 Fourth Avenue).

    The ceremony is free and parking is $7 in the library garage.
    wsba_auditorium
  • PURE ACT a Finalist for the Religion Newswriters Association 2016 Book Award

    PURE ACT a Finalist for the Religion Newswriters Association 2016 Book Award

    Pure Act: The Uncommon Life of Robert Lax has been named one of ten finalists for the Religion Newswriters Association’s 2016 Religion Nonfiction Book Award.  A full listing of finalists for all awards is here.  Winners will be announced on September 24.