From Inside My Book Fort - - - Tom Robbins' "Tibetan Peach Pie"

Welcome to the Book Fort!

Today Annabelle and I are reading an excerpt from a book written by another of our literary heroes.

Tom Robbins

LordAMercy, but I do adore Tom Robbins' work

And him - what a cutie!

I got to meet him, ever so briefly, and I can tell you his personality is huge and lovely and fills a room.

http://www.meanderingsandmuses.com/2014/09/an-evening-with-tom-robbins.html

Here's a bit from his "Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life."

From amazon.com:  Internationally bestselling novelist and American icon Tom Robbins delivers the long awaited tale of his wild life and times, both at home and around the globe.

Tom Robbins’ warm, wise, and wonderfully weird novels—including Still Life With Woodpecker, Jitterbug Perfume, and Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates—provide an entryway into the frontier of his singular imagination. Madcap but sincere, pulsating with strong social and philosophical undercurrents, his irreverent classics have introduced countless readers to natural born hitchhiking cowgirls, born-again monkeys, a philosophizing can of beans, exiled royalty, and problematic redheads.

In Tibetan Peach Pie, Robbins turns that unparalleled literary sensibility inward, stitching together stories of his unconventional life, from his Appalachian childhood to his globetrotting adventures —told in his unique voice that combines the sweet and sly, the spiritual and earthy. The grandchild of Baptist preachers, Robbins would become over the course of half a century a poet-interruptus, an air force weatherman, a radio dj, an art-critic-turned-psychedelic-journeyman, a world-famous novelist, and a counter-culture hero, leading a life as unlikely, magical, and bizarre as those of his quixotic characters.

Robbins offers intimate snapshots of Appalachia during the Great Depression, the West Coast during the Sixties psychedelic revolution, international roving before homeland security monitored our travels, and New York publishing when it still relied on trees. Written with the big-hearted comedy and mesmerizing linguistic invention for which he is known, Tibetan Peach Pie is an invitation into the private world of a literary legend.

“Robbins continues to embody Zen coolness and bohemian charm.” (Booklist (starred review)"

“Memoir or not, the form suits Robbins’s digressive style, philosophical musings, and self-deprecating humor. Each piece stands on its own, but when read side by side they develop into a powerful argument about magic and the necessity of imaginative, interior worlds.” (Library Journal (starred review))

“Tibetan Peach Pie is a late, welcome gift from a philosopher-novelist who continues to believe in the transformative qualities of ‘novelty, beauty, mischief and mirth’ - qualities apparent on every page of this lively, large-hearted book.” (Washington Post)

“Tibetan Peach Pie is a gift to his fans, the story of a man who had the sense to follow where his imagination led… How lucky for his readers that we got to tag along for the ride.” (Seattle Times)

Enjoy!

An Evening with Tom Robbins

Author Tom Robbins was raised in Blowing Rock, NC and left when he was 10.

Many of his memories of those ten short years are included in his new book, "Tibetan Peach Pie:A True Account of an Imaginative Life."  He was exactly the kind of kid you would expect Tom Robbins the author to be.  

An excerpt from Tibetan Peach Pie:  "Allowed to roam freely in both the streets and the woods, I observed and interacted not only with the wonders of nature but with an assortment of squirrel hunters, rabbit trappers, berry pickers, banjo pickers, moonshiners, tramps, real Gypsies, snake handlers, mule-back preachers (like my grandpa), eccentric characters with names such as Pink Baldwin and Junebug Tate, and perhaps most influential, bib-overalled raconteurs, many of whom spun stories as effortlessly and expertly as they spit tobacco juice." 

Blowing Rock declared September 10, 2014 Tom Robbins Day.

On September 11, Mr. Robbins was scheduled to speak at a small venue seating 400 people at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC.  

When it became clear that wasn't going to be quite large enough, the event was moved to The Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts which seats 1,684 people. It was a sold out affair.

He spoke, he read and he entertained.

He filled the room with the magic he infuses in his writing.  And the audience thanked him with more than one standing ovation.

A perfect evening.

But with still more to come.

I was a lucky winner of the Take a Trip with Tom Instagram photo contest so was able to meet him.  This in addition to having a front row seat at the event, and being given an autographed copy of Tibetan Peach Pie.

And what's better than being able to come home from an event such as this with a story?!

My friends Jill and Willie went with me and just makes something like this even more fun if you have good friends to share it with.

I'm still on Cloud Nine, and Tom Robbins is every bit as delightful as you would hope if you read his work. 

And here's the story (you knew there would be a story, right?!) If you've read Tibetan Peach Pie, you may have noticed in the last paragraph of the preface, there's an address given where you can write to Tom Robbins and ask for something. 

I did that. Back when I first got the book - the day it was released. 

And I signed my card, "Kaye Barley - See you in Boone!" because I knew he was coming for the events. 

When I was introduced to him last night by Lynn Patterson, one of the people responsible for putting all this together.  (She and everyone else did a bang-up job.  Thank You, Lynn!), she said, "Tom, this is Kaye Barley." 

And he looked at me, his eyes went kinda wide and he grinned really big and said (swear to God), "You wrote to me!" 

He did!  

And did my mouth fall open? 

It did.  

Can you believe it? 

The man is cooler than cool.

So, I bring home a lesson from this.

If you've been following Meanderings and Muses, you would have seen my last post about having the blues.

I guess, like Jon Stewart, I too am an "Angry Optimist."

And the reason I guess I remain an optimist - angry or otherwise - is because of nights like last night and my amazing opportunities that I seem to just fall into.  

Meeting Tom Robbins was not something I ever would have imagined  happening.

Finding him to be every bit as charming and funny and philosophical and delightful and kind were all things I will hold in my heart for a long, long time.

I just wish I could have actually thought of something to say rather than just "How on earth did you remember that?!" when he told me he remembered receiving a card from me.  From that point on, I don't remember saying a word.  I remember him chatting, and telling  someone that he and I were long-time pen pals, and I remember giving him a little kiss on the cheek.

And I remembered that life is, indeed, good.

I Want to Meet Tom Robbins

I have been a fan of Tom Robbins forever. 

 Forever! 

 And he's coming to Boone! 



 Am I excited? Well, yes. Yes, I am! 

 And I'm trying to win a contest. Appalachian State University is having the contest through Instagram. They've asked people to submit photos tagged #takeatripwithtom Submit a clever photo and on September 9th the judges will decide the winning entry. 

 The winner gets to meet Tom Robbins, wins an autographed copy of his new book "Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life," and a spot on the front row at his speaking engagement here in Boone. 

The number of comments each photo has will be a contributing factor for winning. 

 SO! 

 If you're have an Instagram app, I would very much appreciate you scooting over to to #takeatripwithtom and leaving a comment. 

 If you're wondering what I'm dressed up as - well, I'm not sure. I just wanted a picture as wild and wacky and off the wall as some of Tom Robbins writing, so I pulled out the Halloween costume box and decided to go with fairy wings and clown hat with a magic wand. I am ready to Take A Trip with Tom!

“It’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”

so said Marilyn Monroe.  I agree.