Month of Hanif
Local woman spends month celebrating favorite author, including driving six hours to Athens, GA
So much of what I write is a reward for the people who watch my Instagram stories, committing to memory all the bits and inside jokes I make and resurrect year after year.
My most recent bit is a phrase I coined in advance of Hanif Abdurraqib’s latest book, There’s Always This Year, which came out in March. “Month of Hanif” I typed into IG watching a Zoom conversation between Hanif and Eve Ewing a week before the pub date.
“Month of Hanif” I posted a few days later when TATY came out. “Month of Hanif” I told Ross Gay in the signing line, explaining that I’d be watching the conversation between him and Hanif on Zoom in a few days.
This was, I assume, a trying time to be both my friend and someone who works in the events department of a local, independent bookstore. “Is he coming here? Did you get him?” I texted every time he announced more dates.
Then I started texting my friends. “Okay, the closest he’s coming is Athens, GA, but he’s interviewing Kathleen Hanna in Cincinnati, which might be closer. Want to go to one? Both?!” Turns out, getting people to take off work, book a hotel room and drive six hours for an event on a weekday is a hard sell.
In desperate need of anything I can convince myself is a vacation, I decided to treat myself to a solo trip to Athens, GA. And by “vacation” I mean 24 hours in a city where my favorite author is doing an event.
It’s exciting to wake up in a new city and have all day to goof off. The concierge sent me to a restaurant called Mama’s Boy for breakfast. It was Monday, so it was just me and the blue hairs, which I prefer.
While cos-playing as a mama’s boy, I looked up some thrift stores and drove to a large Christian one in a strip mall. I found vintage cat advice books and a Gloria Steinem memoir from the ‘90s. Then I drove to Goodwill and found so many books, including one I bought for Hanif that was a special edition NBA Players book from 1992 or 1994.
Athens has a great independent bookstore called Avid Bookshop. They were co-hosting the event with The Georgia Review. As I walked up, I saw that their front window was a display of Hanif’s books. I made quick friends with their bookseller Luis when I told him I drove into town for the event and used to work at Parnassus. We talked about our shared love of Hanif and swapped stories about how far we’ve gone to see our favorite authors. Luis went all the way to Albuquerque to see Hanif once, so he has me beat.
As I was purchasing Kate Manne’s book on male privilege (gotta be me!) and an Avid tote bag, I asked how early I need to be at the 40 Watt Club. Hanif’s event started at 7 p.m. and the doors opened at 6 p.m. But it was sold out and they only had enough seats for the first people in the door. They said to get there at 5 p.m. So I grabbed some lunch, went back to the hotel to take a nap and change, then I set off for the 40 Watt.
I arrived at 5 p.m. to find a line of people already standing outside. Holy shit, I thought. But then this slightly aggrieved woman was like, ‘This is our staff meeting, if you’re here for the show, stand over there.’
At 6 p.m. they let us in and we had another hour to go before the event started. When they let us in, me and the woman in front of me went straight to the front row and sat down. The seats were so close to the stage we were worried we wouldn’t be able to see, so we moved back. Then we were worried someone tall would sit in front of us, so we moved back to the first row. At the last minute, before all the seats were taken, I moved back again and stayed in the second row.
When Hanif walked out in his bedazzled hightop Nikes, I cried. Weeks prior, when I started jokingly typing “Month of Hanif” into my IG stories, I had no idea it would end with me sitting a few feet away from him at a live reading.
He reads his own work in such a fast, rhythmic way. It’s incredible to hear live.
He was so funny and generous and present. It was a real gift. I know enough authors and have worked enough author events to know how exhausting book tours are. This Athens event was his last of the tour, and it was a last minute add-on. I have no doubt he was worn out and I’m grateful he came and he let us see him.
Avid was on-sight selling books and Hanif stayed after to do a signing line. Lines always start in the back, so if you’re like me and seated up front, congrats, you win a spot in the back of the signing line.
I was in line for about 60-90 minutes before I finally got to Hanif. Luckily, I had been in line so long, I wasn’t nervous anymore and could talk to him like a normal person. I told him how much his work means to me, how much I appreciated the event and then I jokingly said I had been deputized by Ann Patchett to invite him to Nashville and he really laughed. I handed him the NBA book I bought at Goodwill earlier, he thanked me and I stepped aside to let the person behind me meet him. If I hadn’t been so tired, I would have cried again.
I know what I did - staying in a hotel, taking two days off from work, driving six hours away - isn’t feasible for everyone, but man, if you can swing it, I recommend it with my whole heart. Go meet the people whose work matters to you and tell them how glad you are that they’re in the world.
Month of Hanif!
Hanif is just so damn good (and this was so charming)
I would do it, Kim. Hanif is one of my most favorite authors and he is an all-around, awesome human being.