First Draft Episode #227: Courtenay Hameister
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Courtenay Hameister, debut author of memoir Okay Fine Whatever: The Year I Went From Being Afraid of Everything to Only Being Afraid of Most Things, and former host, co-producer and head writer of Live Wire Radio.
Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode
Books by Beverly Cleary (author of Ramona Quimby, Age 8, Beezus and Ramona, and The Mouse and the Motorcycle) and and Judy Blume (author of Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, Forever, and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing) and The Crystal Cave series by Mary Stewart were some of Courtenay’s favorites growing up
Create More, Fear Less is an organization in Portland Courtenay volunteers with that works with anxious kids
While Courtenay went to New York University, she had the chance to work with legendary comedy group The State. The State — made up of Kevin Allison, Michael Ian Black, Robert Ben Garant, Todd Holoubek, Michael Patrick Jann, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, Michael Showalter, and David Wain — was formed in 1998 and had a self-titled comedy sketch show on MTV from 1992-1995. You can learn more about the history of the group in The Union of the State by Corey Stulce.
Members of The State went on to create Reno 911, which is coming back!
“The 7,000 Dollar Pyramid,” is one of The State’s sketches that Courtenay remembers Robert Ben Garant writing
Writing Movies For Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at the Box Office, and You Can, Too! by former State members and co-writers Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant
The Joan Didion quote Courtenay paraphrases is, “I don't know what I think until I write it down.”
Some of Courtenay’s favorite guests from her many years of hosting Live Wire include: comedian, storyteller, director and actor Mike Birbiglia, who is best known for Sleepwalk With Me, which was also a comedy special and a New York Times bestselling book, Sleepwalk with Me and Other Painfully True Stories, and his new comedy special, The New One is also going to be a book, coming out in May 20202, The New One: Painfully True Stories from a Reluctant Dad; Carrie Brownstein, guitarist with Sleater-Kinney (who have a new CD in 2019, The Center Won’t Hold), co-creator and writer of TV show Portlandia, and author of memoir Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl; director Todd Haynes (who has directed Velvet Goldmine, Far From Heaven, and this year’s Dark Waters; Cheryl Strayed, author of Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life From Dear Sugar and memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail; and David Rakoff, humorist and author of Fraud: Essays, Don't Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, The Torments of Low Thread Count, The Never- Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems
Courtenay’s friend Daniel H. Wilson wrote Robopocalypse: A Novel (which was optioned by Steven Spielberg, but after some delays has now been thrown over to Michael Bay) was the one who introduced Courtenay to his agent, Laurie Fox, who is an author in her own right, of The Lost Girls: A Novel and My Sister From the Black Lagoon: A Novel of My Life.
Jean Garnett at Little, Brown was Courtenay’s editor
Courtenay super recommends Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer (and, oh my god, would you look at that, he also has a TED talk!)
The Oprah and James Frey controversy which exploded over his memoir, A Million Little Pieces, is an inevitable reference point for a conversation about what “truth” means in the memoir category
Courtenay’s recommendation for David Carr’s memoir, Night of the Gun: A Reporter Investigates the Darkest Story of His Life. His Own, was so persuasive that I bought the audiobook that night!
I admit to being a complete comedy nerd, and having recently mightily enjoyed John Hodgman’s collection of personal essays, Medallion Status: True Stories From Secret Rooms.
Jennifer Pastiloff (author of On Being Human: A Memoir of Waking Up, Living Real, and Listening Hard) and Lidia Yuknavitch (author of memoir The Chronology of Water and Verge: Stories, out Feb. 4, 2020!) teach a class called “Writing and the Body” that incorporates yoga and writing to enrich personal stories.
Humor writer Steve Almond, author of Bad Stories: What Just Happened to Our Country? and William Stoner and the Battle For the Inner Life: Bookmarked.
Writers Samantha Irby (author of We Are Never Meeting in Real Life: Essays, Meaty: Essays and omg she has a new one coming out this year, Wow, No Thank You!) and Jenny Lawson, aka The Blogess (author of Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir and Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things), were bloggers before they had books, and they indicate the kind of conversational writing style that Courtenay tends to naturally align with in her writing
Elizabeth Gilbert’s 2009 TED Talk, “Your Elusive Creative Genius”
Dan Harris, author of 10% Happier Revised Edition: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works--A True Story, and Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: A 10% Happier How-to Book
Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking and her TED talk on the subject of introverts
Courtenay admires Michael Ian Black’s evolution as a writer. Especially significant to her was his honesty in the memoir Navel Gazing: True Stories of Bodies, Mostly Mine (But Also My Mom’s, Which I Know Sounds Weird). His newest book, A Better Man, tackles toxic masculinity in the form of letters to his son as he goes off to college.
I have always dreamt of being able to link to an article about Jeff Bezos’s dick pics (just kidding but here we go): this incident was wild - The National Enquirer allegedly tried to blackmail Jeff Bezos, threatening to release intimate pictures of him unless he paid up. Instead, Bezos released the pics himself and told them to screw off. It was wild. It was great.
That incident calls to mind So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
“To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This,” the Modern Love essay by Mandy Len Catron, references Dr. Arthur Aron’s study, which included 36 questions to generate intimacy. (And hey, look at that, Mandy has TED talks about love stories, too!)
Thanks for Listening!
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