Scenes from the Texas Book Festival

Past pugilists in the literary death match.I got to spend the weekend revisiting my old stomping grounds. Not just Austin generally, but the Texas Capitol, where I worked several sessions as a legislative aide and analyst. The occasion? The 15th Anniversary of the Texas Book Festival, where founder Laura Bush returned to read from her memoir, and hundreds of other authors discussed and read from their work. For a bookworm like me, it was simply heaven.

I attended two panel appearances by Jake Silverstein, author of my favorite book of the summer, Nothing Happened and Then It Did, and also caught glimpses of Rick Bass, James and Deborah Fallows, Eugene Robinson, and a panel discussion on Donald Judd's Chinati Foundation in Marfa (including retiring Chinati Director Marianne Stockebrand), just to skim some highlights.

Oh, and I can't sign off without mentioning the Literary Death Match. What's a Literary Death Match? Turns out the mental picture conjured by the title is pretty accurate. There was violence, and literature, and competiton. There were four writers, three judges, and two hosts (one of whom happened to be an old friend of mine). There was one winner, Hank Stuever, a journalist whose work I used to read in the Austin American-Statesman back in the day, and who has a new book about Christmas in America that I'd love to see in my stocking this year.

Here's what else I captured of the weekend on the trusty iPhone:

I was surprised to find Missoni-branded sparkling water in the Texas Capitol cafeteria, a place not known for high-fashion pretensions.

Since I spent much time hurrying from the Capitol to the tents on Congress Avenue and back again, sustenance was essential.

My boys at Chinati a few years ago.

The images from the book Chinat: The Vision of Donald Judd were  stunning, and as cute as my kids are, I've never quite captured the place in pictures. I'm hoping Santa will bring me a copy of that one. 

Texas Capitol grounds

It's always good to stop and acquaint yourself with some Texas history.

Happy hour at Manuel'sAnd of course, when in Rome...