Roll Tide with Ellen Urbani
Ellen Urbani, the Willamette Writers Conference closing keynote speaker, is a not your average storyteller. Ask her to tell you about writing, her novels, or even SEC football, and she’ll regale you with a tale that will leave you hanging on the edge of your seat – or falling out of it.
Urbani is the author of Landfall (Forest Avenue Press, 2015) and the memoir When I Was Elena (The Permanent Press, 2006), and her work reflects both her sensitivity and her range. Landfall, a devastating novel that follows two girls during and after Hurricane Katrina, is simultaneously descriptive and fast-paced. The reader wants to know more of the story, turning the pages through descriptions that tear away the surface and get to the heart of the experience of trauma.
When Urbani launched Landfall at Powell’s last year, I expected to be attending a somber occasion – a book reading that reflected on the traumatic deaths and the horrific aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Her reading was far from what I expected.
Roll Tide
First off, Cheryl Strayed came up to introduce her, explaining how they had met on the playground with their kids, and had supported each other over the years. Then Urbani gave her heartbreaking reading and answered questions. At this point, a traditional reading would have finished, and the audience would have lined up to get their books signed.
Instead, Ellen Urbani brought up a former assistant coach from University of Alabama, and she sang the Alabama fight song as he tossed out cracker jacks and Mardi Gras beads. The crowd went wild, standing on their seats, waving arms, and a few even sang Roll Tide along with her.
Yea, Alabama! Drown ’em Tide!
Every ‘Bama man’s behind you;
Hit your stride!
In the space of an hour, Ellen Urbani showed the audience the light and life of Louisiana, while digging down into the terrible heartache of the hurricane. In the end, I left the reading feeling a lot of anger and pain, but also feeling the joy of Mardi Gras, and the celebration – no – the downright joy of life.
Read more at the Willamette Writers Conference Website>>