CHRIS ARVIDSON

words and art
 

It's here, it's here! I got home from a meeting on Thursday and there were books on my front porch! I wasn't expecting them until mid-September, so now I'm off on a tear to get readings/signings scheduled. If you preordered the book from the publisher (see the link on the right) you can expect to see it momentarily on your own doorstep. Amazon still has a mid-September date on their site, but I expect that will be changing soon.

Buckle in, friends. "The Love of Baseball" is here! Read More 

Back from the dig. Pretty pleased with myself. Managed heat and tough physical activity pretty damn well, if I do say so myself. Many exciting discoveries and, as always, the people were the best, including especially my old Sigma Beta college sorority sister Cheryl Fischer Schaffer and the dig leaders James Tabor and Shimon Gibson . I also got the chance to see Tamar, an archeological park/dig in the Negev desert south of the Dead Sea. Fantastic place.

NOW, it's on to getting ready for the big book release in September. You can pre-order it on Amazon, or direct from the publisher: mcfarlandbooks.com. Or, you can wait to see me somewhere near you soon. I'll start setting up signings soon and keep you all posted. I'll also be putting up a book webpage as well. Stay tuned! Read More 

Off to the UNC Charlotte archaeological dig in Jerusalem this month. Fortunately, I managed to get the index done for the upcoming baseball book and my partner in crime, Diana Nelson Jones, completed the proofing, too. We kicked butt. Just in time to get ready for digging. Look for photos soon!

We have a gorgeous cover for the upcoming baseball book, friends. And the title I LOVE, especially with the image of a baseball in the letters.

We're looking at a $19.99 cover price, which is excellent. And a sometime this fall publish date.

Now the fun can begin in earnest. I'll be talking to bookstores in select baseball towns, since we've so many contributors from so many places.

I'm so excited! Read More 

On Tuesday this week I turned in the baseball anthology that Diana Nelson Jones and I have been working on for the last year. (I should like it to be noted that it was delivered one day ahead of schedule.) And then I promptly went down with a heinous cold/flu crap and lay around in bed and on the couch for the next couple of days. But I'm back in the saddle again and looking forward to sharing news of the book with everyone as we work through the publishing process.

Once we have a title from the publisher (McFarland & Company), I'll set up a separate book website, but for now, I'll keep everyone posted here on my own blog page. And, to get you ready to be excited, here's just a small, tiny, smidgen, of what you'll be able to see in the coming 8-10 months or so. Hope it makes you want to get the book!

EXCERPT from the essay "Nothing Else Like It"

The regular season powered to a close and the Tigers continued their record-breaking ways. Things were also heating up at work -- big elections, late nights, crazy times. But the Tigers were never off my mind. In mid-September, with the pennant clinched, I was anticipating the World Series. I thought “Oh my god. It is really going to happen.”

And remember, in 1984, you couldn’t just flip a cable channel on or subscribe to MLB TV. You had to do this thing called reading the box scores in newspapers the next day. Maybe sometimes, if you got lucky and the wind and atmosphere were right, you could pick up a late night few minutes of Ernie Harwell on AM radio from WJR in Detroit. I was looking forward to seeing my Tigers on television for the World Series.

Then the unthinkable happened. A few days before the series was to begin my boss gave me some potentially thrilling news. Our chairman would, naturally, have access to World Series tickets. And while the California tickets would be quickly dispersed since that was his home state, there might, possibly, small chance, be a possibility that there wouldn’t be enough “important people” who wanted to go to Detroit, and if that might, possibly, small chance did in fact happen, I, Chris Arvidson, would get the tickets.

But I still had problems to fix -- I needed to see if I could get myself, last minute, to Detroit on my own. The game tickets were free, but not the plane, and I wouldn’t know if I had the tickets until the day before. Did I want to take dibs on this maybe, possibly, small chance deal? Oh hell yes.
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After the On the Same Page Literary Festival, I caught my breath and we were off to England for a long hike of The Cotswold Way. It's a lovely journey through quintessential English countryside, about 100 miles in all if you count the time hiking into your village's stop for the night. We took the 8 day, 7 night schedule, hiking as many as 15 miles in day. It's truly over hills and dales, with a good bit of elevation gain and descent each day -- you climb the escarpment each day at least once. We were well prepared and thus fared well. Those "training" hikes up and down Mt. Jefferson really paid off. We got no blisters, but acquired plenty of aches and pains along the way.

Friends Joan and Philip went along with us and have now indicated that 10 miles a day is the maximum for future hikes. Now that we're all past 60, that's probably not a bad rule, but I'd be temped to go on further if the terrain were flatter.

We took a picture each morning when we set out -- to the left are a few samples. I think we look pretty damn good. There's also a few shots of the lush countryside and woods we were treated to along the way and of friends in Bath. Enjoy. Let me know if you've a hankering for any advice on making such an excursion. I got it covered.

We finished up the Chipping Camden to Bath hike with a stay in Bath at a wonderful Landmark Trust property, right near the Abbey. Friends from England, and even Charlotte, came to stay the five days there and explore. Unfortunately for me, on the first night in Elton House, I stumbled on the stairs and did a number on my foot, which had me hobbling through the remainder of the trip.

I knew it was a fairly serious injury, but was loathe to take time out from friends and fun to have it seen to. Once home in North Carolina, I found I'd fractured a metatarsal. It was a clean break and simply required I wear one of those giant boot things for a couple of months. I am now completely healed and back ramping up my hiking locally. I've always been a tripper, stumbler and faller, but now it seems I'm more inclined to break things when I do. Yes. I'll be careful.

On to the new year and books about loving baseball and hating our country's politics. And, there'll be some traveling, too, to write about. Next up - the Women's March on Washington on January 21. Stay tuned! Read More 

What a wonderful week. The Literary Festival here in West Jefferson was truly a blast. Attendance was fantastic. All of the authors were super non-divas and, I think, enjoyed themselves as much as the attendees.

I found it very inspirational. The workshops were especially good this year and I'm at work following up what I learned, relearned, thought about, and was inspired by from the week.

Darnell Arnoult has me on a poem a day, which is kind of a strange exercise for me... I've never much thought about being a poet, but it's really kind of working and it's inspiring the work on my novel. Jeremy had me writing two scenes...one of which is definitely going to find its way into the novel somewhere.

Then, to top it all off, the NEXT DAY after the Festival we headed off to Nashville for a recording session at Omni Studios. Henry's first single with Lamon Records is now "in the can" as they say and ready to be mixed. We expect it out within a month. How can that not be exciting? And it's wonderful to watch pros at their work in general. Great musicians, a fabulous studio, it's all kind of overwhelming but I'll try my best to get over it.

Not to get any dust on me, we start The Cotswold Way on Monday. Seven days of hiking 103 miles. Then in Bath we meet up with all our UK friends for five days of hilarity, confusion, talk, eating, etc. That is if I can get it together to get packed...  Read More 

We're getting ready to go on a big hike in England at the end of the month. In the run up to this trip, we've been jaunting around the High Country, tackling as many trails and logging as many miles as we can in between everything else that seems to be swirling around us right now.

Up on Elk Knob, Henry, buddy Kevin, and I were paused for a snack before trekking back down the mountain when up popped a group of college kids who exclaimed at the view, "There's so much nature!" We laughed. They were embarrassed. But, indeed there's a shitload of nature around here. I've been trying my best to enjoy it, while grinding out some miles in preparation for the Cotswold Way, 103 miles, in 7 days.

But before we get on that plane, Henry is recording a single in Nashville and traveling to Banff for work. I've got the On the Same Page Literary Festival descending next week (don't miss it if you can www.onthesamepagefestival.org) and all the getting ready those things entail.

Not to pile on too much, but this year's exhibit at the Ashe County Arts Center running in conjunction with the Literary Festival, is the pairing of artists and writers called More Than Words. I've written two poems to go along with the gorgeous art work of Joanie Bell. Coincidentally, we've both spent a good amount of time in the UK, stayed in some of the same Landmark Trust properties, and hiked many of the same landscapes there. So, we decided to inspire one another with a very English twist this year. Come on out and see our work, and that of many other visual artists paired with writers from our region. To wet your whistle to do so, here are my two poems. Click on the "More Than Words" link to your left. You'll have to come to the Arts Center to see Joanie's work that goes with them. Read More 

I've been busy the last few months helping my Henry out with recording a new CD entitled "Need to Know." It includes five original songs, representing five really different kind of tunes, with everything from just his guitar and voice, to the kitchen sink of instruments - I'm even me flute for one of them. The recording process is really quite interesting, and I enjoyed the bit of time I spent in the studio.

So, go check it out! The CD is available on Spotify, Amazon, and shortly, ITunes for download. In a couple of weeks, you'll be able to buy an actual physical CD from CDBaby.com if you're not into that streaming thing that all the "young folk" do.

Check the link to the right and you can click on a video we made for his song "Damascus Gate" which features pictures from our visit to the Old City of Jerusalem as well as a few antique photographs.  Read More 

Our December Wordkeepers is coming up on Saturday the 19th. It's always a big show -- generally the biggest attendance of the year. Not sure why. You'd think people have plenty to do this close to Christmas, but they do like to come out and read and listen in December.

The Arts Center isalways decked with a display of local trees, and that's pretty special. And we do always have extra good refreshments, including wine and some special punch (yes, it WILL be leaded).

We're usually full up with readers and have a plenty big audience to enjoy the fun. So come on out if you're in town. 303 School Avenue in West Jefferson NC. It's the place to be at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 19. Email me if you're thinking you have something to share. Read More