Lunch with Dennis E. Bolen

So,

I had lunch with Dennis E. Bolen yesterday.

I interviewed him a few months ago, shortly before I left for the Yukon. He had just published a collection of stories called Anticipated Results, which I flew through pretty quickly.

His characters are aging drunks and malcontents, and the stories are all set in and around Vancouver. One of my favorites is called "Kitty" and is about a man who has a strange cat hiding under his bed. You should read it.

You can also check out my interview with Bolen HERE.

Anyways, we kept in touch over the summer through Facebook, and I was hoping that once I moved to Vancouver we would connect. But even though he's really involved in the literary scene, we always seemed to miss each other.

So he invited me to have lunch with him at Marcello's Pizzeria on Commercial Drive (which is awesome) and we spent the afternoon getting drunk on red wine and grappa, and talking about books and authors.

Bolen was once described as the "Norman Mailer of Vancouver", and it makes sense when you meet him. He's a self-deprecating, articulate story-teller with a colorful past.

(His advice? Don't get married until you're 50. He's on Wife #3.)

Turns out we're both obsessed with Alice Munro (who isn't?) and avid fans of Boardwalk Empire. He taught in my program in the 90s, so we gossiped about UBC and the teachers. And he told me lots of fun stories about the Vancouver literary scene,

In the 80s, Bolen co-founded Anvil Press, which is now run by Brian Kaufman. I'm really hoping to get a gig interning there, or helping out with subTerrain Magazine, which is an awesome publication.

We also talked about my thesis novel, which will have a similar form to Anticipated Results, and he gave me tips on how to find an agent. It was really refreshing to talk to a successful author who has been around the industry, and knows how to navigate the business.

And in return, I convinced him to start using Twitter. (He hasn't figured it out yet.) I think it's a great way for authors, writers and publishers to stay up to date on stuff. You should follow him @kaspoitman. He hasn't posted anything yet, but he assured me he will.

Anyways, thanks for lunch Dennis!

Will!!