Author meets students in intimate setting

Adoring fans, interested onlookers and several dozen Penn undergraduates paid homage to writer Grace Paley at the Kelly Writers House last night. With nearly 90 people in attendance, the intimate house on Locust Walk was packed beyond capacity with audience members crowding the stairs, the kitchen and the small living room itself in an attempt to hear the author's every word. After an introduction by English Professor Al Filreis and College senior Sara Coehlo -- a member of the Writers House Fellows Program -- Paley stood behind a podium in the living room and proceeded to entertain her fans. She read a story entitled "Friends" -- a fictional tale chronicling a woman's relationship with her friends and children -- from The Collected Stories, a compilation of her three collections of short fiction stories, as well as selected poems from her collection of poetry. Throughout the nearly hour-long reading, audience members listened intently as Paley spoke. By the end of the public reading, numerous people rushed to get Paley to sign their books. Filreis, who coordinated the night's events, said he found Paley's talk educational and inspirational. "She is just amazing," he said after the reading. "Although Grace Paley is an experienced teacher, she spoke to us as a writer and a parent and, therefore, she was a great teacher." Filreis also teaches Contemporary American Literature, which is the seminar linked with the program. Earlier in the afternoon, Paley took part in this week's seminar, interjecting comments and answering students' questions about her works. Following the three-hour seminar, several students in attendance said they were, almost literally, speechless. "I don't even know where to begin," College junior Blake Martin said. "It is difficult to convey how awesome of an experience it was, especially if you don't know her work." Wharton junior, Adam Kaufman, this year's Fellows coordinator and a member of the class, said he gained personal respect for Paley as an individual in addition to his professional respect for her as a writer. "It went really well. Personally, I found her amazingly charming," Kaufman said after the class had ended. "She is concerned with the students here." Prior to the seminar, the students spent three weeks reading and analyzing Paley's works, so that they would be prepared to talk intelligently with the writer. "It's a rare experience. We could ask her where she got the idea for a certain character or what she meant by a specific scene," Kaufman said. "It was funny to see how we misguessed things, but at the same time we looked at some things in a way she had not considered." Some aspiring writers said they particularly enjoyed Paley's words of wisdom concerning her craft. "I asked her if there were any stories you could only tell at a certain point in time and she said that as you get older and your experience accrues, you are able to write things you could not have when you were younger," said Cassie MacDonald, a Writers House administrative assistant. After the seminar, Paley took part in an informal discussion with some of the students and Filreis. She gave a public reading two hours later. The discussion, which only lasted a little under an hour, allowed for a setting more intimate and informal than the seminar did. There, topics ranged from influences on Paley's writing to her friendships with fellow writers to the politics of writing. "She has a way of passionately personalizing politics, and students who are not normally political were eager to get involved," Filreis said. When asked at the end of the night if she had advice for aspiring writers, Paley replied simply, "Keep a low overhead and don't live with anyone who doesn't respect your work." Filreis will interview Paley about her writing at the Writers House at 10:30 a.m. today. The conversation will be broadcast on the Internet.