Last week, in the final 1/10th of my 2000 mile drive, my new car rolled through Pasco, Kennewick, and Richland: the so-called Tri-Cities of Washington state. My all-season tires (one Firestone/three Goodyear) read the landscape first revealed to me only a week earlier through Kevin Sampsell’s rich memoir. Reading A Common Pornography was like cradling his head in my hands, feeling the bumps and scars. Written in short vignettes, it’s a perfect book for someone with ADD. I mean that only in the most complimentary way. His memoir’s something that could be read in short bursts, all at once, or perhaps even in random order. It could be like picking out Bible verses and making them mean something to you.
I’ve met Kevin once and we’re Facebook friends. I’ve known of him a lot longer, having seen him coordinate events at Powells. But I didn’t know anything about his background nor what makes him who he is today. On the surface, I could say we have a lot in common: a new-wave Catholic childhood, UFO sightings, an obsession with Bigfoot. But he had it a lot harder than I did. I mean, his family was pretty fucked up. And that doesn’t always make a good memoir, but I found myself feeling close to a guy I barely know.
The sex and pornography in his memoir are . . . innocent. In some cases it’s almost sweet. When Kevin writes about homosexual experiences, for example, they’re matter-of-fact — just on the page. They happened, but he doesn’t call them any particular name. Nor does he label himself or seem to need some identity. He eloquently reveals events that may or may not be typical of how a person becomes whole. I found his candor uplifting.
Take loaded statements like this: Instead of using the money from the insurance company to hire builders for the house, Dad decided to “save money” by doing it himself. That could be every family, right?
I wasn’t able to make it to his Portland reading, the one where he proposed to Barb. But I did watch the video. I was moved. May they have wonderful lives together. May Kevin continue to write brilliant words.
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