PODCAST: Seth Grahame-Smith on "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter" [MP3]
Seth Grahame-Smith speaks at the Brattle Theatre
Ever wonder why Honest Abe always wore that tall stovepipe hat?
All the better to conceal his wooden vampire-killing stake, my dear. In
his most recent book, Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, critically
acclaimed author Seth Grahame-Smith recounts the "true story" of our
nation's 16th president. Grahame-Smith, who first made his literary
mark with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, sheds new light on
the man history has long painted as the benevolent savior of the Union.
In a recent talk at the Brattle Theatre, Grahame-Smith talked about a
Lincoln you might not be as familiar with -- one whose campaign for
equal human rights included the ruthless slaying of the undead.
Vampires
as allegory for bloodthirsty slave-owners? Somehow, it works. Through
entries of Lincoln's "previously undiscovered journals," Grahame-Smith
constructs a world in which the Civil War stems from some bad blood (!)
between Lincoln and a vamp that murdered his mother. Lincoln
subsequently wages war against the vampires and the slaveowners with
whom they are in league... note that both parties "feed" upon the blood
and lives of the weak.
Lest you think that the
novel (which
Tim Burton is adapting for screen) is little more than
B-movie shtick legitimized by some haphazardly employed historical
facts, hear this: Grahame-Smith knows his stuff. The author is clearly
both a horror purist and a bona fide Lincoln buff. In his talk, he
cites
The Shining, the original
Night of the Living Dead and
The Exorcist
among his favorite horror movies and recalls being a Stephen King
"fanatic" as a young boy. And Grahame-Smith's fusion of
supernatural gore and actual historical accounts results in a
ripping yarn that, at the very least, is good enough for
Doris Kearns
Goodwin. Goodwin told him that she thought his book was "tremendous
fun" and that Lincoln himself would have enjoyed it -- high praise from
a Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian.
Tune
in to hear about the author's reverence for Abraham Lincoln, his
personal writing process, and Lincoln's unlikely affinity for Edgar
Allan Poe (who, apparently, would like to be a vampire himself). Also
in the talk: pot-shots at MTV and the Twilight franchise, penis jokes,
the stink of writers' rooms, John Wilkes Booth compared to Tom Cruise
(zing!), and how awesome it would be to see Will Smith play Mr. Darcy
onscreen. No, really.
In search of more literary-mashup thrills? Stop by the Harvard COOP tonight at 7pm for a
"Nerd Fun-Boston-Interactive Literary Duel," where fans will pit readings from Jane Austen's
Pride and Prejudice against excerpts from Grahame-Smith's
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in a war of the words.
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