By the time Tobias Wolff finally arrived at the softly-lit podium in front of a cheering crowd of about 100 well-dressed local literary types, in the swanky South-of-Market museum, it was clear that not only was this humble, humorous, and powerful man revered, but that his life's mission to defend, describe, espouse literature-- is a true contribution to the excellence of Bay Area literature.
George Saunders lives in Wolff's New York house, and said Toby is a great man, and a great writer.
Tom Barbash, my creative writing professor at SCU, said that Wolff's characters are masters of deception, and that we've all had "Tobias Wolff moments."
Adam Johnson and Tom Kealey created a slide show spoof about the Tobias Wolff Code, and Wolff's uncanny resemblance to the Big Lebowski.
Self-described "token outsider" (and token woman) Ann Packer described her idolatry of Wolff, and that he's a willing foot soldier in the war against idiocy.
And, together with the girls from McSweeney's (who'd toiled to produce, in a record two weeks, a beautiful 43-page booklet in honor of the author), several other volunteers, fans, and friends, I too honored Tobias Wolff at Litquake's Barbary Coast Award ceremony, Tuesday evening.
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