Taxing Reading
April 10, 2011

The annual Day of Dread is nearly upon us, and if what I have seen at the IRS office and post office is any indication there are a lot of procrastinators. I don’t envy them. And frankly I don’t understand it. It’s not as if this deadline is a surprise. And it’s agony to put off the paperwork repeatedly because you never really forget it, and week after week it weighs ever heavier as the clock ticks down to 11:59 pm on April 15.

While reading about the craziness that leads people to line up to mail their taxes minutes before midnight on April 15 it occurred to me to wonder if there was any writing about taxes. Not how-to books but stories, novels, and other literary leanings built around this Day of Dread. Or whatever else might turn up.

The answer is yes. Surprisingly, there is much more than I would have thought. Literature and fiction about, or at least with the word “taxes” in the title, abound as a quick search on Amazon in that particular category listed 370 titles. A perusal—yes, I searched all the pages—revealed that there are a surprising number of nonfiction books in there. Among them are reprints by a publisher named Kessinger, a house that specializes in reproducing “rare, scarce and hard-to-find books.” They have more than 130 books that are listed under “taxes,” some novels (The Blood-Tax: A Military Romance) but others decidedly esoteric (A Single Tax Handbook for 1913).

I found mysteries heavily represented, presumably because the old saying about the only certainty in life being death and taxes makes for the perfect title. Some were even interesting. Death and Taxes, a first novel originally published in 1941, sounds more intriguing than most because its author, David Dodge, not only went on to a successful writing career that included mystery/thriller novels (that included To Catch a Thief) and humorous travel books but actually worked as a CPA in 1937. It was from that experience that he drew extensively for Death and Taxes and created Walt Whitney, tax man turned detective in 1940s San Francisco. It is claimed by some that this book contains one of the funniest drinking scenes in all of literature.

Death and Taxes by Susan Dunlap, published in 1993, was part of her Jill Smith series based in Berkeley, California. When implacable IRS auditor Philip Drem is murdered the suspects, ranging from an aged hippie sculptor to a flashy tax-accountant. Though the series has won favorable reviews, this particular book was apparently not looked upon kindly: “. . . intricate tax scams make even less scintillating reading than their own 1040s. Dreary stuff.”

Dorothy Parker, one of my favorite writers, also has a book titled Death and Taxes. On Amazon, there are a number of copies including three with her signature (and going for a great deal more than those without them). But though I own a number of books by her and about her, I don’t own that one so I am not sure if it is just her poems or includes the short stories or criticism. I’d love to own one of the signed ones but the idea of paying more than $100 for something that originally cost $1.75 is just . . . a bit much.

Death and taxes may not be the exact title, but they are the subjects in books like A Tax-Deductible Death. What’s a stockbroker to do, you may ask,, when her clients keep dying? And when her boss wants her gone—in more ways than one. Turns out that Maggie Conner has those problems and more, especially when a handsome IRS agent starts asking questions.

I laughed out loud when I read the subject being “tax consultants,” but Harry’s Last Tax Cut does feature a tax accountant-enrolled agent who has to turn his attention away from the numbers and toward the murder of his about-to-become partner, his adopted children, his jilting girlfriend, and even some Moonies who are out to cut his throat as well. Who knew taxes could be so lethal?

Taxes can even be romantic—or at least the avoidance of them can if The Bachelor Tax, a Harlequin Historical novel, is any indication. Apparently, a rancher has to at least propose marriage if he is to avoid a “bachelor tax”—in a particular year or when he turned a certain age is unknown—so he proposes to the one woman he feels will certainly turn him down. Except she doesn’t. Sort of. She becomes his “cook” but given that this is a romance, you know his taxes are the least of it.

Americans aren’t the only ones who suffer taxes unhappily. In Sydney, Australia, the Catchprices are desperately seeking to avoid collapse of their auto dealership by tinkering with the books. But sixteen-year-old psychotic Benny is determined to transform himself into the world’s greatest car salesman and save the business—until tax inspector Maria Takis arrives to investigate. Unlike the above novels, this one is serious fiction, and takes on family dysfunction through complex characterizations and brilliant writing in The Tax Inspector.

So if this week you are feeling a need to whump that 1040 into submission these are just a few possibilities that might help alleviate the anxiety. Murder or romance? Noir fiction or serious fiction. There’s plenty to choose from so pick your own poison.

Upcoming Book Festivals:
April is one of the busiest months of the year for book festivals, and the eight coming up this week and next weekend can certainly testify to that. Those of you anywhere near these should definitely check them out. Please note the new format of this section, which it should make it easier to determine if a festival is near you.

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Festival: Free Library Festival
Date: April 11-16
This five-day festival (which unofficially begins on April 10 with a “Tea with Hagrid” for Harry Potter fans) has so much going on it requires thirteen venues to hold it all. Among the events are talks and panel presentations by best-selling authors, musical performances, the Harry Potter film festival, workshops, dance programs, tours, poetry readings and performances, a guided tour of original movie lobby cards in the rare book department of the Free Library, a StorySlam After Party, exhibitions, and interactive a poetry slam and a Scene Zine Workshop for teens, a Teddy Bear Picnic and other events  for children, as well as the amazing street fair on Saturday, April 16, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.  Some of the events required paid tickets, but most are free.

Location: Spokane and Cheney, Washington
Festival: Get Lit!
Date: April 13-17
It began as a one-day marathon literary readings and has since grown into a full week of events that includes readings and lectures, interviews, workshops, panel discussions, poetry slams for various age groups, writing contests, and book signings with nearly forty authors participating. Though there are events over the five days, the longest and busiest day is Saturday. You’ll find workshops for writers, panels and talks on chapbooks, journalism, publishing and more, festival readings, youth readings, Japan Week readings, Native American spotlight, and that night An Evening with Tim O’Brien and Brian Turner.

Location: Bethesda, Maryland
Festival: Bethesda Literary Festival
Date: April 15-17
This is the twelfth annual festival and nearly three dozen authors will be making appearances to talk and sign their books. Among them are Michelle Norris, Steven Levy, Cokie Roberts, A.S. King, Judith Warner, and Marie Arana. Events include readings, talks, Story Time for children, poetry readings and awards, the Authors’ Reception, and more.

Location: Barrington Hills. Illinois
Festival: Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention
Date: April 15-17
For lovers of pulp (as well as paperbacks, original art, movie memorabilia, OTE, science fiction, popular culture and more) this convention offers it all. Dealers in all the above named collectibles will be there. Two auctions, one on Friday night and one on Saturday night, will have magazines and books whose covers are properly lurid and horrifying. There’s also a film festival. All attendees and vendors are required to register.

Location: Denton, Texas
Festival: North Texas Book Festival
Date: April 16
The Center for Visual Arts is the host to this book festival, which will feature more than fifty authors giving presentations and signing their books, special children’s activities, the presentation of NTBF book awards and grants, and more. Hours are 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, and it is all free.

Location: Bowling Green, Kentucky
Festival: Southern Kentucky Book Fest
Date: April 16
From 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, nearly 130 authors will be appearing including Nicholas Sparks, Judith Viorst, Jean M. Auel, and T.J. Stiles. Events include Breakfast with Nicholas Sparks (sold out), panel presentations on cooking, science fiction and mystery, children, song writing, publishing, Kentucky history, ghost stories, YA fiction, romance & soap operas, contemporary fiction, poetry, business & government, historical fiction, and more. (The Kentucky Writers conference the day before, April 15, will have festival authors sharing their wisdom in twelve free workshops. No registration is required.)

Location: Montgomery, Alabama
Festival: Alabama Book Festival
Date: April 16
Downtown Montgomery is the place to be for this book festival, which runs from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. More than fifty authors, poets, scholars, and industry professionals will be there to read and discuss their works, vendors will be there with a variety of books and other literary items plus food and drink, and there is a special children’s activity area that will feature educational games, arts and crafts, and appearances by costumed literary characters. It’s all free.

Location: Flagstaff, Arizona
Festival: Northern Arizona Book Festival
Date: April 16
This day-long event at the Coconino Center for the Arts will feature readings, panel discussions and book signings from a dozen authors including novelist Jamie Ford and poet Michael Collier, as well as the high school winners of the annual Jim Simmerman Poetry Prize who will read from their work. Though the primary events all take place on Saturday, there are two other related events: a geocaching event open to children of all ages on Friday, April 15 at the Arboretum in Flagstaff and an authors’ breakfast and book signing on Sunday, April 17 at Bookmans. It’s all free except for the Saturday evening appearance of For and Collier; that is a mere $5 fee.

The Pub House:
Swan Isle Press is a not-for-profit, literary publisher dedicated to publishing works of poetry, fiction and nonfiction that “inspire and educate while advancing the knowledge and appreciation of literature, art, and culture.” They opened their doors in 1999 and since then have focused on their special interest—books related to Spanish and Latin American literature, art, and culture. (These are mostly offered in bilingual editions.) Among their newest issues is Shadows of Your Black Memory by Donato Ndongo (translated by Michael Ugarte). The story, set during the last years of Spanish rule in Equatorial Guinea (the late 1960s), is narrated by a young African man reflecting on his childhood who explores the cultural conflicts between Africa and Spain  through his extended family and the village’s residents including merchants, sorcerers, and Catholic priests. Cut from Whole Cloth: An Immigrant Experience by J. Richard Franke recounts his grandparents’ struggle to build a new life in America after fleeing religious intolerance and economic adversity in Germany. Their immigration in 1884 to Illinois allowed them to start both a family and a business that survived and ultimately thrived despite challenges that included a clash of cultural values and morals.

Imaging Books & Reading:
Imagine the sternest librarian you remember from your childhood. Got the picture? Now, imagine that librarian as a cat. Would she have looked like this?

Of Interest:
For writers, there is the opportunity by Magnapoets, a biannual print journal that also offers One Forty Fiction, an online magazine dedicated to literature of 140 characters or shorter. They publish a new story each weekday, some of them theme-based. This week is one of those: Tax Man Week, which runs from Monday, April 11 through Friday, April 15. The focus, of course, if stories related to taxes; read them here. (I offer no guarantee about the quality.)

Until next week, read well, read often and read on!

Lauren