Dan Ligma

By FLORA MILFORD

This past Thursday, October 12, the Beloit College creative writing department had the pleasure of hosting Daniel Libman, author of a recently published collection of (loosely) fictional short stories—The Book of Grudges. The gathering was held in the South Lounge of the World Affairs Center where Libman read two stories to a group of eager students, professors, and randos alike. In addition to being a published author, Libman teaches writing at Northern Illinois University and is the occasional host of a show on WNIJ Radio. 

English professor Chris Fink introduced Libman to the crowd, citing how he’d been reading Libman’s book earlier in the day while getting his car fixed and “kept chuckling at the auto place.” The two of them gabbed for a bit, making fun of each other’s heights, personalities, and ruminating over fond memories, including the time they co-hosted an episode on WNIJ Radio about ice fishing. According to Fink, this was one of the most listened to episodes on the show. Great job guys! Fink ended his introduction by stating,“I don’t hold grudges!” to which Libman responded, “I do!”—apropos to the title of his book. 

The book is a culmination of short stories inspired by Libman’s own diary entries, mostly from 2018 and 2019 (though Libman has been an avid journaler since he was 12). One audience member asked him about his use of the word diary, a word men insecure in their masculinity typically tend to stray away from. To this, he shrugged and responded “I used to call it a journal, now I call it a diary. That’s what it is.” 

While the book is a work of fiction, the narrator of each story is Daniel Libman himself, and many of the characters are his friends and family members alike. Libman claimed that he had gotten positive responses from those named in his book, even if he didn’t always paint them in the best light. “People probably just like being written about, or they lied and didn’t read the book.” 

Libman started by sharing a story called “Best Buy,” which, true to the name, started and ended in a Best Buy. He warned the audience before beginning that it was a long story, and to not get too excited about it being over until the characters were back in the Best Buy. This story detailed the narrator’s experience of getting a new laptop, and also saying a final goodbye to his father with whom he had a complicated relationship. The story was witty and emotional, evoking laughter (and perhaps the occasional tear?) from a zealous audience. One of the lines included a joke that his father had made about the time being “tooth hurty.” While Libman claimed to find this joke unfunny, the audience responded with a bellowing laugh to which he retorted, “Ah, you guys would’ve loved him.” 

The second story he shared was called “12 Lessons on Grudges” which was written in the form of different diary entries. Unfortunately, the notes I have on this story inexplicably went missing, and I have severe and permanent alcohol induced memory loss so I don’t have much more to say about it but it was a nice story. There was a joke about PornHub in it that Libman thanked me for laughing at. Sorry for not doing this story proper justice… that’s my bad. 

After the reading, Fink opened the floor for questions about Libman’s stories. One student, Sam Shea’23, later revealed to be Libman’s nephew, raised his hand. When called on, he stated, “I like your shirt.” 

Overall, Libman’s visit was a titillating experience for the creative writers, professors, nephews, and other freaks in the audience. Laughs were shared and tears were shed. The gathering was a smashing success.