After around 7 years of idolising his work and converting countless friends to his genius, I finally had the opportunity to meet Douglas Coupland yesterday. I was amazed at how many people had no idea who he was. I was so excited in the lead up to this weekend I was telling everybody and anybody what was going to happen. My joy and excitement was matched with blank stares and sorrowful glances. I think that people might have actually felt bad for me that I was excited about something or someone that they had never heard of. Just another curious way society works.
Douglas Coupland (always being referred to by the two names, not yet at the level of recognition attained by Steinbeck, Hemingway and Salinger) has always been somewhat of a litmus test for friendship. The friends I have kept over the years, the ones who keep popping up over time, the ones I will never lose, are those who are Coupland fans, whether or not I was responsible for their introduction. His books speak of life and the world as I know it. He magnifies existence through his method of taking reality, stretching and exaggerating it and then incubating it on paper to be digested as fiction. More than just storytelling and more than just social commentary, Douglas Coupland walks the line.
I'm glad to have been able to spend the two minutes I did with him. It's a rare opportunity and it was pricelessly encouraging.