Curiosity
By Steven Brodsky
Photo by Steven Brodsky
… can prime an artist’s creative pump (yes, the proverbial cat that possessed this trait now comes to mind).
Posted 4-23-24
The 2024 Poetry Out Loud National Finals, featuring high school students from across the U.S., to take place on May 1-2, 2024 in Washington, DC; admission to the National Finals is free and open to the public; the Semifinals and Finals will livestream at Arts.gov/Poetry-Out-Loud
By Steven Brodsky
From a press release that was issued by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation:
Washington, DC and Chicago, IL April 4, 2024—The 2024 Poetry Out Loud® National Finals will be held in Washington, DC, May 1-2, bringing together high school students from across the nation to the capital for an exciting poetry recitation competition, where one student will win the title of national champion and a $20,000 prize. All 55 state and jurisdictional champions will compete in the national semifinals on Wednesday, May 1. Nine finalists will then proceed to the finals on Thursday, May 2. The semifinals and finals will take place at the Lisner Auditorium at the George Washington University and will be streamed live at Arts.gov/Poetry-Out-Loud. Visit PoetryOutLoud.org for the list of the 2024 Poetry Out Loud champions who will take part in the competition.
This year, more than 160,800 students participated in Poetry Out Loud, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation along with state and jurisdictional arts agencies. Since the program began in 2005, it has reached more than 4.4 million students from 20,000 schools.
“We congratulate each of our state and jurisdictional champions on making it to this moment, and we look forward to having them come together in Washington, DC, this spring,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “While Poetry Out Loud is a competition, it is also an opportunity for these students to forge new friendships through shared passion for poetry and performance while building communication and interpersonal skills that will serve them well in the future.”
“I continue to be impressed by Poetry Out Loud participants’ ability to breathe new life and personal significance into their selected poems,” said Michelle T. Boone, president and CEO of the Poetry Foundation. “I’d like to thank all Poetry Out Loud participants for demonstrating the power of poetry and extend a special congratulations to the champions who will be competing in the finals.”
A total of $50,000 in awards and school or organizational stipends will be awarded at the National Finals, including $20,000 for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion, and $10,000 and $5,000 for the second- and third-place finalists, respectively. The Poetry Foundation provides and administers all aspects of the monetary prizes awarded for Poetry Out Loud. The Poetry Out Loud National Finals are administered by Mid Atlantic Arts.
National Semifinals—Wednesday, May 1, 2024
The state and jurisdictional champions will compete in one of three National Semifinals between 9 – 8 PM ET at Lisner Auditorium, the George Washington University, 730 21st Street NW, Washington, DC. All three semifinals are free and open to the public—no ticket required.
Each poem recitation will be judged on criteria including physical presence, voice and articulation, interpretation, evidence of understanding, overall performance, and accuracy. The top three students from each semifinal, nine in total, will move on to the National Finals on May 2.
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9 AM ET—Champions from Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
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1 PM ET—Champions from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
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5 PM ET—Champions from Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
National Finals—Thursday, May 2, 2024
The National Finals will take place at 7 PM ET, also at Lisner Auditorium, and will culminate with the announcement of the 2024 Poetry Out Loud National Champion. The National Finals are free and open to the public—no ticket required.
Judges are H-Dirksen L. Bauman, Amber McBride, Lupe Mendez, Mei Ann Teo, and Laura Tohe. The evening will also include a performance by acclaimed Haitian-American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Leyla McCalla.
In addition to the live competition at Lisner Auditorium, both the Semifinals and National Finals can be viewed via a one-time-only live webcast at Arts.gov/Poetry-Out-Loud.
Closed captioning in English and Spanish and American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be provided for both the Poetry Out Loud National Semifinals and Finals.
Join the conversation on X (Twitter) and Instagram using #POL24 and #IAmPoetryOutLoud and follow the National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation at @PoetryOutLoud, @NEAArts, and @PoetryFound.
The Poetry Out Loud state champions also have the opportunity to compete in the Poetry Ourselves competition by submitting an original work of poetry in one of two categories: either a written poem or a video of a spoken poem. The winner and runner-up in each category will be selected by poet José Olivarez and announced at the May 2 National Finals competition.
About Poetry Out Loud
Poetry Out Loud starts in the classroom/school or at the local level with an area organization. Students memorize and recite poems they select from an anthology of more than 1,200 classic and contemporary poems. Winners then may advance to a regional and/or state competition, and ultimately to the National Finals. Since the program began in 2005, more than 4.4 million students and 81,000 teachers from 20,000 schools and organizations across the nation have participated in Poetry Out Loud. For more information about Poetry Out Loud and how to participate in the 2024–2025 program, visit PoetryOutLoud.org
Posted 4-5-24
In commemoration of the birthday of Robert Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963)
By Steven Brodsky
… Let’s enjoy Robert Frost’s “Birches”:
“Birches” by Robert Frost (read by Tom O’Bedlam) (youtube.com)
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44260/birches
“Birches,” a song by Bill Morrissey, had been referenced in the main section of this column. I believe that Bill Morrissey probably titled the song as a nod to the same-named Robert Frost poem. Bill Morrissey spoke of the impact of Robert Frost’s poetry in an interview: “And then, as I got older, people like Robert Frost really hit me.” Bill Morrissey’s “Birches”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5n5ceAv_Bc&ab_channel=BillMorrissey-Topic. I never had an opportunity to interview Bill Morrissey.
Posted 3-26-24
Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning writer John Updike was born on March 18, 1932
By Steven Brodsky
… Enjoy this excellent brief film about John Updike’s roots in Shillington, Pennsylvania:
Reading some of John Updike’s published writing would be a great way to commemorate Updike’s upcoming birthday!
John Updike passed away on January 27, 2009 at age 76.
Posted 3-15-24
In recognition of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s birthday tomorrow
By Steven Brodsky
… sharing this recitation with you:
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born on March 6, 1806.
About Elizabeth Barrett Browning: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/elizabeth-barrett-browning.
Posted 3-5-24
A recitation of W.H. Auden’s ‘O What Is That Sound’
By Steven Brodsky
… A great recitation of this unsettling poem:
Tomorrow is the birthday of W.H. Auden (February 21, 1907 – September 29, 1973).
Posted 2-20-24
Tracked and found a lost dog
By Steven Brodsky
… during a recent snowfall.
After finding the dog, turned around and noticed the tracks of the dog and my own in the snow “stretched out upon the world.”
Blizzard by William Carlos Williams | Poetry Foundation
The dog was returned to its owner.
Posted 2-15-24
Longing to be ‘lost’ in a romantic interest
By Steven Brodsky
… the condition of the speaker of “I Am Not Yours,” a poem by Sara Teasdale (1884 – 1933): https://poets.org/poem/i-am-not-yours.
The first-person character of Paul Simon’s “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” does not have that condition:
48 years ago, on February 7, 1976, “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first of three weeks.
The poem and song are referenced here in advance of Valentine’s Day.
Posted 2-7-24
Poe’s ‘Alone’
By Steven Brodsky
In recognition of Poe’s birthday tomorrow, reposting:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46477/alone-56d 2265f2667d
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Co01IZRhi0&ab_channel=SpokenVerse
Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809.
It’s opportune to also reshare this with you:
Posted 1-18-24
‘Potential for significant snowfall’
By Steven Brodsky
Photo by Steven Brodsky
… has been forecast for the East Coast of the U.S. for this coming weekend.
Should that potential become actualized in your area, will you take a pencil (or keyboard) “To note the rebels down”?
Emily Dickinson’s “Snow flakes. (45)”: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49358/s-flakes-45.
Posted 1-3-24
‘Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s Clothes’
By Steven Brodsky
No need to tell this slant: the above recitation appears here in commemoration of Emily Dickinson’s 193rd birthday tomorrow, as does this link: Tell all the truth but tell it slant — (1263) by… | Poetry Foundation.
Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830.
Billy Collins, author of the poem “Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s Clothes,” is a former Poet Laureate of the United States.
Posted 12-9-23
Edith Bunker (the character from ‘All in the Family’ played by Jean Stapleton) would probably have been delighted
By Steven Brodsky
… if she’d known that we’d be welcoming this Thanksgiving by reading the linked poem by one of her favorite poets, Edgar Albert Guest: Thanksgiving by Edgar Albert Guest | Poetry Foundation.
Have a happy and thankful Thanksgiving!
Posted 11-21-23
Ray Bradbury (August 22, 1920 – June 5, 2012) was born 103 years ago
By Steven Brodsky
… In commemoration of Ray Bradbury’s birthday, enjoy:
Posted 8-22-23
Two Charles Bukowski poems that will be remembered
By Steven Brodsky
… long after tomorrow, August 16th, the birthday of Charles Bukowski (August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994):
a smile to remember by Charles Bukowski (read by Tom O’Bedlam) – YouTube
Nirvana by Charles Bukowski (read by Tom O’Bedlam) – YouTube
Poems that were included in this reading event will also be long remembered:
Posted 8-15-23
It can be very beneficial to take notice of, and appreciate, the ‘stuff that works.’
By Steven Brodsky
… To remind us about “stuff that works”:
Were you to write about the “stuff that works” in your life, what might you include? (Rhetorical question.)
Posted 4-3-23
‘The work of a writer, his continuing work, depends for breath of life on a certain privacy of heart.’
By Steven Brodsky
… Yes. For the purpose of maintaining “a certain privacy of heart,” will leave it at that; no flippancy is intended.
The quotation is that of Tennessee Williams. It appears in New Selected Essays: Where I Live.
It’s presented here in commemoration of the birthday of Tennessee Williams this coming Sunday. He was born on March 26, 1911.
Posted 3-24-23
The musicality of ‘The Highwayman’ poem, by Alfred Noyes (September 16, 1880 – June 25, 1958)
By Steven Brodsky
… was beautifully expressed by Phil Ochs: The Highwayman – YouTube. Phil Ochs wrote the music.
Read the poem aloud; it’s not difficult to hear its musicality and to see the gorgeous imagery conjured by: “The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas.”
You’ll find the poem here: The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes – Poems | Academy of American Poets.
Upon seeing the moon on special evenings, people sometimes sing the quoted line from the Noyes poem in the manner that Phil Ochs did on the linked recording, implicitly acknowledging the effectiveness of the poem and the song.
Posted 1-27-23
One can only imagine
By Steven Brodsky
… how great Hubert Selby Jr.’s novel Seeds of Pain, Seeds of Love (the working title) would be if the novel had been completed.
Revisiting this reading by Selby of a few pages from the incomplete manuscript of the novel because the pages and the reading are powerful and not everyone here now watched the reading when a link to it was originally posted, and because the writing exemplifies what can be achieved by someone who never completed formal education beyond the eighth grade and who had some huge personal challenges, and because I hope that the reading will inspire writing by some of you, but be aware that the reading contains a depiction of violence upon a juvenile by a parent and adult language: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0wAJ8AFRmQ.
An outstanding documentary about Hubert Selby Jr.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvDJNEcUxfs.
This posting is dedicated to the memory of Dan Fante (February 19, 1944 – November 23, 2015).
Dan Fante was encouraged to write by Hubert Selby Jr.
Have you read Dan Fante’s memoir? It’s titled Fante: A Family’s Legacy of Writing, Drinking and Surviving.
Posted 12-5-22
Seamus Heaney’s father and grandfather used a spade. Seamus Heaney, a squat pen.
By Steven Brodsky
… digging tools.
Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney at Villanova University in April 2010 reading “Digging”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNRkPU1LSUg.
The text of “Digging”: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47555/digging.
Seamus Heaney was born in Northern Ireland on April 13, 1939. He passed away on August 30, 2013.
Posted 2-2-22
A Conversation With Author Adriana Trigiani
By Steven Brodsky
Adriana Trigiani is a New York Times bestselling author. Her books have been published in thirty-six countries. Among her titles are: The Shoemaker’s Wife, All the Stars in the Heavens, Big Stone Gap, Lucia, Lucia, and the memoir Don’t Sing at the Table. She’s written for television, the stage, and wrote (and directed) the movie Big Stone Gap. Kiss Carlo is Adriana’s seventeenth novel.
You are very much identified with the category of women’s fiction. When you first started book writing, did you envision that your creative output was going to especially appeal to female readers as it has?
I hoped it would, and I crossed my fingers and aimed for it. You see, in my estimation, women need a respite and reprieve in this weary world, a place to go in their imaginations in ways that men do not. We need the lush worlds of fiction and the lessons of novelists to encourage us to examine our own lives and choices, artfully, spiritually, and in solitude- in peace and quiet- subject to reader. So, I’m thrilled to be considered a contributor to the genre called women’s fiction.
What percentage of your readers is female?
Probably most.
Very much enjoyed Kiss Carlo. There’s beauty in the story and its telling—sufficient to satisfy most female and male readers.
Thank you. The central character in Kiss Carlo is Nicky Castone, home from the war, back driving a cab in South Philly, engaged to Peachy DePino, and terrified that he is making all the wrong choices with his life. I began with the intention of writing a novel about how Nicky was mothered by every woman in his life- and it turned out to be a novel about seeking your bliss. Though, I’m sure, as you’re reading, you see the narrative ribbon of maternal pride, control and love through Hortense, Aunt Jo, Mamie and Peachy. It’s all there. And if men choose to pick it up- they’ll find a feast of meaning.
(Have Charles Bukowski’s poem “Bluebird” in mind in pleading the Fifth about whether this interviewer had tears in his eyes upon reading one or two book scenes involving Kiss Carlo character Mrs. Hortense Mooney.) This novel is historical fiction, opening in 1949. South Philadelphia and Roseto, Pennsylvania are major locales. Italian-American life in those communities, as it was in the ‘40s and ‘50s, comes alive in its pages. The book is rich in references, specific and accurate. Adriana, what research did you do?
I am a devoted and thorough reader when I do research- I also seek out folks who were alive during the period which I am living in (imaginatively of course). I find the combination of studying autobiographies of the period, culture, fashion, style, politics and religion of the time are inspiring and helpful. I walk in the steps of the characters, which spiritually gives me something tangible to feel, which leads me to feeling that there is something to do, which in turn makes me feel that I am there, in that world in 1949. For someone who wouldn’t know a Pontiac from a Ford in real life, I become a car nut when I’m writing fiction. I get heavily invested in cars. In terms of fashion, I become obsessed with a particular article of clothing- in Kiss Carlo, it was hats for women and for men. But, once I’ve had my fill of facts and stories and photographs, I put everything aside and let the characters take me into the world of their lives, and it’s as real to me as the one I’m living in at this moment. That’s the magic of writing novels, if there is any pixie dust at all to this process.
I really imbed in the locations of my books. Roseto, Pennsylvania and Roseto Valfortore, Italy are places of origin for my father’s father and my dad, and his family and for me- so I am eager to write about places I know intimately. South Philly is a bouquet of memories- as we had cousins who lived there, and as children, my parents brought us there- so it was a glamorous place to me, exotic. My grandfather’s life resonated in this story, in ways that I can’t even calculate- I did a lot of holding his pipes and inhaling the scents of his Blackjack tobacco, not much left in the pouch, but enough to inspire me to press ahead.
Oh, and I’m thrilled you had a few tears while reading. It’s what I hope will happen- that you are moved emotionally while reading my books- that’s the highest compliment you can pay me.
The work and challenges of a fictional South Philadelphia Shakespeare-producing theater are depicted in Kiss Carlo. I imagine that writing about theater in this novel, had much personal resonance for you given your earlier involvement with theater and your continuing experience as a literary artist. If so, please tell us about it.
Well, I began as a playwright, and imagine I will always be one. The world of the theater is one of my favorites to write about, as I know it intimately, and am at home there. The theater holds two important things for me- its familiarity and its possibility. I am at home in any theater. A blank space is heavenly to me. The possibilities, which come in the process, are endless and surprising. I bring the theater, the discipline of it, to every aspect of my life and work. When I write novels, I am longing to be in the theater, but I use the tools I learned there in the novels- hopefully giving my reader a sense of scope, with lush stage pictures and good dialogue to keep them dazzled by the storytelling. That’s my hope.
Of the characters in Kiss Carlo, which do you most identify with?
All of them.
Why?
I have to understand what motivates every character so each one feels alive, on a journey and indispensable. Each character must be built from the soul outward. I see them and hear them each in their own voice, with their own particularity. Each character has to be completely new, I believe that’s one of the reasons that readers continue to pick up my books. I aim to keep things fresh.
You’ve been publishing a book a year since your first novel was released. Has this routine unfolded organically? If not, what drives it? How do you manage to be so creatively prolific?
I believe there are no limits to the power of the imagination. The hardest aspect is the sitting for hours on end- but I have learned to counter that with physical movement, which helps. I am prolific because I don’t know how much time I have. Fear drives me, Steven. Fear has always driven me, and I imagine, when I get to the end, it will evermore. I am working on not being afraid of dying. Both of my parents were resplendent in the transition from life to death, so I have my work cut out for me!
You are in the midst of a book tour for Kiss Carlo. Do you write while touring?
I write poetry while touring. I work in other forms when I’m on the road. I meet old and new friends and it’s a wonderful mix of visiting the past and living in the present which makes me want to come up with beautiful ways to write about them and the experiences of the road, so I do it in verse. Now, I’m not saying this poetry is any good, but it is writing!
What are optimal writing conditions for you?
Quiet. Solitude. Good tools. Pens. Legal pads. Notebooks. I’m surrounded by books. I have a big table. Bright sunlight. My office. Bliss!
What is your writing schedule like and how disciplined are you in keeping to it?
I’m very disciplined. I let fear dictate my schedule- I keep to my contracts, which I use as my own checks and balance system. I have to work seven days a week. The heft of the hours is during the week- usually a full 8 hour workday. Weekends- lighter but I read and re-read and edit.
What stimulates your creativity?
I want to describe everything to my reader- people, the soup a character eats, the patina of the fabric on the chair upon which she sits, the scent in the air- so life really stimulates my creativity. But so does sleep- and my dreams, and the longing of what never can be, never will be, but must live somewhere, so it winds up in my books because it has to- because it is on fire within my imagination fuels my storytelling, therefore my creativity. When I write, a character can sweep me into a time and place where life is lush, or perhaps awful, but I am there, and that grows my imagination in ways I can’t explain, but dictates my desire to keep at it, to get better, to write more in order to connect more deeply with the reader.
Does the writing process sometimes intrude while you are engaged in social and other non-solitary activities?
Any writer will tell you, you can never turn it off. The work plays like a tune in your head, all day and all night. I can be walking around and something in the moment will trigger an idea, and suddenly, I’m off. My husband recognizes “the signs.” I talk to myself sometimes. I tap my fingers as if it’s Morse Code for later, when I can record an idea on paper. It sounds intrusive, but I’ve been this way all of my life- there’s the world in front of me, and the world inside me- and they co-exist until one takes precedence over the other, but they are always operating in tandem.
Some writers feel that discussing works in progress dissipates creative energy. Do you feel that way?
Sometimes. I don’t talk about works in progress much because when I have, they never end up to be what I’ve shared- and then it becomes, whatever happened to- and that’s just annoying.
What can you tell us about your current writing project?
It’s a big epic about two people who find each other and try to make a life together.
What supports you emotionally in your work as a writer?
I consider my work as a writer a job of service. I’m here to make readers laugh and cry and connect. I’m not interested in writing books that amuse me, but reach her, the person who picks one of my books up and is looking to be transported from this reality to another one. I want her to immerse herself in a story waiting that will hopefully enchant, amuse, delight and lift her out of her responsibilities, grief and disappointments and into a place and time that has nothing to do with this weary world. So, I guess, I am emotionally supported by my reader, who needs me to give her a good book to read.
How satisfying is your writing life?
I am so very blessed and so very, very lucky. I never dread my job- I go to it with all I’ve got, still as eager today as I was the first time I wrote a story when I was 11. I like the process. It’s not easy, but I’m not one for ease, I prefer a challenge. Writing has fed my intellect, grown my imagination and fueled my faith. I have no complaints about it- not one.
Do you have any regrets about being a writer?
The sitting is tough. But, I saw a commercial on TV where there’s a desk that goes up and down and you can stand and write. I might try that gizmo. But I don’t have any regrets about writing other than the sitting.
What are some of the most gratifying things readers have said to you during the Kiss Carlo book tour?
You’ve got me with this question. As much as I take delight in having made you weep a couple times while reading the book, I wish I could share what my readers give me- in terms of their own experiences and points of view and passion for life without weeping myself- but too late. I’m crying. I have a deep loyalty to my readers. They’ve been with me nearly twenty years now, and it’s an abiding relationship in my life- author and reader, that just grows ever deeper with each book. There’s a shorthand and an honesty- when my reader doesn’t like something, she is vocal about it. When she connects and loves something- she can’t wait to tell me. I have found more sisters on the road, more honorary aunts and grandmothers, muses and inspirations, angels and teachers through these books, than I could have ever dreamed of, or imagined. They have given me everything, therefore I owe them everything.
My mother Ida Bonicelli Trigiani was a librarian, and she taught me to revere the written word, to respect authors, and honor the library. After she died, I realized that it was she that had planted this sense of wonder in me, not only about life, but about books and the people that read them. I had several tour stops after her death in August of 2017, two in fact, a few days after her funeral- in libraries. Of course, they offered to cancel the events- but I needed to be with readers in the library- my friends, my girls- it was their strength and wisdom that pulled me through- and like good friends do, we laughed and remembered- they remembered their moms and I talked about mine, and we connected and connected and connected. And God willing and the creek don’t rise, we always will.
Information about Adriana Trigiani is available at: http://adrianatrigiani.com.
Posted Nov. 3, 2017
Great color choice for the wheelbarrow in a 16-word poem by William Carlos Williams
By Steven Brodsky
… W.C. Williams chose red—an excitatory and perfect color for the wheelbarrow in the poem “The Red Wheelbarrow.”
Had he chosen any other color, the poem’s effectiveness would be greatly diminished.
Read or recite the poem from memory with a different color for the wheelbarrow and check this out for yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqIl3oX_44s&ab_channel=awetblackbough
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45502/the-red-wheelbarrow
Posted 8-19-21
A Conversation With Willy Vlautin, Author of ‘Don’t Skip Out on Me’
By Steven Brodsky
Willy Vlautin is an artist of integrity and intensity. Readers of his books and those familiar with his songs from his work with the bands Richmond Fontaine and The Delines know this. Willy is the author of The Free, Lean on Pete, Northline, The Motel Life, and the just-released Don’t Skip Out on Me. A movie adaptation of Lean on Pete is days away from its theatrical release; it’s aptly named Lean on Pete. I’ve long wanted to see Lean on Pete transformed into a movie. In a 2010 radio interview with Willy, expressed my admiration for the book and told him of my hope that it would one day morph into a movie. That hope has been realized.
My invitation to Willy to do this Entertainment, Culture and More interview was overdue—mea culpa, dear readers.
The releases of Don’t Skip Out on Me and the movie Lean on Pete are practically concurrent (and exciting). Willy, how are you staying grounded?
Ha, it’s pretty easy to stay grounded because nothing much ever changes with me. I just hide out and work on my novels and songs. Sometimes I do alright at it and other times I don’t. I also have three horses and, man oh man, they keep you humble.
The central character of Don’t Skip Out on Me, Horace Hopper, is a heroic and tragic figure. Abandoned by his parents, he seeks to disidentify from his Paiute and Irish roots. He fabricates a Mexican persona and leaves Nevada ranch life to pursue “greatness” as a professional boxer. Negative self-image and accompanying doubts travel with him on his journey, though he’s buoyed and guided by principles of a self-help book. How did this character come to you?
I’ve always been interested in identity. One of the questions in the book asks, is Horace Native American or Irish? Does he have to be either? What is he? Maybe genetically he’s part Native American and Irish but he has no ethnic community or culture to fall back on, to guide him. He, like so many Americans, is a combination of things. After a few generations the old ethnic culture and identity begin to fade. It can get lonelier and more isolating. When we meet Horace, he’s just a lonely young man who likes heavy metal and is in love with the ideal of Mexican boxers. He was raised to be ashamed of himself and he sees the ideal of the Mexican boxer as a way out. He’s desperate enough to think he can change his identity to become Mexican and desperate enough to believe in a self-published self-help book called THE B.O.A.T –Believe, Overcome, Aspire, Triumph. Building the Champion Inside You.
As to where he came from, well I’m a lot like that kid. I never felt like I fit and I was always looking for a quick fix solution. I was always sure there had to be an easy way to fix myself without having to look inward. Becoming someone else was always such a great dream. And I admired Mexican boxers because they are so damn tough and I ain’t tough. So it all just sorta fell into place.
Where did you acquire knowledge of desert ranching?
I asked around some, read some, and watched from afar quite a bit. I have been in love with the high deserts of the West for most of my life so learning about that segment was a joy. I wrote the first section of the book thinking of Robert Laxalt, the great Basque Nevadan writer. His father was a sheepherder and Robert Laxalt wrote about their experience in THE SWEET PROMISED LAND. So that first section in DON’T SKIP OUT…is for him.
And of the kind of boxing world that Horace entered into?
I’ve followed boxing on and off for years, since I was a kid. I subscribed to The Ring magazine for years and I’ve always read about it even when I’m off going to fights. Plus, it’s hard to be a boxing fan in the NW. Not a lot of fights happening. But when I first came to Portland there was a decent Golden Gloves boxing community. I’d always go to those matches and while there I’d see the great Portland writer Katherine Dunn in the back, always in dark sunglasses and always writing about whichever fight she saw. She was so damn cool. Just the best. As a fan of novels about boxing, I’d always wanted to write one myself and this one’s it.
Isolated ranching work and solitary time of the writing life have similarity. How conscious were you of this when you were writing Don’t Skip Out on Me?
The idea of loneliness and isolation are themes in the book. I think nearly every character deals with loneliness. Some are literally isolated like Victor and Pedro, some are in self-imposed isolation like Mrs. Reese, some are stuck like Mr. Reese, and some are isolated by shame and self-hatred like Horace. I’m not sure I ever thought of it connected to writing but it’s probably in there somewhere although I got to say I never get tired of loneliness of writing. I never mind that part.
Mr. Reese, a sheep rancher, is the kind of person that many people will wish they had in their own upbringings. Was there a prototype for Mr. Reese in your own life?
He’s fictional. I wish I’d known a guy like that. If I had I probably wouldn’t be a haggard wreck of a writer/musician! My idea with him was, can a decent good old man save a failing, dented young man? There’s such a cost for scarring up a kid the way Horace has been scarred up. Even the love of this old couple who want to give Horace all their possessions and their hearts can’t beat Horace’s scars. Even the decency and dedication Mr. Reese shows to Horace might not be enough to save the kid.
When writing, what is the degree to which you emotionally engage with the experiences of your characters?
I always write them for myself, so I’m invested. Writing these stories help get me through. Being around Mr. Reese reminds me to be kind and decent and being around Horace inspires me to try to be my own sorta champion. Here’s this kid who doesn’t self-destruct under his pain but tries to be a champion. He tries the best he can, for who he is, to rise above his situation and the pain he’s in.
What was most challenging about Don’t Skip Out on Me?
The boxing and the ranching were the two hard parts of the book. Later on, it became a struggle to let Horace be Horace. I liked the guy so much that it was hard to let him make some of the decisions he’d eventually make. I knew he’d make them but it was hard to take. In general, all novels are difficult. They always start out easy and then slowly I seem to beat out the easiness and they become a real struggle to finish.
What flowed most easily?
Ha, the same things that were hard, the ranching and the boxing! I loved writing both those things, they’re just hard to get right.
A soundtrack for Don’t Skip Out on Me, by your band Richmond Fontaine, is downloadable for book buyers. Speak to us about the soundtrack.
All my novels start as songs. I’ll write a few tunes about a general idea and sometimes that will get me going on a book. But after that phase I usually stop writing songs set in the world of the book. It was different with DON’T SKIP OUT ON ME. It just felt like music from the very first page. It’s a story dipped in melancholy, and I think because of that the instrumental songs appeared with each chapter. When I got the novel into working shape I gave a copy of the book to each of the guys in RF. We’d quit playing by then but we are all pals and they were nice enough to do it. It was so damn fun. I brought in around 20 pretty rough instrumentals and the guys tricked them out. We rehearsed harder than we had in a while and knocked out the record pretty quick at a great studio here in Portland called Flora. My hope has been that after you’ve read the novel you’ll sometimes listen to the soundtrack and the characters and the world of the novel will come back to you. They will stay alive a bit longer.
Were you present during the filming of Lean on Pete? (Lean on Pete is the second movie adaptation of a Willy Vlautin novel.)
They were nice enough to let hang around as much as I wanted. I checked out some of the race scenes and a couple others. I had a friend who was working on the movie too, so all in all it was a good time. But in the end, it’s not my project and I didn’t want to get in anyone’s way so I didn’t stay around too much.
Have you given thought to writing a sequel to any of your novels?
Sometimes I think about writing about Frank Flannigan from THE MOTEL LIFE and maybe I will someday. There are side characters I’d also like to write more about. Earl Hurley from THE MOTEL LIFE and Lonnie Dixon from LEAN ON PETE and DON’T SKIP OUT ON ME. But that’s about it. I will leave Charley Thompson from LEAN ON PETE alone and let him live with his aunt in Laramie forever, and Allison Johnson I just want her to be alright in Reno with Dan Mahony so I won’t mess with her again. Both her and Charley are too beat up and if I continue to write about them they’ll just get more banged up.
What might your next novel be about?
I have a few things I’m working on but I’m just not sure which one will be the right one.
You’ve been author touring Don’t Skip Out on Me. (This Harper Perennial release is Willy’s first hardcover book.) Where has this tour taken you and what have you most enjoyed about it?
I’ve been driving around the West and I love that. I drive myself so I stop wherever I want and explore little towns and take pictures. I listen to music and audiobooks all day. It’s pretty nice and the West is so amazing. I could spend my life driving it and never get bored. And then at night I stop by a bookstore and get to be in a room with people who love books. So it ain’t bad, except bookstores don’t have beer and I end up buying a trunk full of books.
Willy Vlautin’s website address is: http://willyvlautin.com/.
Posted 3-29-18