The Writer June 2013

As we worked on this issue of The Writer, a fascinating theme emerged. Of course, our primary theme is always craft. But as the stories you’re about to read took shape, we witnessed another idea surfacing: influence. That’s a powerful word in our field because it encompasses so many elements. For writers, influence derives from foundational family settings, early exposure to reading, educational access, input from editors, cultivation of senses, fascination with language. The list is long, and much of it is unknowable. In the larger creative world, we call these markers “cultural influencers” – like the visionaries who nudge community life forward in its progress. For our purposes, we might think of influence, combined with talent, as the driving force behind what we do. Consider Vaddey Ratner, whose story…

In 1985, I moved to Brooklyn. The residents were primarily workers at the Domino Sugar factory down the street, as well as junkies, prostitutes and the Satmar Hasidim. Adjacent to the rusting Williamsburg Bridge was this blonde, 24-year-old lesbian making her entry into a dream of the New York City writer’s life. The words “dream” and “dreaming” have many connotations. To dream of your future is to envision it, as I was envisioning my writing life. To dream of making the world a better place is to keep the hope for justice high in our sights. “Dreaming” can also mean the fantasizing we sometimes illicitly allow ourselves during daytime. To dream at night, and to remember, is to have an open window to our unconscious and imagination. It turned out…

In Polishing Your Prose: How to Turn First Drafts into Finished Work, sibling writers Steven M. Cahn (a professor of philosophy) and Victor L. Cahn (a professor of English) present 10 principles for effective composition and then scrutinize three extended paragraphs with tips on how to improve them. In the conclusion, the authors acknowledge that editing is not a straightforward activity. “The process of writing and rewriting is unending,” they warn. “Careful writers can tinker forever, so that anyone who vows to submit only a perfect manuscript is doomed to despair.” Before you hit the despair wall, consider the Cahns’ 10 tips and get polishing. 1. Use concrete subjects and verbs. 2. Avoid too many adverbs and adjectives. 3. Avoid jargon and bombast. 4. Avoid redundancy. 5. Use transitions to…

Michael Thomas Michael Thomas’s debut novel Man Gone Down follows a young African American father’s struggle to keep his family together. It won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Thomas is also the author of the forthcoming family history The Broken King, which examines the lives of the males in his family from the reconstruction era through the civil rights movement and up to the present day. Thomas’ work often focuses on themes of racial identity, class and the roles fulfilled in society by African American men. What’s the most important thing you’ve learned about writing? I’ve learned that I take longer to write things than I think I can. I don’t budget enough time for drafts and fine editing. I don’t write under pressure as well as I thought…

James Joyce’s Ulysses, widely considered the greatest novel of the 20th century, follows Dubliner Leopold Bloom on a single day, June 16, 1904 – known to the literary world as Bloomsday. Three writer-educators talk about lessons from the masterpiece. “Ulysses is a vast compendium of human experience. All styles are there, all emotions. A writer can learn everything from it, as long as he or she is not afraid of it. It’s a daunting work at first, but it reveals that beauty can be slowly released through difficulty. It is the greatest novel of our times.” – Colum McCann, author of the forthcoming novel TransAtlantic “James Joyce’s Ulysses is the old and new brought together (‘Make it new!’ screamed Ezra Pound from the rooftops). It is the return home, the…

After his home was battered by Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, Scott Kaplan of New York took The Writer on a much needed getaway to the Turks and Caicos Islands. Kaplan writes screenplays and short stories when off-the-clock as president of a fitness center. Writer Joni M. Fisher’s trip to Key West, Fla., naturally included a visit to Ernest Hemingway’s house, where she paused to read the latest issue. “While the spring break crowds began their morning pub crawl, we took in a tour,” she said. WHERE DO YOU READ THE WRITER? Send a photo of yourself and a short description of the location to tweditorial@madavor.com.…