Impressions: Two Recent Reads: "The Virgin Suicides" by Jeffrey Eugenides & "Amulet" by Roberto Bolaño

“The Virgin Suicides” by Jeffrey Eugenides

He’s been referred to as a “literary rock star” recently upon the release of his new novel “The Marriage Plot.”  “The Virgin Suicides” is his 1993 debut.  Coming from the same generation of writers as Jonathan Franzen and David Foster Wallace, Eugenides has his own style and way of story telling.  This novel’s unique feature is the use of the “first person plural” which I found was done very well.  The story, essentially, is about a group of boys (now men, looking back) at a string of suicides among the daughters of the Lisbon family.  Little by little we learn more and more about the inner dynamics of this family and little by little the more weird and bizarre it becomes.  Essentially a story about dysfunction in American suburbia (here, specifically, the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan), this is  theme that has been written about many times before but Eugenides finds a way to make it his own.  Not a bad novel by any means but I didn’t think it was a great one.  A coming of age story that definitely has the stamp of a particular generation on it, which made it easy to relate to (although the characters in this tale would have been a little older than me.)  It’s a novel that I enjoyed enough to want to explore his later work. 

Rating:  * * * 1/2 

“Amulet” by Roberto Bolaño 

From Chile, Roberto Bolaño’s novels keep coming out every six months or so, making it virtually impossible to keep up with them.  Most of his work has been released posthumously and its a shame the world lost this writer as early as they did because he is simply brilliant.  “Amulet” is about a student trapped in the bathroom at a Mexican university on that fateful day in 1968 when the military and police stormed in and gunned down many of the protesting students there.  While trapped alone for twelve days, she reminisces on her life and the people she had known, all writers and poets.  There is a lot of references to Latin American literature here and a knowledge of those books and authors would help appreciate this novel more but it isn’t absolutely necessary.  A highly charged account of a certain time and place and a celebration of youth rebellion and idealism.  Highly recommended.  

Rating:  * * * * *  

Sometimes All Good Things Come to an End: The Art of the Purge (Part 2)

Sometimes all good things come to an end.  Sometimes you also have to clean house, get rid of the dead wood so to speak, or the toxic elements that contaminate your peace, or your creativity, or simply your day to day life.  I don’t mean to sound like a self-help guru here right now, but despite what my opinions may be of that whole thing, sometimes truths come from all places, even if one doesn’t necessarily admire the place where it comes from.  At any rate, the purging continues and it’s time to move on.  

What am I talking about?  For the past five years I’ve regularly contributed articles, essays, stories and poems to a certain website that had once been a hell of a lot of fun to be a part of.  The group there was amazing and I’ve met (albeit most of them virtually) some amazingly talented and thoughtful people there.  What was great about the site was its free form attitude.  You could basically write just about anything, and lord knows I did, from politics to religion to art, writing, books, conspiracy theories, current events and/or just things that amused me, things I know that a lot of people simply didn’t really care about.  Nevertheless it was an excellent platform, great exposure (I had been ranked no. 4 on the site - if that really means anything) and I had a hell of a lot of views (how many were bots rather than actual people, I don’t know; how many actually read the articles, etc, I don’t know) but the numbers were impressive, at least to me.  It was a great thing for a lot of different writers, all who had something unique to say, something interesting to contribute.  Sadly, that day has come to an end and I am no longer associated with this website.  It was my own choosing - voluntary - and it feels sort of liberating.  

Without getting into any specifics, I will just say my reasons for leaving were strictly personal and no other explanation will be given.  I was never treated badly there.  In fact, things went rather well over the years.  I was able to write what I wanted and most of these pieces (though not all) were usually accepted for inclusion.  Oh, occasionally I’d get some nasty comments from people - usually the wing nuts from the Right who couldn’t just simply disagree, they had to cause an all out war - but that’s part of the game.  I get it.  This is not the reason why I chose to break with the site either.  I always welcomed a spirited debate (even if some of the “debate” was merely belching out talking points.)  Most of the writers on the site were often encouraging, critical sometimes, but that was the point, and there was this sense of common purpose and friendship from people spanning all over the globe - and I’ve met some great people there, people I will call friends, though I never met them face to face.  So let’s just say some of these friends weren’t being treated with the respect they deserved and I, in good conscience, could no longer be a part of a site that would treat people I call and consider friends in the manner in which it did.  My break is total and complete.  All links have been broken, all posts pointing you there have been purged, and for those of you who have been following this blog the past two years, if you haven’t read any of the articles I’d written there, well, you’re out of luck.  110 articles went along with my departure.  (For those who had links to there, don’t worry since I know most of the time  you would post them on your own websites and blogs, so I simply went back and re-linked your projects and articles there instead.)  

Now I’m not naïve enough or egotistical enough to believe that ‘everyone’ was hanging on everything I ever wrote (I know that most people I know never read a word of it) but after five years and over 155,000 views, I got to figure someone had.  Maybe one day I’ll repost some of these articles here on this blog, but to be honest, many of them are dated, since they were written about the news of the time, others are just experiments gone awry and others are probably best left forgotten anyway.  In other words, it’s no great loss to me personally to no longer have these pieces available.  But I can, at any time, put them out or repost them or do whatever I like with them at any time I choose.  The beauty of being an independent author.  Who knows, perhaps one day I’ll collect some of them as a book of essays - even if I’m the only one who ever reads it - for posterity purposes.  

Well, apparently an exodus has begun there and many of the writers I came to admire and call friends are also jumping ship.  That’s got to send a message and it also shows the strength of the bonds that were created there among a lot of the writers.  And that’s the only positive I see coming out of all this.  It’s a sad situation, really and no one truly wanted to go - but circumstances allowed each of these talented and friendly writers to make up their own minds.  Some will probably stay and that’s fine too.  We each have our own reasons for doing things.  But for me, personally, I could no longer be a part of it.  There’s enough drama in one’s life.  Who needs it in the virtual world as well?  

I’m still in contact with those writers I refer to and we all are supportive of one another - the way it used to be there - so it just goes to show you that sometimes you have to do what you think is right and things will work themselves out in another way - and sometimes that way is more rewarding and meaningful.  


Onward...

The Lonely Pursuit

“The first truth about being a writer is this: Two percent of your readers will think you suck; two percent will think you're God; and 96 percent will not give a shit either way.” - Scott Morgan, 10 Essential Truths of Writing. 

This says more than one will ever know.  It’s often been said - and said to me by many of my writer friends over the years - that writing is often a very lonely pursuit.  One is usually, but not always, holed up at home, trying to get the word down, more often than not, shut away from the world - that is, if one is really serious about what they are doing and puts in the time and the effort.  I suppose this is the reason why you can see many writers hunched over their laptops and writing pads in the local Starbucks or other coffee shops around the city; it’s a way to get oneself out of the damn apartment and be amongst the living every once and a while.  I get it.  I’ve done it myself many times.  This first ‘essential truth’ is something that resonated with me personally because it simply is the truth and I think there are many others out there who would agree.  

Hence, we sometimes form writer’s groups, essentially to be around people but more importantly to be around people who share your passion for writing.  Getting critiques or help with your project is only part of it.  It’s the human interaction that is really the core here, and again, it makes sense.  The hugely successful Chuck Palahniuk reportedly still attends his weekly writing group, even after all these years and his enormous success.  But it’s not always easy to put one of these together so some will join writing workshops or take writing classes somewhere.  It’s a way to break out of this self-imposed cocoon we spin around ourselves.  I’m sure it’s the same for other creative pursuits as well, except for maybe music, since you are usually working together with other people consistently, playing shows, rehearsing in a studio, going to gigs.  The only outlet for the writer is to attend readings or join a writer’s group - and to find one where people are genuinely interested in what others in the group are doing.  It’s not easy.  

In my own experience, I find this first ‘essential truth‘ to be very poignant.  I can’t count how many people I know personally who don’t even know that I write in the first place; they don’t know that I have had (if I may toot my own horn a bit) poetry published in over 40 magazines and journals throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe, 9 poetry books published, three novels and well over 100 articles written for various websites over the years.  Sometimes it really can be a thankless pursuit and a very lonely one at times.  

But yet we still persevere, we still do this, despite it seemingly being done in a vacuum.  Why this is I suppose depends on the individual but I think most of us believe in ourselves enough to know that it may reach at least one person out there, make them relate to what you are writing about, perhaps just simply be entertained by what you are doing -  but I think the essential reason why we do this is because we feel we have to, much like a musician must play his or her instrument, a painter must attack that blank canvas with his or her paint, a photographer must document that unique vision that they see with their eye.  It’s all part of it and for those who are not engaged in it in any way, shape or form, have a hard time relating to this need.  But you will do it anyway, regardless, even if the closest people around you simply don’t get it or want to get it or even are dismissive of you.  

Then there are those times when you get that message from someone you don’t know, someone who has been watching what you have been doing without you even realizing it.  They will send you an encouraging email or blog comment, or go out of their way to contact you simply to tell you that they really enjoyed what you did, or maybe even buy, read and enjoy one of your books.  It may be one out of ten thousand but that one makes you sit back and notice that it is worth all the time and effort you are putting into the thing you love.  We’d do it anyway, even if absolutely no one cared - and the law of averages dictate that someone will.  It’s an interesting psychology at work.  In the end, we do it for the love of it; and in the face of so much indifference from others, why would you?  

So persevere, my friends.  Keep at it.  You just don’t know who’s lurking about or who you're connecting with; even only one is an accomplishment in and of itself at times.  The trick is to remember the reason why you do what you do.  It’s for the love of doing it and the joy it brings.  It’s important to maintain some semblance of a life, and I am very fortunate to have a wonderful circle of friends and family around me, so it’s not all self-imprisonment.  Don’t cut yourself off completely from the outside world (being involved with life will only help you as a writer) but if you are surrounded by those who have no faith in you and are constantly trying to discourage you - as the American novelist Ray Bradbury once said, “it’s time to find new friends.”  

Scott Morgan's 10 Essential Truths of Writing

I just wanted to take the time to direct you all to this great blog post from Scott Morgan on his blog Write Hook.  The post is called “The 10 Essential Truths of Writing” that I think that anyone who writes will be able to relate to.  I thought this post was great and thought I’d share it.  And while you’re there, give Scott some props for writing such a thoughtful piece.  

Impressions: "Outer Dark" by Cormac McCarthy

Fucking brilliant.  What else can I say?  This novel positively blew my mind.  There are some similarities between this and his last novel “The Road” but stylistically it is very different.  McCarthy paints a very very bleak and dark world here, even more so than his last novel to date.  The story here is very simple but it’s what is lying underneath that makes this the brilliant novel that it is.  Heavily existential with many allusions to Greek myth and the Bible, and its “Faulkner-esque” prose is nothing short of astonishing.  There is a lot going on here and one will have to be a little bit on their toes to get it all.  Simply one of the most dark and disturbing novels I have read in a long time and it quickly shot into my top 10 as soon as I finished it, leaving me speechless in the process.  This is one true example of how great a work of fiction can be - and also, as one who writes himself, how it can easily make one feel truly inadequate.  But we all can’t be Cormac McCarthy.  I am beginning to believe what a lot of critics have been saying for a long time now (although I rarely rely on any critic’s opinion):  Cormac McCarthy is truly one of, if not the best, of America’s living novelists.  If you are only familiar with his later material (as I was until I read this) do yourself a favor and read this.  It will leave you speechless.  

Rating:  * * * * *  

Compartmentalized: Forget Labels and Just Do It

Has concern over what you are doing ever hold you back?  What I mean by this is does the penchant for everything to be labeled, boxed and categorized ever give you pause, make you second guess whatever it is you are trying to do?  Unfortunately, in the arts, everything has a tendency to be labeled, boxed and categorized.  Especially in literature.  I think it was Stephen King who once remarked that the categories we see regarding fiction is more so that the bookstores know what shelf to put you on.  In a way, I know what he means, but with all the glut of material available to any one of us, I suppose its a necessary thing in order to make it easier to find something but I understand what he means in spirit.  Naturally, there is no “wrong” way to approach this.  Some people are very specific about what they want to write about:  Romance, Horror, Science Fiction, Mysteries, Literary - not to mention all the other genres and sub-genres that come along with it.  We all have our chosen path, our chosen “genre” we wish to work in and usually along with that, our chosen audience.  

When I first started writing poetry, what I was doing wasn’t exactly poetry in the classical sense - Shelly, Byron, T.S. Eliot, Blake, etc.  It was more informed by the free verse, Beat and Avant-garde poetry I was more familiar with.  To be honest, although I respected the classics for what they were, my own personal tastes moved me towards the moderns and the post-moderns.  So what I was doing was more informed by these writers and poets.  The same was true when it came to fiction.  It was the Beats and the Moderns, the Avant-garde and the Post-Moderns that truly spoke to me.  However, I enjoy all kinds of fiction.  My tastes run the gamut.  I’ve been influenced by everyone from Mickey Spillane and Raymond Chandler as much as I have been by Ernest Hemingway and Henry Miller.  

When I started writing fiction, in my own mind what I was trying to do was “Literary Fiction” because I was choosing not to write in any specific genre.  My first novel, “November Rust”, was fully informed by all the amazing books I had been reading up until that time, mostly highly literary stuff like Henry Miller, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Julio Cortázar, not to mention the old standbys Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski, John Fante and the rest of the Beat and post-Beat writers who did a lot of experimenting and wrote about things that were more “internal” than external.  I devoured these books - and hundreds of others - and I did what many writers do:  set out to write the type of book that I enjoyed reading.  In my mind, these influences show themselves - although I will not say it is as well written as my literary heroes - not even close - but this is what had informed me as I made the transition to a much longer form, a form, that I had never really attempted before and knew very little about in the truest sense.  But I enjoyed it, had fun doing it and creatively speaking, it satisfied this need I had and still have within me.  

Since then, my writing has taken a very different course, mostly because my reading has expanded dramatically and naturally different influences and ideas begin to work their way into the mix.  After some serious creative soul searching, I came to the conclusion that I was no longer going to worry about what label I wanted to impose on myself or what label others will feel inclined to impose on me - that is, whoever it is who decides to read me (and for those who have, I humbly thank you.)  I even stopped calling what I write “Literary Fiction” since what I have been doing as of late isn’t “Literary” in the truest sense of the term.  Literary Fiction, as I see it, is a lot of the time (but not always) more focused on how the story is told rather than the story itself.  It concerns itself with the mechanics of writing - the use of language, the allusions, the things that are “under the surface” so to speak.  While I use some of those techniques in what I do, my focus is more on the story itself, something that genre fiction tends to do (and is sometimes lambasted for.)  I’m not trying to write the “bestseller” but nor am I trying to write a true “literary masterpiece” in the truest sense (although if I happen to ever produce one, all the better.  I know I haven’t made my “Sgt. Pepper” just yet.)  Literary fiction informs what I do because that’s the kind of fiction that I tend to read the most but I wouldn’t call what I write Literary with a capital L.  So, I decided not to bother with labels and just do it, write what I want to write, say what I want to say within the confines of whatever story it is I want to tell, without it being as self-conscious as my debut.  And, most importantly, the type of story I am writing will dictate the form it takes.  I’m still learning, obviously, and there is a hell of a lot I still have to learn but I am always open (and this is why meeting and discussing writing with other writers is often a great thing since you are exposed to ideas and techniques you may not have been aware of.  I am thankful to have some people in my life who provide this for me.)  In the end, one must do what feels natural to them and whatever “genre” you chose to write in, just try to make it the best damn book you can write, no matter what category it is in.  Don’t worry about labels and just do the best you can - and bask in the sense of freedom it allows.

Short Story eBook: "Sangre"

My new short story eBook, “Sangre” is now available in both ePub and Kindle editions.  For more information, just follow the links.  

A Writer's View # 13: Cormac McCarthy

"Creative work is often driven by pain. It may be that if you don't have something in the back of your head driving you nuts, you may not do anything. It's not a good arrangement. If I were God, I wouldn't have done it that way. Things I've written about are no longer of any interest to me, but they were certainly of interest before I wrote about them. So there's something about writing about it that flattens them. You've used them up." - Cormac McCarthy 

Impressions: "True at First Light" by Ernest Hemingway

I make no secret that Ernest Hemingway is one of my all time favorite authors and a huge influence on me.  “True at First Light” was one of the posthumous novels, the last to be issued, in 1999, the centennial of the author’s birth.  It is vintage Hemingway - sort of a cross between “The Green Hills of Africa” and “A Moveable Feast.”  Billed as a “fictional memoir” there is more memoir here than fiction.  The narrator is a man named Ernest Hemingway who is in colonial Kenya with his wife Mary.  He is appointed Game Warden and is in charge of a camp that at the beginning of the novel is under threat of attack from the Mau Mau rebellion, members of which who had just escaped from prison and are making their way towards the camp.  But not too much is made of this, other than to illustrate the conflict between colonialism and native culture, which blends beautifully with the conflict within Hemingway’s and Mary’s marriage, which is the main thrust of the story.  There are digressions, reminisces about his Paris days, other writers, his own writing, and of course, big game hunting.  Throughout the first half of the novel, Mary is waiting to hunt down a lion that had been circling the camp for weeks - an obvious metaphor - but Hemingway doesn’t think she’s strong enough to kill the lion nor does he believe that she is technically capable due to her size and the fact that she had missed shooting other game many times.  Throughout the story, there are interactions with natives and colonial players, often giving a vivid portrait of the colonial era in east Africa; and the descriptions of the African savannah are simply beautiful.  He takes you there and you are there.  

All in all, not my favorite Hemingway “novel” but a damn good one.  Fans of Hemingway will absolutely love this.  It’s also interesting to note that considerable controversy surrounded the publication of this book.  Edited by Hemingway’s son Patrick, he was blasted for editing down what was originally a 800 page manuscript to a more “manageable” size.  His reasons for this, he says, was the bring more focus to the story, carving away all the asides and loose material in the original manuscript, reportedly, long passages blasting family and friends.  However, the integrity of the original manuscript was released a couple of years later - the entire text - under the title “Under Kilimanjaro.”  One day, I will get around to that, mainly to see how it originally read.  But I found nothing wrong with this truncated version of the story, which is was the bulk of this book focuses on.  

Rating: * * * * 1/2

Ambition is a Hell of a Thing

A recent article in the Sunday New York Times caught my attention.  It’s a great read.  It concerns a particular generation of writers, all of whom are very well known now, all of whom, apparently, wrestled with self-doubt about their work.  Nevertheless, each of them had very high ambitions and ambition can be a hell of a thing.  It is a great thing to have ambition, no matter what it is you want to achieve in life.  After all, without it, so many of the world’s great artistic works and great inventions would have never taken place.  A recent example of high ambition is the late Steve Jobs, who pretty much changed the world as we know it.  The downside to having high ambitions of course is whether or not you feel you are living up to your own expectations, and that could be a killer, a mental and emotional drain as you struggle to reach the heights you set for yourself.  Despite this down side, it’s a great thing to have.  If you have enough of it, nothing or no one can stop you.  We are not always guaranteed success, of course, but “success,” at least to me, is wholly dependent on how you personally define it for yourself.  The sad thing is that some people do achieve remarkable things but their ambitions are so high, they never feel they truly reached their goals, despite the great things they achieve on the road towards it.  The writers in this particular article are proof positive of this.  Despite achieving some amazing things, they were still plagued with self-doubt.  

Since this blog is essentially about my own personal experiences being a writer (as well as the subjects of writing and books in general) and being that I got my start as a musician and have been around many different artistic types throughout most of my 45 years on earth, it is increasingly clear to me that is is the writer who suffers from the plague of self-doubt more than any other artist and I always wondered why this is.  Sure, musicians, painters, actors, all of them suffer from a bout of self-doubt too, but from my experience, not as nearly as severe as the writer.  Lord knows, as a musician, I’ve had my share of self-doubt, but never as much as I did until I started to take writing more seriously and I had to ask myself that very same question:  Why?  Why did I have more confidence as a musician than I do as a writer?  I suppose it’s because music was always my first love, literally being immersed in it since I was a little boy.  Writing was something I always enjoyed doing but it always took a back seat to the music - a “Plan B” so to speak, in case the music thing didn’t pan out the way I always hoped it would.  A musician is putting himself out there as much as a writer does, or an actor, or a painter for that matter.  Why the distinct lack of confidence by comparison?  Interesting question that I haven’t been able to answer, really.  

My confidence as a writer has grown over the years, although I know I can be better than I currently am at the moment.  I have specific, personal creative goals I want to reach and with each work, with each try, I try to do better than the last work.  I’m still plagued with self-doubt but at the same time my ambitions as a writer has more to do with how well I can do it than it is than trying to be “better” than someone else.  Lord knows, I know that I won’t ever be “better” than my favorite writers (or just other writers in general who are quite gifted) but that doesn’t mean that I won’t stop trying to improve myself with each new project.  The more I learn, the more I try to incorporate into the work, much like I always did musically.  I have stories to tell and something I want to say within those stories and that is my main focus when I work.  Of course, if someone reads it and connects with it in some way, or can relate to it in some way and gets something from what I have done, all the better.  My goals is to not only entertain but to get ideas across that may make someone think about what it is I’m trying to say and to build an audience of readers who may have enjoyed it enough to want to come back again for the next work.  Not an easy task, even for those writers who’s ambitions were and are much higher than mine, as evidenced by how difficult it was for those mentioned in the referenced article.  In music, a record deal didn’t guarantee “success,” nor does a publishing deal, or any other deal depending on what road you chose.  It takes work and a lot of dedication to achieve something in the creative world and that also depends on what the goals are you set for yourself - and no path is the wrong one.  It’s very deeply personal.  I know many artists who are very talented people who are doing very interesting work but you most likely never heard of them or will in some cases.  That doesn’t take away from the power of their work and their achievement.  We are a culture that defines “success” based on fame and monetary gains.  Just think of how many people around the world there are who are doing amazing things that you will never hear of.  To me, these people are never “failures” because they are doing what they want to do; they are creating something, they have a goal and they are pursuing it and are not giving up.  Perhaps some of these folk, including myself, will never achieve the “fame” or “monetary” rewards for what we do but we are doing it, putting it out there, at the very least trying and we’re doing it because we love it.  We’re doing it because we have this compulsion to do it, this need to do it that others, who aren’t creative types, never fully understand.  Having enough ambition to keep at it because you believe in yourself is truly half the battle.  Self-doubt, enhanced by those who couldn’t really care less about your ambitions are what kills that ambition and you have to be strong enough to just keep fighting on, regardless.  It takes a hell of a lot of guts to put yourself out there, naked, exposed, open to all kinds of potential criticism and oftentimes, worse.  What helps sustain me is the fact that I am not trying to be “better” than the next guy.  I’m merely trying to be better than I was the last time out.  That’s enough of a goal to focus on.  If people like it along the way, even better.  

Creativity is a deeply personal thing so it’s easy to understand why one can and sometimes does take it very personally whenever they are met with criticism or indifference.  Not everyone you encounter will be this way.  But you have to keep at it, keep trying to reach whatever goal you set for yourself.  With the tens of millions of books and stories and songs and paintings and films and plays that are out there - and have already been out there - the trick is, at least as far as I see it, is to carve out your own niche, find a place for yourself within it all.  Perhaps you will be one of those who becomes someone of “prominence,” perhaps not.  Don’t allow others to define it all for you.  You decide what it is you want to achieve and then go out and do it - for better or for worse.

New eBook Short Story: "Rage Against the Dying of the Light"

My new eBook short story, “Rage Against the Dying of the Light” is now available in both ePub and Kindle editions.  This story originally appeared in BrooWaha. 

The Art of the Purge

Now that the year is nearing its end, I have to say that I found myself fairly productive.  Releasing two novels (“Nadería” and “Be Still and Know That I Am” - although both completed in 2010), a batch of short stories of which some found a home on some on-line sites and the beginning of my eBook short story series (“The Algerian in Room No. 4”, “Sahara”, and “Soon After the Fall”), and a couple of wonderful reviews and interviews done of which I am eternally grateful for, not to mention some of the really great people I’ve met and come into contact with over the past year, either personally or here on-line.  I’ve been exposed to some very interesting artists and their work and one can’t ask for more, really.  With absolutely no novels on the horizon (although I am currently working on one) it feels good clean out the closet so to speak and focus on new work.  There are numerous short stories that will be coming as eBook only releases well through the rest of the year and I have plans to write more over the coming weeks and months but there probably won’t be a novel on the horizon for the foreseeable future.  I’m not going to rush it.  Over all, things feel good and having some inspiration is always a good thing to keep one focused on the important things, despite the occasional nonsense that may rear its ugly head.  

Speaking of which, apparently there is something in the air.  There are a lot of unhappy people out there.  With the advent of the recent Occupy Wall Street protests here in New York City (and now in other cities around the nation) and the explosion of self-affirmation posts all over the social networking universe, its safe to say that there are many people out there who are looking for something new, something different in their lives.  It’s a noticeable trend.  Everywhere you look all you see are people posting things that seem to indicate that they are getting tired of the constant griping, sniping and pettiness people are throwing their way.  Makes sense, I suppose.  When is enough enough?  The world is rife with those who feel it is their duty to shit all over you.  The internet has certainly democratized things, giving just about everyone and anyone a platform to speak their minds about whatever they want.  Sadly, the political divisions and cultural divisions are also making itself very clear as well.  What the hell is going on?  

For artists and other creative people out there, the situation is really no different than it had ever been, except for the fact that it is much easier for you to put yourself out there and inevitably become target for some of the pettiness waiting to pounce.  It’s happened to me, it’s happened to other artists I know and it seems to be happening to everyone, in fact.  Give someone a platform, they’re sometimes waiting to pounce and destroy, since after all, everyone just knows their opinions on things are the “correct” and “only” ones, right?  Having been around artists, musicians, painters, writers, and others for most of my life, this is nothing new, of course.  It’s all part of the game.  The question is what are you going to do about it and how are you going to respond to it.  The best way is not to engage those who’s sole purpose is to destroy.  Destroying is easy.  Creating something is much harder.  Sadly, a lot of people take the easy road.  

Whatever is going on out there, the best advice I can give is to remain focused on the task at hand.  Not everyone is going to approve of you, but that’s their problem.  So long as you remain true to yourself and what you are trying to accomplish and you have the confidence to keep going, nothing can (or should) stop you.  No one said it would be easy.  But it seems some sort of “purging” has begun and I am all for that when those you are in contact with are a constant source of negativity.  It’s childish, petty and achieves absolutely nothing other than to make the perpetrators feel better about themselves.  Sure, one can have an opinion about your work - and it may not always be positive - but there is a difference between criticizing the work and attempting to destroy the person who is creating that work.  If you believe in yourself, keep moving forward.  For those who couldn’t care less at best, or constantly try to tear you down, at worst, there’s always the delete button.  End of story.  Simple. 

Impressions: "Collected Stories" by William Faulkner

A truly incredible collection of short stories.  Deep and sometimes emotional glimpses into post-Civil War southern life.  Not for the faint of heart or those who like their fiction sunny and light.  This is not to say there isn’t some lighthearted material here but the overwhelming majority of it is bleak but that’s what makes these explorations into moral uncertainties so powerful.  Not all the stories in the massive collection sat well with me (some of them I found boring, to be honest) but the majority of them resonated with me in a way that will last a lifetime, particularly “Barn Burning”, “Hair”, “The Tall Men”, (especially) “A Rose for Emily”, “Centaur in Brass”, “Dry September”, “Elly”, “Uncle Willy”, “That Evening Sun”, “Red Leaves”, and “Crevasse.”  These were, to me, the most powerful of them all.  But there were others.  

The majority, if not all of these stories, are far more straightforward than the experimentation you’ll encounter in “The Sound and The Fury”, and if you are one who hasn’t gotten around to reading Faulkner yet, this would be a great place to start.  He creates a whole world, often times with recurring characters and family histories that are written so well you feel you know them and you care about them and want to know more about them.  Add to the fact that his writing is simply amazing, particularly his use of symbolism and stream of consciousness style.  A contemporary of Hemingway, and often compared, I don’t really see too much of a comparison, being that their writing styles are so different from one another.  Faulkner is more lyrical, more willing to “let go” and allow the sentences to flow - although you won’t find those extremely long sentences that he is sometimes known for here.  There are similarities with Hemingway but the differences far outweigh the similarities.  

This collection is also great for those who have a keen interest in American history, particularly southern American history, and Faulkner takes you places that most never dreamed of.  After reading this collection, he has easily jumped up to the top of my list of favorite authors.  Simply incredible.  

Rating: * * * * 1/2   

Short Story eBook: Soon After the Fall

My new short story eBook, “Soon After the Fall” is now available in both ePub and Kindle editions.  Just follow the links.  This story originally appeared in IndieInk.