Give us a quick introduction on yourself and your book.
I
was a theater director most of my life and worked as an art dealer when
I couldn't make a living in theater. I ran an arts and social services
program for homeless families with children, as well as arts programs
for other disadvantaged youth. I started writing poetry in my teens,
then was totally absorbed in theater playwriting and translations of the
classics, Moliere, Aristophanes, Sophocles. My book, “Extreme Change”
is about a young family that flees crime and poverty in Detroit, for a
fresh start in New York City. After a landlord dispute, an arson fire
forces them into the nightmare of the homeless system. A determined
woman keeps her family together, makes interracial friends who unite to
survive the
system. They end up in a midtown Manhattan welfare hotel ruled by a
violent gang. They are menaced, then two of the women are abducted by
the gang, then daringly escape being raped and murdered. With nerve and
willpower they force the former landlord to give them apartments in the
East Village, where they excitedly start a new life.
What inspired you to write your first book?
The
first novel I wrote is the actually the fifth book to be published.
“Acts of Defiance”, to be published by Artema Press, came out of my
personal experiences growing up in the 40’s and 50’s, then living
through the turmoil of the 60’s. The book poured out in a passionate
rush recollecting what I went through.
Do you have a specific writing style?
The basis is story and character driven realism, with a step by step process of enrichment and revision.
How did you come up with the title?
It
seemed to characterize the extremes that the characters experienced
from early romance through personal disaster and homelessness.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
“Extreme
Change” is first and foremost a story to involve the reader with people
whose hopes are suddenly shattered, who then have to fight for
survival. I hope readers experience the emotional life of the
characters, who reflect the need never to give in to oppression.
How much of the book is realistic?
Much
of it. Some elements may be conjectural, but the events either could
happen, or have occurred, with fictional reconstruction. The homeless
sequence may be dramatic, but the reality is much grimmer, not very
uplifting.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
I've
lived and worked in diverse worlds, including theater, the art world,
homeless families, many more, so I have a store of material that I draw
on. Some of the homeless mothers I worked with showed incredible courage
in a system that crushed the spirits of the vulnerable.
What books have most influenced your life most?
“Look
Homeward Angel”, a fictional concerto that I read when I was a young
teen desperately hungering a better world and was swept away by the
rapturous prose. “In Dubious Battle”. an heroic, losing struggle against
wealthy oppressors reinforcing the knowledge that resistance must
always be doomed, but the fight to the end is man's noblest quality.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
John
Steinbeck - He looked into the heart of American life, with profound
emotional depth, created on a canvas that portrayed a fight for survival
by humble people, who would not quit.
What book are you reading now?
Don Quixote
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Jonathan
Franzen, if he is still considered a new writer, a brilliant wordsmith,
who extends the nature of American fiction to dazzling verbal
pyrotechnics.
What are your current projects?
I’m
editing my novel, “Acts of Defiance”, a story about two boys who meet
when they are 7, one wealthy, the other from the other side of the
tracks. They become best friends, tennis players, and have many
adventures together and have many adventures together as they develop
social consciousness and work to change their society, that will be
published by Artema Press. I’m finishing a poetry book, “Redemption
Value”, that explores different elements of society and the vast gaps
between the haves and have nots. I’m working on a new novel, “Enhanced
Life”, about Vampires working on behalf of humanity to preserve the
blood supply.
Do you see writing as a career?
It's certainly a constant preoccupation. It will be a career if I become well known.
If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
I would certainly correct any typos, other offenses, try not to refight the battle of the commas.
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
I
read at an early age to escape from some negative elements in my life,
Dickens, O Henry, De Maupassant, Shakespeare, devouring these wonderful
books. I started writing poetry in my early teens, imitating the British romantics, Byron, Keats, Shelley - it grew from that.
Can you share a little of your current work with us?
Here are two small excerpts from “Extreme Change”, recently published by Cogwheel Press:
***
Jaime
Perez crept up the fire escape as quietly as he could and stopped at
the third floor. He leaned over the guard rail to the kitchen window
that he had been told didn’t have a gate. He waited patiently to be sure
that no one on the street had noticed him, while vapor from the cold
steamed out of his mouth. He pressed his short, skinny, drug-ravaged
body against the wall until he felt ready, then he took a metal tool
from his pocket and stealthily pried the window open. He couldn’t hear
any sounds from the dark apartment, so he carefully slipped over the
rail and climbed inside. The landlord had assured him that they didn’t
own a dog, so although still alert, he began to relax. The landlord had
also carefully instructed him how to place paper next to the pilot light
of the stove, run a paper
strip to the nearest inflammable material and ignite it so it would
appear to be an accident. There was a cardboard cake box on a table next
to the stove and he ran the strip of paper to the box. He paused and
listened intently, his body a menacing hulk in the darkness, then
greedily opened the box. It was some kind of pound cake, not his
favorite, like chocolate or pineapple, but better than nothing. He broke
off a chunk with a gloved hand and stuffed it in his mouth, crumbs
dribbling on the floor.
The
landlord had insisted that he not take anything, but a piece of cake
didn’t count. Besides, the greedy pig would never know. Jaime needed a
hit on the crack pipe and the sugar from the cake would settle his
jangling nerves. He silently cursed the landlord for a moment. He knew
why the landlord wanted this family out. Then he could renovate the
apartment cheaply and triple the rent. When the tenants rejected what
must have been a low offer and other pressures failed, the landlord sent
for him. Jaime was known as ‘the torch’ to a few pitiless landlords on
the lower east side, whose lust for profit at the expense of decency was
aroused by gentrification. He could smell the paper by the pilot light
smoldering, so he lit a match, put it to the middle
of the paper strip and made sure it was burning both ways. Then he slid
out the window to the fire escape and closed it behind him.
***
Peter
and Beth saw the cop get out of the patrol car and beckon to them. They
were already getting used to bad news and they could tell from his
expression that more was coming.
They herded the children in front of them and as they approached, Peter asked the cop
apprehensively, "Did you find out how to help us?"
Coro was a little embarrassed, "Officer Warren and I’ll take you to an Emergency Assistance Unit."
Peter was confused. "What’s that?"
"It’s a temporary shelter and they’ll take care of you until you make other arrangements."
"Where is it?" Beth asked.
"The Bronx."
"The
Bronx? I don’t want to go there," Peter blurted. "I’ve heard that it’s
full of drug dealers and gangs. That’s why we left Detroit, to get away
from that element."
"There are a lot of nice places in the Bronx. You’ll be all right," Coro said.
***
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
The
need for more art in the work process. I tend to be involved with
several projects at once. I have to make sure I am giving each project
my best and thorough attention. In “Extreme Change” I explore that
juncture where humanity meets the inhumane, which we know happens to
other people, but could happen to any of us. The challenge is writing on
the hard edge of realism, without sinking into overwhelming graphic
depiction that distracts from the character life.
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
John
Steinbeck has a great sense of the evil men do to others, and the
struggle that good people go through to maintain the decency in life. He
writes with a powerful awareness of the nature of American
life, especially the oppression the wealthy inflict on the needy, the
vulnerable. He also has a wonderful grasp of the comic, a nice
supplement to his life and death like novels.
Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
No.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
If
you must be a writer, decide what kind, and go for it. Different genres
require different skills. Learn what you do best and start with that.
Then make sure to grow in your craft.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
I
write my novels, poetry, plays and essays for my readers, not for fame
or fortune. My fulfillment will come when I have a wide readership who
enjoy my work.