Category Archives: Writing

Back In The Day

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 No, not back in the days when Ozzie and Harriet were huge or my cousin had his 1958 gold Chevy Impala with music notes dancing along its curved fins (he was a top shelf sax man).  I’m just going back as far as the 80s, but if you measure that in computer time, it was the Bronze Age.  It was also when Sue, my life-partner, and I bought our first computer-a KayPro lV

I remember it well.  We’d paid a fortune for it-over three grand in 2011 dollars.  And there it was, sitting on our old oak dining room table in all its then modern grey box glory.  We unclamped the keyboard, which served as the cover of this 26 pound metal suitcase, turned it on, and stared blankly as its 9-inch phosphor screen lit up with a flashing green C:> in the top left corner.

We were stumped, stupefied.  Didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as we wondered what we had gotten ourselves into.  Eventually we learned how to use the machine and Sue had an easier time writing her magazine articles (She’s now a prolific nonfiction children’s book author–www.susangoodmanbooks.com) while I churned out my first novel.

But the real hook for me was my eventual upgrade, the Kaypro 4 with a 300 baud modem.  These were pre-Internet days but folks had already figured out that computers would change communication.  People across the world had set up electronic “post offices” that relayed messages to and from each other and allowed those people who had free computer programs provided by the local “post office” to send and download their mail.

The Great Leap Forward, though, was the development of different interest groups that used this new form of pony express.  I jumped into a writers’ circle that eventually became Pen & Brush and away we went.  Although there were plenty of conversations about writing, the group became a home for open-ended discussions about all things political, religious, cultural, and of course the government.

For decades, it was the same group learning, chatting, arguing through evolving communication processes until the Internet hit and we landed on Yahoo Groups as Keyboard and Stylus.  And there a few of us still remain, more as alter kockers rocking on the porch than engaging in all out debates.

But, there’s life in me yet.  I’ve joined a new group that has fresh blood hungry to view the world through its many facets and a desire to express what they see.

Face (book) the Nation Open Group, housed on Facebook, was created by my college roommate Mark Kruger, now a professor of humanities in St. Louis, with the tireless help of Indira Freeman.  Let me quote her description:

“University of St Louis students and non-students from the entire nation are discussing and seeking to raise awareness about national issues. Topics have included global climate change, wars, homosexuality, education, interest groups, party systems, Wall Street, banks, government power, etc. Our goal is to create a healthy, open environment where everybody has a right to talk about various subjects.  We are group that wants to let every sluice of knowledge be open and set a-flowing. We respect all and believe in equality. Please become a part of this great environment.”

Since I began participating about a month ago, I’ve found the conversations thoughtful, stimulating, and very reminiscent of the old Pen & Brush.  Indira’s description is pretty right-on, though there are some wild and wooly moments. The group is incredibly diverse and the opinions expressed run the full spectrum on a whole host of subjects.  There are trolls, but few and far between.  All in all it’s an experience that engages and one that I fully enjoy.

I say “all in all” because this “alter cocker” finds navigating through all the various topics on the page petty damn difficult–though I have found a personal method to keep track of the various subjects.  But first let me explain how to participate if you’re interested:

1. You need a Facebook account.

2. Once you have a Facebook account (and I urge anyone who signs up for one to go over the privacy settings with a fine tooth comb), type “Face (book) the Nation OPEN GROUP” in the search box at the top of your page, and it will take you to where you can click on “JOIN.” (Given Facebook’s propensity to change how it does things about every twenty minutes, if you have any difficulty enrolling, just leave a note here and I’ll add you the group as my “friend.”)

That’s it.  But if you have trouble with the way Facebook organizes its pages here’s my system:

I created a dedicated email address for the page. In the “Edit Settings” box on the Face (book) the Nation Open Group I have set: NOTIFY ME WHEN A MEMBER POSTS OR COMMENTS, EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS TO the email address I set up,and finally I checked the box that says SEND ME GROUP CHAT MESSAGES.

This allows me to click on emails that take me directly to the specific conversations in which I have interest.

I understand this seems like a convoluted way to screen and follow discussions, and I’m also aware that many people are reluctant to join Facebook.  But if you aren’t uncomfortable with joining, or you already have a page, Face (book) the Nation Open Group is worth the price of admission.  Especially if you enjoy intelligent free-wheeling conversations about a variety of important topics.

Great spirits have always found violent opposition from 
mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not 
thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and 
courageously uses his intelligence. Einstein

Gonzo Nonfiction

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In response to my last post, I received an email from a college friend who told me I had come to Madison in 1966, not 1965.  Possible, and I had a momentary thought of tracking down the “factual” date.  I didn’t, but the note got me thinking about my “Just sayin’” posts and what the hell I want them to be.  The first words that came to mind were “creative non-fiction.”  Turns out that’s already a formal term: “Creative nonfiction (also known as literary or narrative nonfiction) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives.”

Not what I do.  Sorry.  I’m much less interested in factual accuracy than in making a point or raising questions.

When I wrote Matt Jacob books, I started each one wanting to explore some issue, theme, or personal relationship.  Usually more than one.  During the writing process, those concerns often morphed or changed entirely—but themes, issues, and personal relationships were always my concern and always in the front of my mind.  They are the reason I’m writing again, be it posts, more Matt Jacob books, or different projects entirely.

Ironically, when I was writing “pure” fiction, an enormous number of people and critics accused me of writing fact.  That Matt Jacob was really me, despite clear knowledge they were reading fiction.  Said so right on the cover.  That alone taught me the line between nonfiction and fiction is often quite blurry.  (Particularly when a critic didn’t like what I wrote.  More about this another time.)

Well, I guess I can’t claim that my posts are straight nonfiction.  Nor are they fiction or even creative nonfiction.

That leaves Gonzo. See Hunter Thompson, known as the “creator of gonzo journalism.”

Of course, what I write has little or nothing to do with journalism.  Even in his whacky, drugged-out Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Thompson was covering an event.  But I’m much less interested in any particular event than how it affects me and connects to other people.  Perhaps I should term these posts Ego Nonfiction but I’m gonna just stick with “gonzo.”

Which is why when my cousin’s son Scott comment about “On, Wisconsin!” pleased me.

“Wait, does this mean liberals have occasionally been made, not born? Looking at you and my old man at that time – or what I thought I knew – I could have sworn you guys were just “always that way.” Interesting to read about this turn of events.  And raises questions for the next generation on how we got where we are.”

My story had conveyed the point I was trying to make.  And more importantly, had raised questions in his mind.  Dare I say “mission accomplished?”

But I do promise, if I decide to write anything journalistic, I’ll put a warning in its title and you can count on a fact check.  Maybe.

More to come.

Eyeballing Back

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Creating fiction has always been crucial.  Imperative, really, to keep my mother from slamming my ass with the telephone or frat paddle.  To juke the rabbis in the Brooklyn Mirrer Yeshiva when they’d catch me in Greenwich Village or reading Playboy (just for the interviews, of course).  Unfortunately my verbal dancing wasn’t always successful since I got thrown out before high school graduation.  But no serious damage.  I’d done well on the New York State Regents and had been accepted at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, before the toss. (Actually, everyone from the yeshiva did well. They made sure the collective marks were always high enough to keep their accreditation.)

Still, I talked the school into letting me attend graduation albeit with an empty envelope.  Which left me to explain to my mother and stepfather that the missing diploma had to do with unpaid library fees.  Hell, even though I no longer lived at home, that fucking paddle still hung by the back door.

Sometimes my best barbs backfired.  The year I quit Wisconsin had something to do with a challenge to the prof in a political sociology lecture about the use of twenty-five dollar words for twenty-five cent concepts.  I felt the eyes of a hundred and fifty classmates on my back as I trudged out of the large hall at the professor’s demand.  Back then 25 dollars to 25 cents was significant economic disparity.  Pissed him off.

The real irony of leaving Wisconsin and joining Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) was my assignment to the YWCA’s storefront outpost in Uptown, Chicago.  My job was to create a night school for high school dropouts.  I’m an ironic guy but it took a serious do to get my head around that one.

More to come…