November 3rd, 2009 / 12:00 pm
Snippets
Snippets
Blake Butler—
My very Christian cousin just emailed to let me know she had bought my book, and her and her husband are going to read it to each other soon. As kind as this is, I imagine I might not be invited to the summer reunion next year. How does your family respond to your writing? Do they care? Are they down?
Funny, I’m just this morning asking Terese Svoboda that same question in our interview for this very site.
Funny, I’m just this morning asking Terese Svoboda that same question in our interview for this very site.
ha.
I actually think it depends how smart they are. I think there’s a way they could totally appropriate your book as a defense of the nuclear/”traditional” family in the face of threats posed by apocalyptic and demonic forces.
ha.
I actually think it depends how smart they are. I think there’s a way they could totally appropriate your book as a defense of the nuclear/”traditional” family in the face of threats posed by apocalyptic and demonic forces.
funny story blake.
my parents sort of disapprove, at least they used to. they’ve become more ok with it, as i’ve gotten older and more “established.” which i think is to say, “stuck in my own weird way of doing things.” i don’t get the “have you thought about law school?” at christmas anymore. now it’s “are you going to get a doctor degree [in writing]?”
funny story blake.
my parents sort of disapprove, at least they used to. they’ve become more ok with it, as i’ve gotten older and more “established.” which i think is to say, “stuck in my own weird way of doing things.” i don’t get the “have you thought about law school?” at christmas anymore. now it’s “are you going to get a doctor degree [in writing]?”
i have a feeling that’s not what’s going to happen. :)
i have a feeling that’s not what’s going to happen. :)
our son the doctor
our son the doctor
My family is mortified.
My family is mortified.
book of revelations is pretty grisly at times.
i think it’s in 2 kings where these kids call a prophet “baldhead” and then 42 she-bears come and tear apart these kids for making fun of a man of god.
elijah cracked his head open laughing when he heard good news.
i seem to have only remembered the really hilarious parts of the bible. modern christianity tends not to be so into that though.
book of revelations is pretty grisly at times.
i think it’s in 2 kings where these kids call a prophet “baldhead” and then 42 she-bears come and tear apart these kids for making fun of a man of god.
elijah cracked his head open laughing when he heard good news.
i seem to have only remembered the really hilarious parts of the bible. modern christianity tends not to be so into that though.
My parents are only encouraging, always have been since i was a kid, but then my mom will read an essay of mine and start wondering what she might have done more of/better as a parent. like, “i should have bought you that saxaphone when you wanted to learn in 5th grade,” and, “did i not push you enough as a kid, like with team sports?” like that would have saved me from anything. her reaction iss what i assume is Jewish mother syndrome. but she likes the writing.
i have some hardcore Christians on my dad’s side (Baptists from rural southeast AZ and Oklahoma) but they haven’t read anything of mine. None of it has to do with them, but if they did, I’m sure they’d think I was more fucked in the head than they did already. they sure don’t seem to think what i do is a real job, or work even, but it sure beats laying tile or roofing houses in 100 degree heat.
Czeslaw Milosz once said, “When a writer is born into a family, the family is finished.” but writers can get screwed too. cool by me: 1/4 of my family is white trash.
My parents are only encouraging, always have been since i was a kid, but then my mom will read an essay of mine and start wondering what she might have done more of/better as a parent. like, “i should have bought you that saxaphone when you wanted to learn in 5th grade,” and, “did i not push you enough as a kid, like with team sports?” like that would have saved me from anything. her reaction iss what i assume is Jewish mother syndrome. but she likes the writing.
i have some hardcore Christians on my dad’s side (Baptists from rural southeast AZ and Oklahoma) but they haven’t read anything of mine. None of it has to do with them, but if they did, I’m sure they’d think I was more fucked in the head than they did already. they sure don’t seem to think what i do is a real job, or work even, but it sure beats laying tile or roofing houses in 100 degree heat.
Czeslaw Milosz once said, “When a writer is born into a family, the family is finished.” but writers can get screwed too. cool by me: 1/4 of my family is white trash.
and my extended family probably doesn’t know i’ve written a word. my parents get it sort of.
and my extended family probably doesn’t know i’ve written a word. my parents get it sort of.
my parents were both preachers; my father still is one. they’ve always been super supportive — my mother used to give me disturbing bible versus to riff on, like “the earth is a tattered garment and those upon it die like maggots,” and my father thinks i’m the next c.s. lewis.
my parents were both preachers; my father still is one. they’ve always been super supportive — my mother used to give me disturbing bible versus to riff on, like “the earth is a tattered garment and those upon it die like maggots,” and my father thinks i’m the next c.s. lewis.
My immediate family supports me. I used to be worried about content: sex, shitting, blowing. If it bothers them they don’t let me know.
My extended family is very Christian and I don’t know what they think, or if they even read what I write, or know that I write.
My immediate family supports me. I used to be worried about content: sex, shitting, blowing. If it bothers them they don’t let me know.
My extended family is very Christian and I don’t know what they think, or if they even read what I write, or know that I write.
my parents are fine. but my parents are both artists.
my little brother’s ok with it. he’s getting a degree in sports management.
or, i don’t know if he’s ok with it, but he had a blast at the reading with you and me and christian and rob and sam.
my parents are fine. but my parents are both artists.
my little brother’s ok with it. he’s getting a degree in sports management.
or, i don’t know if he’s ok with it, but he had a blast at the reading with you and me and christian and rob and sam.
joe your mom spent like ten minutes talking about the labyrinth story you wrote, which i don’t even remember reading, so either she made it up, or she likes you and yr writing even more than i do.
joe your mom spent like ten minutes talking about the labyrinth story you wrote, which i don’t even remember reading, so either she made it up, or she likes you and yr writing even more than i do.
Massive indifference.
Massive indifference.
“the earth is a tattered garment and those upon it die like maggots”
Nice, jewel for the day for me, and it’s still early.
How about a post on “Favorite Bible Quotes”?
“the earth is a tattered garment and those upon it die like maggots”
Nice, jewel for the day for me, and it’s still early.
How about a post on “Favorite Bible Quotes”?
Do they treat you differently? Did you try to justify yourself?
Do they treat you differently? Did you try to justify yourself?
i wonder what she was talking about… she likes it more than i do i think, too. getting it is different and probably my own fault.
i wonder what she was talking about… she likes it more than i do i think, too. getting it is different and probably my own fault.
They still treat me pretty well. They treat the writing like it’s a career abstraction, like: “How’s the writing going?” But when it comes to the actual work, they change the subject. Once in awhile, though, when there is a discussion of an individual story, what comes out is some combination of shame and anger, coupled with a feeling of victimization: We were good to you; why do you reward our goodness with this vileness?
They still treat me pretty well. They treat the writing like it’s a career abstraction, like: “How’s the writing going?” But when it comes to the actual work, they change the subject. Once in awhile, though, when there is a discussion of an individual story, what comes out is some combination of shame and anger, coupled with a feeling of victimization: We were good to you; why do you reward our goodness with this vileness?
Most of it comes from a fundamentalist Christian perspective, where there is right thought and wrong thought, and if you think on a “bad” thing, you might as well have done the thing, with the attendant consequences (hell, separation from God, removal from relationship to your community, etc.) The closest analogue I can think of would be the LDS church. I just listened to the appeal proceeding recordings from that guy who got denied his diploma at BYU for publishing a cheesecake catalog of Mormon men, and it reminded me of things I had experienced in corresponding environments. It also was almost a beat for beat replay of the dean’s interrogation scene in Philip Roth’s Indignation. What it is, I think, is the survival of a particularly 19th century American Protestant way of constructing a community, based upon shame as a mechanism for conformity, and when people are caught in it, there doesn’t seem to be a way out, and they don’t want their children to be shamed or to bring shame upon their families.
Most of it comes from a fundamentalist Christian perspective, where there is right thought and wrong thought, and if you think on a “bad” thing, you might as well have done the thing, with the attendant consequences (hell, separation from God, removal from relationship to your community, etc.) The closest analogue I can think of would be the LDS church. I just listened to the appeal proceeding recordings from that guy who got denied his diploma at BYU for publishing a cheesecake catalog of Mormon men, and it reminded me of things I had experienced in corresponding environments. It also was almost a beat for beat replay of the dean’s interrogation scene in Philip Roth’s Indignation. What it is, I think, is the survival of a particularly 19th century American Protestant way of constructing a community, based upon shame as a mechanism for conformity, and when people are caught in it, there doesn’t seem to be a way out, and they don’t want their children to be shamed or to bring shame upon their families.
Everything I do I do for the glory of Hell.
Everything I do I do for the glory of Hell.
Also, that’s an explanation of my ethos, not a favorite bible quote, just to be clear.
Also, that’s an explanation of my ethos, not a favorite bible quote, just to be clear.
very supportive, in a jew-ish way
e.g. if you ever see that i’ve posted a link to something of mine on facebook, it will more often than not have been liked by one of my parents
very supportive, in a jew-ish way
e.g. if you ever see that i’ve posted a link to something of mine on facebook, it will more often than not have been liked by one of my parents
mom my is buddhist and hates it when i write something
mom my is buddhist and hates it when i write something
*my mom
my mother has no idea that i write things. or what my major is. when people ask her about me she says i’m a “student.”
but if she read something i wrote, i’m sure she wouldn’t think it measured up to V.C. Andrews. she owns everything V.C. Andrews ever wrote.
*my mom
my mother has no idea that i write things. or what my major is. when people ask her about me she says i’m a “student.”
but if she read something i wrote, i’m sure she wouldn’t think it measured up to V.C. Andrews. she owns everything V.C. Andrews ever wrote.
the time my mother looked some of my writing up, i think she winced enough to be deterred from doing that again. i felt like that was best for everyone.
one of my brothers mentioned to me he’d read some of my stuff. i felt a bit weird about that, insofar as i don’t quite feel like anyone especially needs to read their little sister writing about sex. but he seemed unfazed, and seemed to quite like my writing.
actually, i’ve always found the overall response from anyone who knows me who has stumbled over my writing, or the odd people to whom i’ve shown it has been mostly to the effect of ‘it’s not my usual taste, but it’s you, so it’s interesting to me.’ which, honestly, is pretty nice.
i’m sometimes self-conscious of the fact with select people that i know some of what i write is reasonably disturbo. though, occasionally, that’s kind of struck me as a good litmus test.
the time my mother looked some of my writing up, i think she winced enough to be deterred from doing that again. i felt like that was best for everyone.
one of my brothers mentioned to me he’d read some of my stuff. i felt a bit weird about that, insofar as i don’t quite feel like anyone especially needs to read their little sister writing about sex. but he seemed unfazed, and seemed to quite like my writing.
actually, i’ve always found the overall response from anyone who knows me who has stumbled over my writing, or the odd people to whom i’ve shown it has been mostly to the effect of ‘it’s not my usual taste, but it’s you, so it’s interesting to me.’ which, honestly, is pretty nice.
i’m sometimes self-conscious of the fact with select people that i know some of what i write is reasonably disturbo. though, occasionally, that’s kind of struck me as a good litmus test.
Kyle,
Do you think there’ll be any different reaction to your work on Haiti, or stories that aren’t noirish or involving preachers? Or is it just simply writing in general?
Kyle,
Do you think there’ll be any different reaction to your work on Haiti, or stories that aren’t noirish or involving preachers? Or is it just simply writing in general?
My immediate family supports it in the abstract, but has never read anything really, though I broke down and gave them the novel I’m drafting several months ago, after my wedding. (I figure I am invincible now.) The rest of my family will probably be pretty upset whenever I finally launch a book out into the world.
Also my in-laws will really regret the wedding at that time.
My immediate family supports it in the abstract, but has never read anything really, though I broke down and gave them the novel I’m drafting several months ago, after my wedding. (I figure I am invincible now.) The rest of my family will probably be pretty upset whenever I finally launch a book out into the world.
Also my in-laws will really regret the wedding at that time.
I think the worldview comes through the stories, and that’s 90% of the problem.
I think the worldview comes through the stories, and that’s 90% of the problem.
I cringed thinking of my mother reading all of the sex in my manuscript. But she was into it, which was totally awesome. However, my grandmother has requested a copy. My list of convenient “I don’t have it” excuses is better than the manuscript.
I cringed thinking of my mother reading all of the sex in my manuscript. But she was into it, which was totally awesome. However, my grandmother has requested a copy. My list of convenient “I don’t have it” excuses is better than the manuscript.
Awkwardly supportive in broad strokes.
Awkwardly supportive in broad strokes.
haha. joe, that verse you juse described about the youths getting mauled for calling Elisha “baldhead”–
we had that as the “scripture reading” at our wedding a few weeks ago. the audience had no idea how to respond to it. and yeah, it’s 2 Kings 2:23-25.
haha. joe, that verse you juse described about the youths getting mauled for calling Elisha “baldhead”–
we had that as the “scripture reading” at our wedding a few weeks ago. the audience had no idea how to respond to it. and yeah, it’s 2 Kings 2:23-25.
My parents are conservative and used to be pretty religious and they are also from the “old country” so to speak. My dad’s an engineer so he’s mostly interested in if I will ever stop being a student and get a real job. Having said that, my parents have always supported my writing. They gave me a typewriter when I was a kid because they were tired of me writing stories on napkins but also because they knew it would make me happy. I have no idea why I wasn’t using paper. Today, they know I write but I only share about 5% of my writing with them out of respect for their sensibilities. When I do share my writing, they are very supportive and really enjoy it even if they don’t necessarily get it. The idea that I have books coming out or stories here and there mostly doesn’t compute. My extended family may or may not know I write. I don’t ever bring it up.
my parents and family are supportive, but i don’t tend to write anything particularly horrific. as most people say, they support the abstract more than the specifics.
i do have an uncle who describes himself as an “aspiring writer” the same way you go to an “art fair” in the Midwest and it’s mostly just paintings of chickens and barns. but, he really likes my stuff and comments on it, which i hear is more familiar encouragement than most writers get.
my grandma just describes it as, “different,” and my parents (mainly my step-mom) just say how much they like it.
My parents are conservative and used to be pretty religious and they are also from the “old country” so to speak. My dad’s an engineer so he’s mostly interested in if I will ever stop being a student and get a real job. Having said that, my parents have always supported my writing. They gave me a typewriter when I was a kid because they were tired of me writing stories on napkins but also because they knew it would make me happy. I have no idea why I wasn’t using paper. Today, they know I write but I only share about 5% of my writing with them out of respect for their sensibilities. When I do share my writing, they are very supportive and really enjoy it even if they don’t necessarily get it. The idea that I have books coming out or stories here and there mostly doesn’t compute. My extended family may or may not know I write. I don’t ever bring it up.
my parents and family are supportive, but i don’t tend to write anything particularly horrific. as most people say, they support the abstract more than the specifics.
i do have an uncle who describes himself as an “aspiring writer” the same way you go to an “art fair” in the Midwest and it’s mostly just paintings of chickens and barns. but, he really likes my stuff and comments on it, which i hear is more familiar encouragement than most writers get.
my grandma just describes it as, “different,” and my parents (mainly my step-mom) just say how much they like it.
lol
lol
my dad thinks i cuss too much
my dad thinks i cuss too much
my family thinks my writing is way too nice and that i should write more disturbing stuff
my family thinks my writing is way too nice and that i should write more disturbing stuff
my personal theory is A list or No list and that goes for family especially. so if you are on my team, you better be behind what i believe in.
if you aren’t, suck the slime from my toe nails.
“family”
my personal theory is A list or No list and that goes for family especially. so if you are on my team, you better be behind what i believe in.
if you aren’t, suck the slime from my toe nails.
“family”
no. i am stoned and beaten and run out of the house with faint shouts of WITCH as the sun and the moon kiss during the early hours of new daylight savings time.
then my mom sends me 50 dollars (without my asking) because im in school learning to be a computer technician, unlike when I was homeless and performing poetry and selling chapbooks to stay afloat so would kindly say, “thats nice” even though I was essentially running my own business/company on a shoestring budget and doing what I loved.
parents are weird that way….
no. i am stoned and beaten and run out of the house with faint shouts of WITCH as the sun and the moon kiss during the early hours of new daylight savings time.
then my mom sends me 50 dollars (without my asking) because im in school learning to be a computer technician, unlike when I was homeless and performing poetry and selling chapbooks to stay afloat so would kindly say, “thats nice” even though I was essentially running my own business/company on a shoestring budget and doing what I loved.
parents are weird that way….
my daughter won’t read anything i write that contains the word “masturbate” or any variation of that word.
my daughter won’t read anything i write that contains the word “masturbate” or any variation of that word.
When she was alive, my mother was my biggest fan. My dad and my wife both like my writing (although dad often says that I make his skin crawl). I have a cousin who is deeply into twisted shit, so she likes me. The rest of my extended family thinks that I am a tool of satan and should be burned at the stake
When she was alive, my mother was my biggest fan. My dad and my wife both like my writing (although dad often says that I make his skin crawl). I have a cousin who is deeply into twisted shit, so she likes me. The rest of my extended family thinks that I am a tool of satan and should be burned at the stake
@ ben white – that sounds about right
@ elizabeth ellen – roflmao – thank god my kids are only 5 – um, links? :-)
my wife has always said, “why can’t you write something funny, or romantic” and then i try that, and it takes a dark turn, as usual, so if i hand her the story, she looks at me and says “what the hell is wrong with you?” – i’ve been working with my pulitzer nominated prof at murray state, and my recent “literary” work has been much more tame (no sex or violence) and she really loved my recent story “terrapin station” about a guy who carves little turtles out of wood, living in a tree in grant park in chicago
kind of the same thing from my mom, who never liked me reading stephen king growing up, but surprised me when she took my short story that won a contest over at chizine, called “maker of flight” and her book club read it – wow, that blew me away – it was a bit of soft science fiction, based on the novel “filaria” (that was the contest, write a new chapter that would exist in that world) but she said it was very vivid, she could picture it all very well, so that was a shocker
my younger brother, well…you know, we tend to compete, so he’s a reluctant supporter, saying nice things to me, and seeming sincere, but i wonder if he really hates my every success
friends are either polite to my face, and never read my work, or really dig it and are very supportive
@ ben white – that sounds about right
@ elizabeth ellen – roflmao – thank god my kids are only 5 – um, links? :-)
my wife has always said, “why can’t you write something funny, or romantic” and then i try that, and it takes a dark turn, as usual, so if i hand her the story, she looks at me and says “what the hell is wrong with you?” – i’ve been working with my pulitzer nominated prof at murray state, and my recent “literary” work has been much more tame (no sex or violence) and she really loved my recent story “terrapin station” about a guy who carves little turtles out of wood, living in a tree in grant park in chicago
kind of the same thing from my mom, who never liked me reading stephen king growing up, but surprised me when she took my short story that won a contest over at chizine, called “maker of flight” and her book club read it – wow, that blew me away – it was a bit of soft science fiction, based on the novel “filaria” (that was the contest, write a new chapter that would exist in that world) but she said it was very vivid, she could picture it all very well, so that was a shocker
my younger brother, well…you know, we tend to compete, so he’s a reluctant supporter, saying nice things to me, and seeming sincere, but i wonder if he really hates my every success
friends are either polite to my face, and never read my work, or really dig it and are very supportive
My parents do not read my work. Nor most of my relatives. It will be interesting to see how that changes when the memoir comes out in January.
My mom reads mystery books so I thought she might like Portland Noir a little bit, but that was a big FAIL.
My parents do not read my work. Nor most of my relatives. It will be interesting to see how that changes when the memoir comes out in January.
My mom reads mystery books so I thought she might like Portland Noir a little bit, but that was a big FAIL.
I know that “real job” deal well. I detected more than a hint of disappointment from my mother recently when I mentioned that I was acting again. She’d thought I was over it, I’m sure (I hadn’t been on stage in over a decade, and had been working “real” jobs, which–dammit–I still do).
My family doesn’t read my writing, or if they do, they never mention that they’ve read it (actually, they may have read some of it… it’d be very like the WASPish environment I grew up in to pretend something they don’t like doesn’t exist).
That said, everyone in my family is a reader. We find ways in which our tastes intersect and recommend books to each other. But yeah… my stuff? Even if some of it was work they’d enjoy if someone else had written it, the fact that I wrote it is kind of a betrayal, I think.
I know that “real job” deal well. I detected more than a hint of disappointment from my mother recently when I mentioned that I was acting again. She’d thought I was over it, I’m sure (I hadn’t been on stage in over a decade, and had been working “real” jobs, which–dammit–I still do).
My family doesn’t read my writing, or if they do, they never mention that they’ve read it (actually, they may have read some of it… it’d be very like the WASPish environment I grew up in to pretend something they don’t like doesn’t exist).
That said, everyone in my family is a reader. We find ways in which our tastes intersect and recommend books to each other. But yeah… my stuff? Even if some of it was work they’d enjoy if someone else had written it, the fact that I wrote it is kind of a betrayal, I think.
i don’t think my family knows i write. i mentioned it briefly to my grandma once. she showed me a poem in the obituaries (she loves those), and i told her that i didn’t like it much because it rhymed and i prefer poetry when poetry doesn’t rhyme. she replied that all poetry has to rhyme. i told her that i wrote poetry that didn’t rhyme and if i remember right, she just kind of dismissed me.
other than that, i haven’t mentioned writing to my family since they found my horribly melodramatic poetry in 8th grade. i have been embarrassed to mention my writing ever since.
i don’t think my family knows i write. i mentioned it briefly to my grandma once. she showed me a poem in the obituaries (she loves those), and i told her that i didn’t like it much because it rhymed and i prefer poetry when poetry doesn’t rhyme. she replied that all poetry has to rhyme. i told her that i wrote poetry that didn’t rhyme and if i remember right, she just kind of dismissed me.
other than that, i haven’t mentioned writing to my family since they found my horribly melodramatic poetry in 8th grade. i have been embarrassed to mention my writing ever since.
Pretty much the same way they used to react after coming to see me in plays. They were really proud of my work in shows like Marat/Sade and Endgame, but they’d kind of sigh and ask when I was going to be in a nice musical.
Same thing with writing–they read it and are very proud, and sometimes even like it–but they always ask when I’m going to write an upbeat story without so much swearing so that Grandpa can read it someday.
Pretty much the same way they used to react after coming to see me in plays. They were really proud of my work in shows like Marat/Sade and Endgame, but they’d kind of sigh and ask when I was going to be in a nice musical.
Same thing with writing–they read it and are very proud, and sometimes even like it–but they always ask when I’m going to write an upbeat story without so much swearing so that Grandpa can read it someday.
I get this all the time, too, and I even have a “real” job. But when I mention my writing or acting, it’s like they don’t understand that you don’t have to be on a career path to do these things. That you can just do them for fun, even when you’re a grownup.
I get this all the time, too, and I even have a “real” job. But when I mention my writing or acting, it’s like they don’t understand that you don’t have to be on a career path to do these things. That you can just do them for fun, even when you’re a grownup.
“I think the worldview comes through the stories, and that’s 90% of the problem.”
heh. how could it not?
“I think the worldview comes through the stories, and that’s 90% of the problem.”
heh. how could it not?
Why does everyone have a fundamentalist family?
Where are we keeping all of these people?
Why does everyone have a fundamentalist family?
Where are we keeping all of these people?
That’s your cultural inheritance 90% of the time if you’re a white non-Catholic from the American South, and there’s plenty of it in the rest of the country, too. This, after all, is the bloc that was commandeered to elect George W. Bush to two terms. A lot of people, in other words, and mostly underrepresented in literature, and usually not taken seriously when represented in literature. This seems to me to be a cultural problem, and the problem is not that the children of fundamentalist Christians don’t take to writing literature. The problem is that they’re too embarrassed about the excesses of their upbringing to write about them. Certainly when one does, it doesn’t help you in the book sales department.
That’s your cultural inheritance 90% of the time if you’re a white non-Catholic from the American South, and there’s plenty of it in the rest of the country, too. This, after all, is the bloc that was commandeered to elect George W. Bush to two terms. A lot of people, in other words, and mostly underrepresented in literature, and usually not taken seriously when represented in literature. This seems to me to be a cultural problem, and the problem is not that the children of fundamentalist Christians don’t take to writing literature. The problem is that they’re too embarrassed about the excesses of their upbringing to write about them. Certainly when one does, it doesn’t help you in the book sales department.
I live in southern Kansas. Firmly in the Bible belt. About 80% of the people here are fundamentalists of some sort. My immediate family (my parents and me and my wife, who is a lapsed Quaker) are major exceptions.
I have been asked to town down the cursing but I don’t. Sometimes nothing can take the place of the word fuck.
I live in southern Kansas. Firmly in the Bible belt. About 80% of the people here are fundamentalists of some sort. My immediate family (my parents and me and my wife, who is a lapsed Quaker) are major exceptions.
I have been asked to town down the cursing but I don’t. Sometimes nothing can take the place of the word fuck.
Add to the south big portions of the west and midwest (Utah, Ks, Mo, Nebraska, etc). The problem of Christian extremism is actually (I think) spreading.
Add to the south big portions of the west and midwest (Utah, Ks, Mo, Nebraska, etc). The problem of Christian extremism is actually (I think) spreading.
@Kyle – You write w/ (what I read as) such compassion for conservative Christians, it’s unfortunate their worldview prevents them from recognizing that.
@Kyle – You write w/ (what I read as) such compassion for conservative Christians, it’s unfortunate their worldview prevents them from recognizing that.
“the earth is a tattered garment and those upon it die like maggots” sounds not altogether unlike a Blake Butler sentence. Except probably the garment itself would be covered in maggots.
“the earth is a tattered garment and those upon it die like maggots” sounds not altogether unlike a Blake Butler sentence. Except probably the garment itself would be covered in maggots.
yeah. Indiana is something of a steeple of the Bible Belt i think, poking up into the Grand Rapids, MI/Hope College area (Zondervan, for instance, based out of GR for a reason).
yeah. Indiana is something of a steeple of the Bible Belt i think, poking up into the Grand Rapids, MI/Hope College area (Zondervan, for instance, based out of GR for a reason).
If the Portland volume is anything like the Havana one, shit’s rough.
If the Portland volume is anything like the Havana one, shit’s rough.
my whole family extended and otherwise are jehovahs witnesses. do i win?
Actually my parents are really nice about my writing although i wouldn’t want them to read anything. I think they’re kind of proud in a way…that im trying, my dad worked 25 years plus for the post office as a delivery man so i think they just want me to be happy even though they thought my going to uni (the first of my family) would mean id get a handsomely paid career job and not have to scrimp as much to get by.
If i ever publish a novel i’ll tell them but it’ll be under a pseudonym i guess.
my whole family extended and otherwise are jehovahs witnesses. do i win?
Actually my parents are really nice about my writing although i wouldn’t want them to read anything. I think they’re kind of proud in a way…that im trying, my dad worked 25 years plus for the post office as a delivery man so i think they just want me to be happy even though they thought my going to uni (the first of my family) would mean id get a handsomely paid career job and not have to scrimp as much to get by.
If i ever publish a novel i’ll tell them but it’ll be under a pseudonym i guess.
My mother likes to tell me writing “comes more naturally” to me than to my stepbrother’s partner who get his MFA at Brooklyn College and appeared in the last O’Henry Prize collection. Pretty sure she’s dead wrong.
My mother likes to tell me writing “comes more naturally” to me than to my stepbrother’s partner who get his MFA at Brooklyn College and appeared in the last O’Henry Prize collection. Pretty sure she’s dead wrong.
Or the action.
Or the action.
amen.
amen.
Mine are in Nebraska, too.
Mine are in Nebraska, too.
The first sentence in my collection was “I shaved my balls a week after Claire left.” As a result, my mother (her and my father, super-cool and supportive, even of that — the sentence, not ball shaving in general, that is), told me: “We’re really proud of you. But your grandmother is never going to know that you ever had a book published.”
The first sentence in my collection was “I shaved my balls a week after Claire left.” As a result, my mother (her and my father, super-cool and supportive, even of that — the sentence, not ball shaving in general, that is), told me: “We’re really proud of you. But your grandmother is never going to know that you ever had a book published.”
For realz,
For realz,
I’ve experienced it too, of course (from Indiana myself) I just find it sort of mysterious that everyone I know lives in terror of people I do not know, myself included. Of course that’s because I don’t hang out with fundamentalists by choice. Still though. Strange feeling. Sort of paranoia-inducing.
I’ve experienced it too, of course (from Indiana myself) I just find it sort of mysterious that everyone I know lives in terror of people I do not know, myself included. Of course that’s because I don’t hang out with fundamentalists by choice. Still though. Strange feeling. Sort of paranoia-inducing.
my dad discovered some of my writing on the internet without be showing it to him and got depressed because it was gay and violent and he is still “not cool” with the whole gay thing and then he called me to yell at me and tell me that having my full name on something like that is bad because “ANYONE can find it ON THE INTERNET” and he got so upset so i pretty blatantly said “if it’s going to upset you that much JUST DON’T READ IT” and if he still does he’s not telling me at least.
my dad discovered some of my writing on the internet without be showing it to him and got depressed because it was gay and violent and he is still “not cool” with the whole gay thing and then he called me to yell at me and tell me that having my full name on something like that is bad because “ANYONE can find it ON THE INTERNET” and he got so upset so i pretty blatantly said “if it’s going to upset you that much JUST DON’T READ IT” and if he still does he’s not telling me at least.
ha ha
same for me
my grandma likes my stories and used to trumpet my pubs to her friends, but they’re all dead
ha ha
same for me
my grandma likes my stories and used to trumpet my pubs to her friends, but they’re all dead
ha ha
ha ha
Richard, we should get our wives together. My wife thinks my writing is weak b/c it’s always negative. She thinks an “earned” happy story is what I need to write. I don’t show her anything anymore.
Richard, we should get our wives together. My wife thinks my writing is weak b/c it’s always negative. She thinks an “earned” happy story is what I need to write. I don’t show her anything anymore.
that’s why folks like to act on HBO – you can’t top that word
that’s why folks like to act on HBO – you can’t top that word
other family members just think it’s bizarre that no one pays me anything
other family members just think it’s bizarre that no one pays me anything
my dad likes to complain about this and compare publishing to indentured servitude. also i think your grandmother and mine should hang out. how does yours feel about porn?
my dad likes to complain about this and compare publishing to indentured servitude. also i think your grandmother and mine should hang out. how does yours feel about porn?
ha. wow, that’s a foreboding passage for all those wedding-naysayers but a good one. i thought it was elisha, but i wasn’t sure. it’s been a long time.
ha. wow, that’s a foreboding passage for all those wedding-naysayers but a good one. i thought it was elisha, but i wasn’t sure. it’s been a long time.
congratulations, also.
congratulations, also.
you do cuss too much, mike. fucking stop it already.
you do cuss too much, mike. fucking stop it already.
My mom likes my writing a lot. My dad thinks I should just be a stay-at-home-mom and stop going to school and pursuing anything other than child-rearing, so I never even give him anything to read because any opinion he would have about it would feel tainted by the fact that he doesn’t even really think it’s worth doing.
My extended family has never read anything.
This thread makes me feel thankful for my more or less heathen upbringing.
My mom likes my writing a lot. My dad thinks I should just be a stay-at-home-mom and stop going to school and pursuing anything other than child-rearing, so I never even give him anything to read because any opinion he would have about it would feel tainted by the fact that he doesn’t even really think it’s worth doing.
My extended family has never read anything.
This thread makes me feel thankful for my more or less heathen upbringing.
ha. the weirdest part is that that’s not at all a standard translation of the verse (Isaiah 51:6) — most use flies or insect or gnats. my mother must have just known i would like maggots better.
blake, are you my mom?
ha. the weirdest part is that that’s not at all a standard translation of the verse (Isaiah 51:6) — most use flies or insect or gnats. my mother must have just known i would like maggots better.
blake, are you my mom?
i think i might be yr mom
i think i might be yr mom
Hey Kyle, I think about this a lot. I think my father would identify as a fundamentalist (my mother, who was still a co-pastor with him at the same church until she passed, was probably too weird to fit any label), so I feel qualified to quibble with this statement —
“The problem is that they’re too embarrassed about the excesses of their upbringing to write about them.”
I’m definitely embarrassed by some of the things I heard from people in my parents’ congregation, but generally I don’t write much about them directly because I’m still trying to figure out how to get it across without it seeming like satire. I’m just as embarrassed, for lack of a better word, by the smug ideologues that would mock them on principle without a sense of where they’re coming from and what they’ve been through.
That said, the upbringing still really informs my writing.
And also, I lied a little, because I did publish one novella that includes a single scene that that goofs on a congregation much like the one I grew up in.
And also, I ain’t quibbling with your take — just saying mine’s different.
Hey Kyle, I think about this a lot. I think my father would identify as a fundamentalist (my mother, who was still a co-pastor with him at the same church until she passed, was probably too weird to fit any label), so I feel qualified to quibble with this statement —
“The problem is that they’re too embarrassed about the excesses of their upbringing to write about them.”
I’m definitely embarrassed by some of the things I heard from people in my parents’ congregation, but generally I don’t write much about them directly because I’m still trying to figure out how to get it across without it seeming like satire. I’m just as embarrassed, for lack of a better word, by the smug ideologues that would mock them on principle without a sense of where they’re coming from and what they’ve been through.
That said, the upbringing still really informs my writing.
And also, I lied a little, because I did publish one novella that includes a single scene that that goofs on a congregation much like the one I grew up in.
And also, I ain’t quibbling with your take — just saying mine’s different.
My parents were always encouraging and into the idea of me being a writer. But some family members are always thinking my work is about them–i.e. this character is based on them, etc. Sometimes that’s true, sometimes not. When it’s not, I find it nearly impossible to convince them that’s the case.
My parents were always encouraging and into the idea of me being a writer. But some family members are always thinking my work is about them–i.e. this character is based on them, etc. Sometimes that’s true, sometimes not. When it’s not, I find it nearly impossible to convince them that’s the case.
Some of my friends do that, relentlessly. Depending on the details of the particular character/story, it can be incredibly frustrating.
Some of my friends do that, relentlessly. Depending on the details of the particular character/story, it can be incredibly frustrating.
rotates among general apathy, confusion toward/disdain for the arts and all things impractical, changing of the conversation in favour of topics unrelated to writing, and sincere (yet still confused) support. i am unsure about the extended, whether they have found and read anything online. one side is more open-minded and the other i try to avoid seeing while it busies itself with spewing out babies. actually said porno grandmother, though she barely speaks english, always asks to read things and is probably the most consistently and genuinely interested. any others who were vaguely supportive are dead. family is about knotted signals. i am unsure why there is family.
rotates among general apathy, confusion toward/disdain for the arts and all things impractical, changing of the conversation in favour of topics unrelated to writing, and sincere (yet still confused) support. i am unsure about the extended, whether they have found and read anything online. one side is more open-minded and the other i try to avoid seeing while it busies itself with spewing out babies. actually said porno grandmother, though she barely speaks english, always asks to read things and is probably the most consistently and genuinely interested. any others who were vaguely supportive are dead. family is about knotted signals. i am unsure why there is family.
If there is a negatively portrayed female character in a story, my wife thinks it’s her. If my character is an unhappy man, a douchey or cheating man—then clearly, it is a true story about myself.
Such is life.
If there is a negatively portrayed female character in a story, my wife thinks it’s her. If my character is an unhappy man, a douchey or cheating man—then clearly, it is a true story about myself.
Such is life.
I run into that a lot both with friends and my parents. If there’s a bad parent in a story my parents think I’m writing about them when I’ve written and published many an essay genuinely praising their exceptional parenting. That stuff, they ignore completely.
I run into that a lot both with friends and my parents. If there’s a bad parent in a story my parents think I’m writing about them when I’ve written and published many an essay genuinely praising their exceptional parenting. That stuff, they ignore completely.
Totally. And while I MAY utilize past memories, or relationships, for sure any woman you could call “nagging” or “controlling” or a “bitch” my wife thinks is hers. And the “sexy” or “alluring” women are obviously secret affairs I’m having. The dark thoughts I have, the stories, they are exactly that – fantasy or a “what if” since I certainly don’t want to kill somebody or rape (or be raped) or whatever. Too funny though. I’ve read enough interviews with Stephen King to know that he’s gone through a lot of that as well, be it with family or friends or fans.
@KevinS – memoir, yes…i can’t publish that until my parents are dead
@ roxane – amen on the fuck
@ dave – shaving the balls, that is too funny, that will certainly keep it away from grandma – although, i will say that my grandma (rip) was one of the COOLEST ladies i knew and she really loved my work
my friend gordon has a wild opening line to his book, MAJOR INVERSIONS, check it:
http://gdotcom.com/majorinversions/
My earliest memory is shitting the bathtub.
Totally. And while I MAY utilize past memories, or relationships, for sure any woman you could call “nagging” or “controlling” or a “bitch” my wife thinks is hers. And the “sexy” or “alluring” women are obviously secret affairs I’m having. The dark thoughts I have, the stories, they are exactly that – fantasy or a “what if” since I certainly don’t want to kill somebody or rape (or be raped) or whatever. Too funny though. I’ve read enough interviews with Stephen King to know that he’s gone through a lot of that as well, be it with family or friends or fans.
@KevinS – memoir, yes…i can’t publish that until my parents are dead
@ roxane – amen on the fuck
@ dave – shaving the balls, that is too funny, that will certainly keep it away from grandma – although, i will say that my grandma (rip) was one of the COOLEST ladies i knew and she really loved my work
my friend gordon has a wild opening line to his book, MAJOR INVERSIONS, check it:
http://gdotcom.com/majorinversions/
My earliest memory is shitting the bathtub.
“…her and her husband…” ??!!?!??
Nice.
Reminds me of a joke I once heard:
Two little boys out on the playground at recess, discussing a little girl in their class.
First little boy: Her neck’s dirty.
Second little boy: Her does?
“…her and her husband…” ??!!?!??
Nice.
Reminds me of a joke I once heard:
Two little boys out on the playground at recess, discussing a little girl in their class.
First little boy: Her neck’s dirty.
Second little boy: Her does?
I know this is an old post but I wanted to comment anyway. My parents are kind of funny about it. I don’t even think my dad can read (maybe that’s too cruel). And my mother tried to read some of the things I wrote after I moved out (some of it was saved on a computer I left behind) but, at first, she thought I had done everything I wrote about and then she called me to let me know that my writing “hurt” her and that I needed psychiatric help. Ah, gotta love parents! But I’ll get my revenge, haha.
I know this is an old post but I wanted to comment anyway. My parents are kind of funny about it. I don’t even think my dad can read (maybe that’s too cruel). And my mother tried to read some of the things I wrote after I moved out (some of it was saved on a computer I left behind) but, at first, she thought I had done everything I wrote about and then she called me to let me know that my writing “hurt” her and that I needed psychiatric help. Ah, gotta love parents! But I’ll get my revenge, haha.