A Writer's Moment: 'Artistic expression for its own time'

A Writer's Moment: 'Artistic expression for its own time':   “A theatre, a literature, an artistic expression that does not speak for its own time has no relevance.” – Dario Fo Born on this dat...

'Artistic expression for its own time'

 

“A theatre, a literature, an artistic expression that does not speak for its own time has no relevance.” – Dario Fo

Born on this date in 1926,  Fo often said he was “an idiot” who just happened to win the Nobel Prize.  But “brilliant” would be a more fitting description.   An Italian actor, playwright, director, songwriter, and political campaigner he was “arguably the most widely performed contemporary playwright in world theatre” during his lifetime.

A master of satire and irony, he grew up the son of a self-educated writing mother and day-laborer father who also was a traveling actor in the ancient Italian tradition of regional performance, lampooning local politicos and religious figures. “When I was a boy, unconsciously, spontaneously I learned the art of telling ironic stories,” he said.

Whether as an actor, writer or director, Fo found religion and politics to be “fertile ground” for his works.   “Every artistic expression is either influenced          

 by or adds something to politics,” he once wrote. 

Fo’s writings – translated into 30 languages – address issues ranging from dictatorial brutality to AIDS, religion, organized crime, and “military actions.”    His satire, he said, can be adapted to unjust situations throughout the world.    “Satire can always be found everywhere.  A people without love for satire is a dead people.” 

A Writer's Moment: 'Believeably involved, emotionally invested'

A Writer's Moment: 'Believeably involved, emotionally invested':   “In a mystery, the sleuth must be believably involved and emotionally invested in solving the crime.” – Diane Mott Davidson Mystery ...

'Believeably involved, emotionally invested'

 

“In a mystery, the sleuth must be believably involved and emotionally invested in solving the crime.” – Diane Mott Davidson

Mystery writer Davidson, born March 22, 1949, took a page (so to speak) out of author Robert B. Parker’s writing guide and decided to develop her ideas for mysteries around her two great loves – writing and recipes.  Thus, her novels use the theme of food and include several food or drink recipes within their pages.  On top of that, her clever titles are a play on food or drink words, like Dying for Chocolate, The Grilling Season, Killer Pancake and The Whole Enchilada (my personal fave).

Her protagonist, Goldy Schulz, is a small town caterer based in Colorado (also where Davidson resides) who solves mysteries on the side.

A native of Virginia who started writing while she was a student at Wellesley, Mott Davidson said she actually tried catering for a while and found it “exhausting.”  She honed her cooking skills after transferring from Wellesley to Stanford.  “If you don’t have much money, you have to learn to cook.”

 

Her advice to new writers is first write for the love of it.  “If you make best-sellerdom your goal, you're going to be in trouble.  It's a very nice thing to have happen, but if one makes that a goal like, say, a literary writer has the goal of getting the Pulitzer Prize, that's so unpredictable.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Putting brains to work'

A Writer's Moment: 'Putting brains to work':   “One of the nice things about books as opposed to television and movies … is people really do get involved, and they do create, and they d...

'Putting brains to work'

 “One of the nice things about books as opposed to television and movies … is people really do get involved, and they do create, and they do have their own visions of what different characters look like and what should happen.  It’s great.  It means their brains are working.” – James Patterson

Born this date in 1947, Patterson is the most prolific author of all time with his phenomenal success as a mystery and children’s writer.  Intending to become a college professor of English, he was a Ph.D. candidate when he decided to try his hand at advertising and, like everything he tries his hand at, succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.  After rising to a top executive position, he abruptly retired in 1996 to devote his time to writing.  Good move.

His novels featuring African-American detective/psychologist Alex Cross have been the most popular and top-selling U.S. detective series in the past 20 years.  Since 1976, when he first tried his hand at writing, Patterson's books have sold more than 425 million text and over 100 million e-books, most No. 1 books on New York Times bestseller list.

 

And he is the first author to ever have the Number 1 titles in both adult and children’s categories at the same time.  His awards include the Edgar, the BCA Mystery Guild’s Thriller of the Year, the International Thriller of the Year, and the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation.  But, he said, the award he most cherishes is Author of the Year from the Children’s Choice Awards.

“This is what I believe is most important:  Getting good books into the hands of kids – books that will make them want to say, ‘Wow, that was great.  Give me another one to read.’”

A Writer's Moment: 'Create a network in readers' minds'

A Writer's Moment: 'Create a network in readers' minds':   “I think books create a sort of network in the reader's mind, with one book reinforcing another. Some books form relationships. Other...