The Writing Life 7

Click here to return to The Writing Life "Table of Contents."

JULY 2003 My my how time flies. I’ve been working away on the sequel to my novel, I LOVE YOU LIKE A TOMATO, and before me on my desk is a mountain of paper upon which I have, just this moment, typed the magic words, The End. Light the candles, send up the flares. I always get a jolt when one of my students will complain about how hard a task writing is. Who ever said this work should be easy? It’s work that can be difficult, grueling, frustrating, lonely, but then I think coal mining may be all those things too. Equally amazing is it to me when a writer allows days and weeks go by without writing. I don’t think there are many coal miners out there who can luxuriate with coal miner’s block. But who knows, I could be wrong. My point is, we do what we do because it’s what we do. I regard it as a mandate. I think where we go bonkers and lose sleep is when we worry about how good the work is that we’re hammering out and spending all this time alone in a room slaving over. Sheez, what’s it all for? Who’ll read this stuff? Do those of you who have written ten novels still feel this way? I’ll be secluded in my little warren laboring away while every reasonable person I know is either lolling in the sun at the beach or partying or doing something else incredibly interesting and social. I’ll be alone with words. Well. What else is new? When I interviewed the great poet, Li Young Lee, he had no explanation for how he does what he does (see that interview at "Published Articles & Reviews" by Marie) and I agree with him. The main character in TOMATO is ChiChi Maggiordino, a person with whom I’ve lived now for a couple of years and well over a few thousand pages. Sometimes I think I know her better than I know me. When you live with someone this long, they become as real as anyone or anything else in the tangible world. I’m scheduled to do bookstore readings and signings (beginning this week in Minneapolis) and I will be talking about ChiChi and the other characters in the book, but I wonder if I’ll feel like I should ask ChiChi herself what to say. What does she want known about herself? This is weird. As you know, I LOVE YOU LIKE A TOMATO is my first novel, so if you’re an old hat at this, have patience, pray for me. I’ll try to keep you updated with my posts as I travel around to bookstores, and please do come to a reading or invite me to read, or let me hear from you at any rate. Con affetto, Marie P.S. I just received the Minneapolis Tribune's review and it starts out: "A firecracker of a first novel about an Italian girl's coming of age in post-World War 2 in Minneapolis ..." The reviewer goes on to tell about the story and the "zany and engaging energy of its narrator." I like how the review ends: "TOMATO will resonate with everyone who has ever left home in search of a different life." If you're in Minneapolis, see me at: Valley Bookseller 217 N. Main Street Stillwater, MN Thursday July 17 7:00 pm Bookcase of Wayzata 607 E. Lake Street Wayzata, MN Wednesday July 23 2:00 pm
Spring 2003 WHAT’S IN A NAME? In July of this year my first novel will be published under the name Marie Giordano. I’ve talked about this with you before on earlier posts, about returning to a family name changed at Ellis Island. It wasn’t my idea to use the old family name, but now it’s attached to me, I’m beginning to get used to it. My father’s name was Jordan. My married name was Chapian. Years after my divorce I took back my maiden name of Jordan. Now I’m Giordano. It’s a sort of return to the roots, I guess you might say. But on the other hand, it’s being three identities. A writer’s pseudonym, or nom de plume, has many famous examples in literature: George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens), Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), O. Henry (William Sydney Porter), Stendhal (Marie Henri Beyle), and George Sand (Mme. Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin, baronne Dudevant). Then there are the many genre writers with their host of nom de plumes. Detective story writers often use pseudonyms, perhaps because the genre has not been considered a serious literary genre. These writers use other names especially if they are noted in other fields; for example, the British poet Cecil Day Lewis wrote mysteries under the name Nicholas Blake. Besides poetry, Cecil Day Lewis wrote a collection of essays, A Hope for Poetry, and a verse translation of Virgil’s Aeneid (1952). He was poet laureate of Great Britain. And then came the slew of detective stories. I have a friend who keeps telling me his dream is to take off a year from writing and editing "serious literature" to pen a detective novel under a nom de plume. My problem with that is I somehow feel all of writing is serious. I can’t imagine not being serious about something I write. So here I am with three names. Each one hammering out what is serious to me. This semester I’m taking a leave of absence from teaching my college creative writing classes to write and travel making appearances. I’m working on the second book of the Maggiordino trilogy begun in "I Love You Like a Tomato" (pub date July this year). I’ll see my three names popping up and I’ll try hard to wear them well -- but I hope you’ll know me when you see me.

JULY 2003

My my how time flies. I’ve been working away on the sequel to my novel, I LOVE YOU LIKE A TOMATO, and before me on my desk is a mountain of paper upon which I have, just this moment, typed the magic words, The End. Light the candles, send up the flares.

I always get a jolt when one of my students will complain about how hard a task writing is. Who ever said this work should be easy? It’s work that can be difficult, grueling, frustrating, lonely, but then I think coal mining may be all those things too.

Equally amazing is it to me when a writer allows days and weeks go by without writing. I don’t think there are many coal miners out there who can luxuriate with coal miner’s block. But who knows, I could be wrong.

My point is, we do what we do because it’s what we do. I regard it as a mandate. I think where we go bonkers and lose sleep is when we worry about how good the work is that we’re hammering out and spending all this time alone in a room slaving over. Sheez, what’s it all for? Who’ll read this stuff? Do those of you who have written ten novels still feel this way?

I’ll be secluded in my little warren laboring away while every reasonable person I know is either lolling in the sun at the beach or partying or doing something else incredibly interesting and social. I’ll be alone with words. Well. What else is new? When I interviewed the great poet, Li Young Lee, he had no explanation for how he does what he does (see that interview at "Published Articles & Reviews" by Marie) and I agree with him.

The main character in TOMATO is ChiChi Maggiordino, a person with whom I’ve lived now for a couple of years and well over a few thousand pages. Sometimes I think I know her better than I know me. When you live with someone this long, they become as real as anyone or anything else in the tangible world. I’m scheduled to do bookstore readings and signings (beginning this week in Minneapolis) and I will be talking about ChiChi and the other characters in the book, but I wonder if I’ll feel like I should ask ChiChi herself what to say. What does she want known about herself? This is weird.

As you know, I LOVE YOU LIKE A TOMATO is my first novel, so if you’re an old hat at this, have patience, pray for me. I’ll try to keep you updated with my posts as I travel around to bookstores, and please do come to a reading or invite me to read, or let me hear from you at any rate.

Con affetto, Marie

P.S. I just received the Minneapolis Tribune's review and it starts out:
"A firecracker of a first novel about an Italian girl's coming of age in post-World War 2 in Minneapolis ..."
The reviewer goes on to tell about the story and the "zany and engaging energy of its narrator."
I like how the review ends: "TOMATO will resonate with everyone who has ever left home in search of a different life."

If you're in Minneapolis, see me at:

Valley Bookseller
217 N. Main Street
Stillwater, MN
Thursday July 17
7:00 pm

Bookcase of Wayzata
607 E. Lake Street
Wayzata, MN
Wednesday July 23
2:00 pm

Spring 2003

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

In July of this year my first novel will be published under the name Marie Giordano. I’ve talked about this with you before on earlier posts, about returning to a family name changed at Ellis Island. It wasn’t my idea to use the old family name, but now it’s attached to me, I’m beginning to get used to it. My father’s name was Jordan. My married name was Chapian. Years after my divorce I took back my maiden name of Jordan. Now I’m Giordano. It’s a sort of return to the roots, I guess you might say. But on the other hand, it’s being three identities.

A writer’s pseudonym, or nom de plume, has many famous examples in literature: George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens), Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), O. Henry (William Sydney Porter), Stendhal (Marie Henri Beyle), and George Sand (Mme. Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin, baronne Dudevant).

Then there are the many genre writers with their host of nom de plumes. Detective story writers often use pseudonyms, perhaps because the genre has not been considered a serious literary genre. These writers use other names especially if they are noted in other fields; for example, the British poet Cecil Day Lewis wrote mysteries under the name Nicholas Blake. Besides poetry, Cecil Day Lewis wrote a collection of essays, A Hope for Poetry, and a verse translation of Virgil’s Aeneid (1952). He was poet laureate of Great Britain. And then came the slew of detective stories.

I have a friend who keeps telling me his dream is to take off a year from writing and editing "serious literature" to pen a detective novel under a nom de plume. My problem with that is I somehow feel all of writing is serious. I can’t imagine not being serious about something I write. So here I am with three names. Each one hammering out what is serious to me.

This semester I’m taking a leave of absence from teaching my college creative writing classes to write and travel making appearances. I’m working on the second book of the Maggiordino trilogy begun in "I Love You Like a Tomato" (pub date July this year). I’ll see my three names popping up and I’ll try hard to wear them well -- but I hope you’ll know me when you see me.