Malcolm R. Campbell's Blog, page 125
September 21, 2019
Ken Burns’ Documentary Brings Back Many Memories
Like most people my age, I listened to the primary performers covered in Ken Burns’ Country Music documentary as well as the stars who were 15-20 years before my time. Our popular American music is a mix of blues, jazz, folk, gospel, bluegrass, country, ragtime, and rock. I liked everything but rock when I was in high school, but tended toward folk, though it’s hard to say where one form began and another ended.
[image error]I liked Joan Baez and Patsy Cline, among others. The episode of Burns’ documentary that ended with the death of Patsy Cline was difficult for me to watch, especially with her voice over the closing credits. I remember when it happened. I took it hard then, and Burns’ documentary brought it all back. When Cline sang, it felt like she was in the room with me. Yes, I know, a million other people thought the same thing because her voice was personal and perfect.
As I watched the documentary, I knew we were leading up to the 1963 plane crash that killed Cline. I hoped they would leave that until the next episode. And I hoped maybe knew evidence would show the crash never happened or, if it did, that everyone survived. No such luck.
No, I didn’t have a crush on Patsy Cline. I just liked her music from her recordings to the shows we heard on the clear-channel radio station WSM from the Grand Ole Opry. My wife and I once heard Gordon Lightfoot sing from Nashville’s Ryman auditorium. He’s a favorite of mine, too. As we sat there in those church-pew style seats, I could imagine what the place would have been like in the days when the Opry originated there.
I’ve listened to the music of almost every performer who’s appeared in Burns’ documentary. Seeing it all again has been a trip back in 4/4 time.
September 20, 2019
The 2019 National Book Awards Longlist: Fiction
This week, The New Yorker is announcing the longlists for the 2019 National Book Awards. This morning, we present the ten contenders in the category of Fiction. Earlier this week, we published longlists for Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature.
Source: The 2019 National Book Awards Longlist: Fiction | The New Yorker
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As a follow-up to yesterday’s post, here’s the long list for the fiction category the National Book Awards.
One criticism, I often hear for these awards and the Pulitzer Prizes for fiction is that most people have either never heard of, much less read, many of the winners.
That makes me wonder whether the fiction awards really focus on work that is viable, important, and in tune with the times or if they focus on material which is so far off the beaten track that they are actually oblivious to the times.
What do you think?
Here’s the list from New Yorker Magazine:
Taffy Brodesser-Akner, “Fleishman Is in Trouble”
Random House / Penguin Random House
Susan Choi, “Trust Exercise”
Henry Holt & Company / Macmillan Publishers
Kali Fajardo-Anstine, “Sabrina & Corina: Stories”
One World / Penguin Random House
Marlon James, “Black Leopard, Red Wolf”
Riverhead Books / Penguin Random House
Laila Lalami, “The Other Americans”
Pantheon Books / Penguin Random House
Kimberly King Parsons, “Black Light: Stories”
Vintage / Penguin Random House
Helen Phillips, “The Need”
Simon & Schuster
Julia Phillips, “Disappearing Earth”
Alfred A. Knopf / Penguin Random House
Ocean Vuong, “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous”
Penguin Press / Penguin Random House
Colson Whitehead, “The Nickel Boys”
Doubleday / Penguin Random House
I’ve read The Nickel Boys and, while it was powerful, I thought it had an author’s trickery in it that kept it from working for me.
–Malcolm
September 19, 2019
The 2019 National Book Awards Longlist: Nonfiction
Of the ten authors longlisted for this year’s National Book Award for Nonfiction, only Greg Grandin has previously been a nominee, for his 2009 book, “Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Jungle City.” This year, Grandin was selected for “The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America,” which Francisco Cantú praised for its efforts “to situate today’s calls to fortify our borders in relation to the centuries of racial animus that preceded them.”
Source: The 2019 National Book Awards Longlist: Nonfiction | The New Yorker
Fiction usually outsells nonfiction in books, though the opposite is true in the magazine and newspaper world. I notice that when people online or in real life sit around and talk about the books they’re reading, it’s mostly fiction they’re mentioning.
I read a lot of nonfiction if I see that it has a long-term value. That is, I don’t care much for books about current political issues because I think they’ll soon be out of date. But history itself, I like. Or philosophy or psychological theories.
At any rate, it’s always nice to see news stories about nonfiction books because they remind us nonfiction is out there and can often be just as compelling as a novel.
Check out the free book promotion for ‘At Sea’ in the pages menu at the top of the screen.
September 18, 2019
This and That and ‘Shadow of the Wind’
Our lack of rain continues. The grass keeps growing because I think the house was built on an old kryptonite mine, but the small trees need to be watered a couple of times a week. We got out both riding mowers this past weekend and cut the grass before it looked like a hayfield.
[image error] I’m half-way through my radiation therapy (43 days in a row not counting weekends) for prostate cancer. Other than feeling more tired than usual, I haven’t experienced any ill effects.
On Facebook, people are going through a phase of posting the covers of their favorite books for 17 days in a row. When a friend tagged me to do it, I told her I don’t have the energy to post that many covers. But today, I posted the cover of Shadow of the Wind. It’s one of my favorite books. It has three follow-up books, the first of which was ok, but nothing like this one. I never got around to books three and four.
As for my own writing, I posted this on my Facebook author’s page today: Sparrow, who pushes a shopping cart around Torreya, is currently sitting in a diner eavesdropping on a conversation between two cops at a nearby table. They think she’s ancient, frail, deaf, and demented, so they aren’t watching their words about last night’s attempt on the life of the local KKK leader.Sparrow has been sitting there for quite some time, on hold as I go through radiation and hormone therapy to get rid of this cancer. She wants to move on with her story. So far, she’s been patient. She’s the protagonist in my next North Florida story. I hope she doesn’t run amok and change the plot while I’m temporarily away from the manuscript.Meanwhile, I hope y’all are enjoying my change-of-pace comedy/satire, “Special Investigative Reporter.”
There’s a nice review of Special Investigative Reporter on Big Al’s Books and Pals.
–Malcolm
September 17, 2019
The world’s magic is so danged obvious
“Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business.” – Tom Robbins
I like Tom Robbins’ novels so that probably tells you where I’m coming from on the question of magic. The sins of government and business, we know, but magic isn’t complicit in them. Yet, we scoff at magic. Does anyone use the word “scoff” anymore? Perhaps not, so if you’re too young to know that word, I’ll rephrase: Yet we badmouth magic.
I gotta tell you, I don’t really trust people who scoff (badmouth) magic. I’m sure they mean well even though they might be crazy Or worse.
If you’re a fan of Penn and Teller, you know (I assume) that they’re not doing magic. It’s all tricks, lies, and sleight of hand. They’re fun to watch, though, including on their “Fool Us” television program. At times I thought maybe, just maybe, the late Doug Henning might have snuck a little real magic into his TV performances, but perhaps not.
[image error]Perhaps I was influenced too much by the movie “7 Faces of Dr. Lao” in which Lao (Tony Randall) had a mysterious travelling show which featured many acts. The strange thing was, audiences often preferred the sleight of hand to real magic. I was studying magic when that movie came out in 1964 and remember getting really ticked off about the clowns in the audience who preferred some kind of trickery over what Merlin could do.
It became obvious to me as the years zoomed by that those who could do real magic had little or no interest in appearing on TV. I don’t blame them. In fact, students of mysticism and other forms of consciousness-raising are often warned about psychic phenomena. Why? Because such things can derail them from their true goal: merging with, shall we say, the cosmos. Yes, mystics may be able to see the future or tell you how much money you have in your wallet, but all that is beside the point. Once derailed into, say, fortune-telling, the fame of it can cut one off from what was originally his or her true goal.
Magic, as opposed to sleight of hand, seems very natural to me. That’s why it shows up in novels such as Conjure Woman’s Cat and Sarabande. Most readers think it’s just part of the story rather than something they could actually do in their lives. But to perform on TV, I couldn’t do that. I’m too much of an introvert. Plus, doing that would gratify the ego rather than what’s important to oneself.
Yet, today more than ever, I have little trust of government and business that I wonder why such things are so important in so many people’s lives. Folks have been fooled so often, yet they keep going back for more government and business. Meanwhile, the solution (magic) is so danged obvious, it’s a shame more people don’t see it. One need not kowtow to the feds, the rich, or the celebrities: they are paper dragons, lies, and sleight of hand.
Yeah, I know, I’m out here whistling into the wind about all this and unlikely to change anyone’s mind. However, I do hope that some of those who read my books might think, “Hmm, maybe there is something to this magic stuff.”
September 16, 2019
3 Critical Things You Won’t Learn in an MFA Program
The pros and cons of an MFA in creative writing are widely debated: on one hand, such programs offer students the opportunity to work with accomplished authors, whose expertise (and endorsements) could make all the difference in publishing their first book. On the other hand, such programs often come with a hefty price tag, with fully funded options few and far between. But regardless of whether you go for an MFA, some things are critical to establishing a career as an author that you probably don’t know, unless you’ve learned them the hard way (or you’ve worked in publishing).
Source: 3 Critical Things You Won’t Learn in an MFA Program | Jane Friedman\
The important take-aways from this post have little to do with whether or not you’re considering an MFA program or even know any reasons why anyone would sign up for one.
This post is interesting because it shows you that agents and publishers don’t read your manuscript the same way a beta reader, professor, or colleague in a critique group reads it.
Obviously, the agent and publisher want to see if your story will sell and to do that they focus closely on the voice you demonstrate in the opening lines and whether or not the characters and plot develop reasonably throughout the work.
Their view, while narrow and expedient, is often similar to what reviewers and knowing readers bring to a book. Worth looking at, I think.
–Malcolm
September 14, 2019
As a Man Thinketh
“As a Man Thinketh is a self-help book by James Allen, published in 1903. It was described by Allen as “… [dealing] with the power of thought, and particularly with the use and application of thought to happy and beautiful issues. I have tried to make the book simple, so that all can easily grasp and follow its teaching, and put into practice the methods which it advises. It shows how, in his own thought-world, each man holds the key to every condition, good or bad, that enters into his life, and that, by working patiently and intelligently upon his thoughts, he may remake his life, and transform his circumstances. The price of the book is only one shilling, and it can be carried in the pocket.” It was also described by Allen as “A book that will help you to help yourself”, “A pocket companion for thoughtful people”, and “A book on the power and right application of thought.” – Wikipedia
[image error]An original copy of the 1903 edition of James Allen’s remarkable book sat on my father’s bookshelves while I was growing up. The book was thin, the cover was old (nothing like the current cover on Amazon), and the text was written in an old-fashioned style. It took me a long time to discover the book and realize that what is held within it a remarkable prescription. (You can download a free copy here as well as from Project Gutenberg.)
The book, which I’ve mentioned on this blog several times before, contains what used to be called “aphorisms” (suggestions for “right living.”) It can be read that way, that is to say, if you think positive thoughts and avoid negative thoughts, you’ll be a happier, more likeable person.
Or, it can be read literally, as though continued focus on a particular kind of thought will manifest that thought in one’s life. This is the way I read it. Many books, including The Secret and others about the law of attraction, affirmations, and practical meditation owe their existence to this book.
“THE aphorism, ‘As a man thinketh in his heart so is he,” not only embraces the whole of a man’s being, but is so comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and circumstance of his life. A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.'”
That’s not easy to see because we seem to have been programmed to think a lot of negative thoughts. Maybe they’re rants or gripes or poor me notions or the kind of gossip people used to trade at the barbershop. It’s easier to say something is screwed up than to find hope in the world. So, if we think negative thoughts most of the time, that’s who we are even though from time to time we read a book or go to a lecture and spend a few days thinking positive thoughts.
Peer pressure influences us a lot, I think. If everyone around us is saying things are going to hell in a handbasket, it’d hard to step forward and say, no they’re not. So we don’t say it. Who would believe it if we did say it? It takes a lot of effort to see that thoughts are things and that they control what happens in the physical world. One has to give the notion a try and work with it for a while to see any results.
Suffice it to say, when a friend comes on hard times, it’s best not to say, “You caused this to happen.” It’s easier to say that hard times were caused by fate, bad breaks, or God moving in mysterious ways. That places the responsibility everywhere else. And, it obscures the fact that–to paraphrase Marianne Williamson–we are more powerful than we know. The sad thing is this: if we have been “programmed” since birth to believe that we believe, it’s difficult to change to a new way of seeing the world, much less expect others to accept it. Those who speak out about this are usually mocked one way or another as (according to the old phrase) being a “goodie-two-shoes” or naive or just plain crazy.
I’m lucky. I can insert my beliefs into my fiction without being put in a home because people assume all that comes from my characters or another reality. If you’re in the insurance business or sell cars for a living, I don’t know what you’re supposed to do. Life insurance salespeople really can’t say, “You’ll die whenever your ready” and car salesmen really can’t say, “The next time you decide to wreck your car, come see me for a new model.”
If I could, I would go door to door handing out copies of James Allen’s book. If people read them, the world would be forever changed,
[image error]Malcolm R’ Campbell’s hero’s journey novel “The Sun Singer” and the heroine’s journey novel “Sarabande” are based on the principles in James Allen’s book.
September 13, 2019
The Long, Winding Road to Publication
I have given a lot of thought to those 15 years, and what I learned from that huge mistake of turning down the offer from HarperCollins. I’ve wondered why I would have been so willing to subject myself to being treated like a commodity, as the major publishers tend to do, rather than working with people who value your work for what it is. And one thing became clear. It’s not the money, although that certainly helps. It’s more a matter of being taken seriously, of having your efforts validated. It’s about avoiding that feeling of meeting writers you admire and having them dismiss you because you’re an unknown author. I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve experienced this, and it’s an awful feeling.
Source: The Long, Winding Road to Publication – The Millions
Most published authors can tell you a story like Russell Rowland, if not worse. Editors quit, agents move on, publishers change directions, reviewers only pay attention to big houses and big books, it goes on and on. If you’re an aspiring author, Rowland’s long, winding road is a cautionary tale.
Readers, who enjoy his books are likely to say, “He should have been treated better than this,,” or “If a successful author has to fight to a contract, what chance to those of us right out of school have in this business?” The answer is always “Slim to none.”
A friend on my Facebook list, who is very well known, honestly reports on her weekly writing activity, including rejections. Rejections? What’s wrong with the people who are reviewing her work for possible publication. She is more well-known than Roland but still has to fight for every sale.
Publishing has always been this way though, it appears to me, it’s much harder today than it was 25 years ago to have a manuscript considered by either an agent or a sizeable publisher. I don’t know why. Perhaps publishers were losing too much money considering everything. Or perhaps it’s more difficult now because profit margins are smaller and everyone wants to be a writer.
Dorothy Parker once suggested that if you have any friends who want to be writers, one of the best things you can do is “Shoot them now, while they’re happy.” When I was a college teacher, several students asked about their odds of becoming successful authors. None of them liked my response and (so far) I haven’t seen any of their names on a bestseller list.
I like writing, but it’s somewhat of a curse; as long as you know that, you’re ready to go.
[image error]Malcolm R. Campbell’s most recent novel is a mystery/satire.
September 12, 2019
PEN America to Focus on the Right to Read in the Nation’s Prisons
“America’s prison system implements that largest book ban in the United States. This year, as part of national Banned Books Week (Sept. 22 – 28), the free expression and literary organization PEN America will launch a weeklong initiative to shed light on the practice of banning books in the nation’s prisons and jails. ‘Literature Locked Up: Banned Books Week 2019’ will feature events across the country, online activities, and public education to highlight restrictions of the right to read for the 2.2 million people currently incarcerated in the United States.”
We hear about prisoners’ lack of access to books from time to time, but it always seems isolated to one jail or another. That obscures the issue. Book banning in prisons is worse than all the book challenges in all the school and public libraries put together.
We’re not talking about books with titles like “How to Tunnel out of Sing Sing” or “Bomb Making for Dummies.” I often wonder under what authority does the warden or those he reports to ban the same titles the rest of us are reading.
I hope PEN America’s initiative brings the problem to the attention of more people and shows how pervasive it is.
September 11, 2019
Writing about current issues
During the 1960s, folk songs, poems, and books focused on the stormy issues of the day. They seemed to have a large audience, primarily among high school and college audiences. One primary focus was, of course, the war, followed by such things as the military-industrial complex, credibility gap, conscription, ROTC on campuses, and civil rights.
[image error]Protest songs and literature seemed to subside for a while; or maybe not. If they did, they have certainly returned now. Sites like Literary Hub, Arts & Letters Daily, and Poets & Writers that post articles and links claim there are more writers speaking out today than ever. The liberal writers, of course, focus their wrath on Trump; the conservative and moderate writers focus their wrath on the Democrats’ move toward the far left.
I think the anti-war movement during the 1960s did finally influence more people to look at what we were doing in Vietnam and whether or not it was worth it. Maybe I’ve just gotten older, but it seems to me that a lot of today’s protests are preaching to the choir; it’s as though the writers have given up on influencing the opposition.
I try to stay away from most of that. For one thing, I seldom write poetry, so I can’t suddenly come out with a new poem that speaks to an issue. While my Florida Folk Magic series targets Jim Crow attitudes and the KKK in the 1950s, I’m not writing present-day fiction that gives me an opportunity to make snarky or wise comments about today’s issues.
I do have hot-button issues such as China’s brutal and illegal occupation of Tibet, so-called honor killings, and the environment, and from time to time, I say something about one or more of these on Facebook. Most people who see my news feed tend to ignore Tibet and honor killing posts while agreeing that we don’t need to be rolling back conservation gains made in previous years. Sometimes I wish I were a badass poet who could write quickly, for then I could speak more about the issues I care about.
So, for the most part, I am silent. Those who champion many issues say that our silence is the same thing as consent. Perhaps so. I feel bad about that at times. However, I’m a long-time introvert, so I’m not going to be out there like AOC with a daily barrage of complaints and finger-pointing. President Nixon popularized the phrase “silent majority,” implying that outside all the shrill protests, a large number of people (presumably) agreed with him. I didn’t like that phrase then and I don’t like it now because it’s just too darned easy to say that the so-called silent majority supports whatever you want.
I do have a volatile Scots temper, so I’m likely to get into serious trouble online if I say what I really think. Plus, I have a general distrust of political parties, so my views are all over the spectrum rather than dictated by the top brass of one group or another. This means that when I do speak out on Facebook, I tend to get bashed by both Republicans and Democrats. General Chesty Puller once said, “We’re surrounded. That simplifies things.” Yes it does, but it’s not a comfortable place to be online.
So, when anybody asks me what I think about the issues, the Fifth Amendment is my friend. That sounds gutless, I know, but at my age, I can’t beat anyone up or run fast enough to get away from them.
