12 or 20 (second series) questions with Lynn Joffe
Bornin London (England) and raised on four continents,
Lynn Joffe
has written and produced avast array of storytelling projects for radio, stage and TV. Lynn graduatedwith an MA (cum laude) in Creative Writing at the University of theWitwatersrand’s School of Literature, Language and Media, in 2017. Her debutnovel,
The Gospel According to Wanda B. Lazarus
, was published in November 2020and was longlisted for The Sunday Times/CNA Literary Awards and shortlisted forthe NIHSS Award for Fiction. She has performed in a variety of self-pennedcabarets, published a children’s picture book, The Tale of Stingray Charles.Lynn produced and presented a 13-part jazz series, Bejazzled, whichflighted across Africa. Lynn is a podcaster of Solid Gold Story Time and hasdeveloped and presented a myriad of storytelling workshops for all ages andstages of the writing journey.1 - How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent work compare to yourprevious? How does it feel different?
Mydebut novel revolutionised my life. My sense of accomplishment. The feelingthat I knew I had it in me. And now it was out of me. Seven pregnancies later.A combination of working towards a Master of Arts in Creative writing – whichgave me the structure and discipline – and plain hard graft mixed with wit andimagination. Using my writing chops which have seen me as a copywriter, contentcreator, cabaret performer, children’s storyteller and now, published author. Completingand publishing a novel of literary merit was a milestone in my creative self-actualisation.
1 - How does your most recent work compare to yourprevious? How does it feel different?
Project1: ‘Kol B’Isha Erva: A Woman’s Voice is … Inappropriate’ Short StoryCollection
Afterthe publication of The Gospel According to Wanda B. Lazarus, my academichusband asked, ‘Where’s the next book, Lynn?’ Exhausted as I was, I applied forand was accepted into a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Pretoriabetween 2020-2023. My working theme: ‘Kol Isha B’erva: The voice of the womanis … inappropriate.’ This is a misinterpreted quotation from the Song ofSolomon that banished women to the womb and the scullery for all eternity. Sothe theme is eternal, the approach; short stories. I began to write pieces in avariety of styles and perspectives of lost voices of the feminine, from Lilith(‘What? Me spurned?’) to my childhood experiences of antisemitism (‘Are Yoo aJoo?’). Trying to lose the Wanda voice and find other characters and points ofview. I experiment with the form for two years, thinking I had eons to completewhat was, in fact, a post-exhaustion novel fallowness.
Project2: ‘The Year of Dying Courageously’ A love letter to my sister A Memoir ofGrief
Here'sthe irony: Two years after having written a novel narrated by a time travellingpicara, accidentally cursed with immortality, who dies at the end of eachchapter, my own sister died fromcancer in real life. Everything stopped. The writing of fiction, or even thelooking at what I’d written, became a meaningless, trivialised abyss. All Icould write was of her, to her, about her. Telling her about what happened inthat ‘Year of Dying Courageously.’ At some point I will reread and rearrangethe thousands of words I have penned to her as perhaps a memoirish dialoguewith the dead that explores our traumatised childhood, our separation, her wildpast, the everlasting nearness of her. But this is a private rave, a privaterage, and I don’t see myself readying this as a manuscript until I’m out of theshadow of the valley.
Project3: ‘The Comedian Who Killed My Family’ Auto-Fiction (based on untrue events)
Longbefore Wanda was a twinkle, there had been a story festering within. The MAgave it time to marinade. It has resurfaced as developing multiple perspectivework of auto-fiction, titled, ‘The Comedian Who Killed My Family’; time spannedfrom present to past recalling two weeks in Sydney Australia where the mostfamous comedian in the English speaking world came to a booze-soakedamphetamine-pumped end in our home. I was nine. That kid’s recall was the firstvoice to emerge. And then, one day writing, the suicider revealed himself to mein his opening sentence, ‘Nobody was more surprised than I was when I woke updead.’ And it started pouring out. This is a story more than fifty five yearsin the making. I have half a manuscript I’ve promised to my new-found agent.
2 - How did you come to fiction first, as opposedto, say, poetry or non-fiction?
Atfirst, The Gospel According to Wanda B. Lazarus started as a memoir, writtenfor the purposes of an MA in Creative Writing at the University of theWitwatersrand. It was to be a personal bildungsroman, a portrait of the writeras teenage rebel, transplanted to Apartheid as a rank outsider to be told,‘You’re a woman. A whitey. And a Jew to boot.’ Triple Oy. I did have to have a proposal,though, which behoved me to explore the hypothesis of Nomadness: a portmanteauof a nomad and the madness of a transgressive life orientation. The premisewas, ‘What if the Wandering Jew … was a woman.’ An exploration of otherness andantisemitism, buried deep within whatever culture I have encountered throughoutthe ages. I started to explore my own life trauma, from which there is plentyto draw, and reread the words of my own #metoo moment as the underage groomeein the erotic clutches of the youth leader twice my age, ‘He had me … in theshadow of the Temple.’ This sentence struck me as numinous, perhaps evenluminous. ‘What if,’ I said to myself, ‘it wasn’t Temple Shalom on Louis BothaAvenue … but The Temple, the original Temple, the one in Jerusalem?’ And,‘What if … the kombi minivan he groped me in was a stinky camel cart?’ And, ‘Whatif … he tried to ravage Wanda in the Holy of Holies and she fights back like a nastywoman?’
TheGypsy Girl of Gazientep
Asecond synchronicity came to pass. Around the time of transition to fiction, Istarted researching my Google off. I knew I wanted to rear engineer my #metooexperience back to the time of the crucifixion. The first time that Jesusallegedly cursed a member of his tribe. And then I found her. The face of WandaB. Lazarus herself. Embodied in the mosaic of the Gypsy Girl of Gazienteparound 200 CE (what’s in a couple of centuries between friends?). The firsttime ever I saw her face, some kind of bizarre alchemy occurred between hecharacter and the writer. All I had to do was sit down at the typewriter … andbleed. The discovery of my ability to write fiction was a revelation to me. Itfeels I’ve been doing this all my life. And yet, it’s ripened, deepened.
Themoment I became ‘other’ to my protagonist, Wanda became my mouthpiece, mydoppelganger and within the process, transformed my own story into a novel. Icreated a universe of imagination and transformation featuring a free-wheeling,foul-mouthed, sexually-charged picara who wanders through the ages at thebehest of the muses of antiquity in her quest to become The Tenth Muse.
3- How long does it take to start any particular writing project? Does yourwriting initially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Do first drafts appearlooking close to their final shape, or does your work come out of copiousnotes?
Ibelieve in Anne Lamott’s dictum of ‘the shitty first draft.’ Get it down onpaper or pixel and then begin to tease it into its final shape. I have to havea routine; writing every day. Sitting down at the typewriter … and bleeding, asErnest Hemingway advised. I write quickly if I’m on a roll. And even if thespirit doesn’t move me, with the novel, Wanda did much of the dictation. As Iwas also doing a Masters, I had to have consciousness (and a proposal and areflective essay) as to what I was doing. But overall, it’s a painstakingprocess. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It needs to be complete.
Giventhe abyss of the past two and a half years, my output has been truncateddrastically. I’ve recently started to look at writings from before ‘the birthof Wanda,’ and am finding some engaging pieces, fragments, really, that need tobe worked on, edited, polished, story told. Kawabata approves of this. I’vealso written down dreams from the early noughties that would fill a mythologybook. I tend to write and rewrite, saving each version with a differentalphabetical suffix to the date. So I can monitor my progress. Print out. Read.Do another draft. I got up to XX on some of my drafts. That’s 46 drafts,sometimes. I’ve also kept scrapbooks of storylines and doodles and spiderdiagrams of characters and scenarios.
4 - Where does a work of prose usually begin foryou? Are you an author of short pieces that end up combining into a largerproject, or are you working on a "book" from the very beginning?
Forme, it began with memoir and morphed into fiction. I have led a full andfruitful and oftentimes daring life. And somewhere along the process,imagination fuses with memory to create an original piece. Right now, with theshort stories, I busy myself with the ‘one square inch’ of writing scenes thatcould be pieced together later. Only the book knows what it’s going to become.Wanda’s adventures are a kind of story cycle within a frame story as shetraverses the ages. It’s the writing that counts. The editing comes from adifferent part of the creative brain.
5 - Are public readings part of or counter to yourcreative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
I’ma huge show-off. I read wherever I’m asked and have done a few on-linereadings. Published during Covid, it was the first norm I knew. I write from myintrovert and perform from my extravert. I’m currently in the process ofvoicing the audio book (18 hours, I’ve estimated). It’s like an eighteen hourradio play. Here’s a QR code to listen to extracts of the novel. I’ve also doneinterviews which contain readings for book fairs and festivals in South Africa,Sweden and the UK.
6 - Do you have any theoretical concerns behindyour writing? What kinds of questions are you trying to answer with your work?What do you even think the current questions are?
Ido believe that ‘value is the soul of storytelling.’ There’s always a ‘message’of some kind in the undergrowth of a good story. As a person of Jewish origin,I’ve found more and more that this identity must be explored, questioned,unravelled. My novel dealt with the ubiquitous presence of antisemitism in thehuman condition. And as a woman, a woman of Africa and a pale native, thisquestion of identity, belonging, outsiderness, transgression, is present ineverything I write. Who am I? Who are we? The paradoxes of being a humanfemale. I didn’t think there was any burden on me to contribute to worldculture. But strangely, after October 7, the question has become immanent,worthy, troubling.
7 – What do you see the current role of the writerbeing in larger culture? Do they even have one? What do you think the role ofthe writer should be?
Ibelieve I have an age-old story to tell in my own unique way. Even though mybook is about the transgressive Jewish experience, it resonates for the humancondition of scapegoating, the female experience throughout history, and my owninsights and explorations into this theme. So yes, the writer should contributeto the zeitgeist of the age.
Ofcourse, having written a novel about a Jewish protagonist, I outted myself asan author of Jewish extraction. Now, with the attitude of antisemitism in thepublishing industry (Come out as a Zionist, the industry will cancel you; comeout as pro-Palestinian, the tribe will get you!) it will be interesting to seewhether Wanda has a future outside the South African bubble. I’m not sure what#writingwhileJewish will bring. I feel now what a White male Afrikaner may havefelt at the end of Apartheid. Not every word I write is about the ‘Jewishcondition.’ But, as with any author of cultural validity, it will infuse andinform my world view forever. Time will tell … and I’m not telling. Yet.
8 - Do you find the process of working with anoutside editor difficult or essential (or both)?
Iwas lucky enough to acquire a professional editor who worked with me from thetime I graduated with the original work to the publication of the novel. Twoyears! Even though I have extensive writing experience, I had no idea what aneditor actually did. At first, it was a shock to have her insert words andchanges into the manuscript. But as we progressed, I realised the absolutenecessity of a good editor. And I’ll never attempt to publish without one. Withouther.
9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard(not necessarily given to you directly)?
Duringthe Masters tutorials, there was a woman who wrote the most magnificent prose.But very scanty quantity. When asked why, she said, ‘Ag, man, I need to beinspired.’ One of the tutors, a highly decorated author, said to her: ‘Well, Ihope you’re near your computer when inspirations strikes.’ What I took fromthis is … you can’t wait for inspiration to strike. You have to simply, ‘Sitdown at the typewriter … and bleed.’
10 - How easy has it been for you to move betweengenres (short stories to cabaret to writing for children to the novel)? What doyou see as the appeal?
I’mable to write to any genre, really. Copywriter’s Derangement Syndrome. Children’sstories are easier to access, sometimes arrive with little songs, and flow frommy pen without the agony of fiction. And yet. And yet. I have to write now.Meaningful fiction. With the lightest touch. If you look at the three projectsI’m disenfragmenting, they are all quite different. A novel is what I strivefor. The short stories are what I wish to conquer. The sister memoir is stillin play. The appeal? It needs to appeal to me, first and foremost. I know whatmy standard can be. Recognition is important. But I don’t work towards that asan incentive.
11 - What kind of writing routine do you tend tokeep, or do you even have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin?
Duringthe writing of Wanda, I was as disciplined as a disciple. I wrote everymorning, from the time I opened my eyes around 7am until around noon. I can’twrite all day long and I have had a business to run. A regular writing routineis the only way and I’m striving to return to this. I love writing retreats andtry to see my daily work as such. Any distraction leadsto the break in routine. Getting back to this practice is my life’s wish.
12 - When your writing gets stalled, where do youturn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?
Significantmemories. Dreams. Reflections. I thumb through previous writings to see ifsomething prompts me to continue. Or just write until something comes up.Prompts help too.
13 - What fragrance reminds you of home?
Thepungent scent of a Highveld thunderstorm rising off freshly polished parquet.
14 - David W. McFadden once said that books comefrom books, but are there any other forms that influence your work, whethernature, music, science or visual art?
Agreethat books come from books. I trained as a jazz musician for eighteen years andthe theory I absorbed so completely through my fingers has also affected mybrain. I also started to create ‘collage characters’ out of found recycledmaterials. These develop into little characters that I use for my children’sstories. I created cartouches for the Wanda book that I’ve used for bookletsand other promotional material. Myhusband is a visual artist and art historian and we often discuss the confluencesof the artistic process in any medium.
15 - What other writers or writings are importantfor your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
I’mreading a slew of short stories now, a hangover from my ill-fated PhD, butchecking out the forms and content a short story can take. Rereading AntonChekov and George Saunders, discovering Lydia Davis and Cynthia Ozick. I’vestudied the classics, poetry and fiction, and they have a subconscious effecton me. I also adore writers who can write about massive human issues with thelightest touch. If I could choose three, I’d say: Phillip Roth, Kurt Vonnegutand Virginia Woolf.
16 - What would you like to do that you haven't yetdone?
Iwish to continue writing literary fiction of the finest standard. And having itpublished by a reputable publisher and the work reaching beyond the SA bubble. TheGospel According to Wanda B. Lazarus is my debut novel. I hope to live a longlife and get my writing out there. South Africa is a bit of a publishingbubble, but I have acquired a US agent now and would love to get my work outinto the world. The Booker Prize, perhaps. Too old for Nobel?
17 - If you could pick any other occupation toattempt, what would it be? Or, alternately, what do you think you would haveended up doing had you not been a writer?
I’venever been able to earn a living as a musician. It’s fun, but penury is rife. Ihave been a copywriter all my adult life, and earned a living that way. I canwrite in a compendium of styles according to a briefs. But fiction is whereI’ve found my voice, and, late to the game, I must bestow upon myself the timeto cultivate my superpower. I’m also an excellent typist. So it could havestopped right there. But something always draw me to further, to more. And thisis it.
18 - What made you write, as opposed to doingsomething else?
Itwas time. I’d spent the breeding, bleeding years writing stories for everyoneelse. And filthy lucre. Brands. Corporates, Cabarets. TV shows. Radio dramas. Fromthe moment I began my Wanda journey, I sensed I was onto something that wouldbring out the best in my thinking and writing. And my life. As Maya Angelousays, whomever says, ‘There is no greater agony than bearing an untold storywithin you.’ Who knew?
19 - What was the last great book you read? Whatwas the last great film?
Theonly writing that has comforted me in a deep philosophical and emotional sensehas been The Dark Interval, Rainier Maria Rilke’s collected letters on loss,grief and consolation. Literature has been hard to hold on to, so I’ve beenretraining my brain with short stories. Rereading Anton Chekhov and George Saunders, discovering Lydia Davis and Cynthia Ozick. I was also recently thelead judge in the CCI Award for Fiction under the auspices of the Department ofSport, Arts and Culture and had to ‘read’ 328 South African books in a week! SoI’ve given myself a crash course in South African literature. The novel weawarded the prize to is called On That Wave of Gulls by Vernon Head. Itdeserves to be read outside the bubble.
Movie-wise,we are avid foreign film watchers. The Spanish movie, Quién te Cantarà directedby Carlos Vermut is a perennial favourite and has echoes of my own life story.Anything by Abel and Gordon, the Belgian comic duo. Most recently made movie torave about is Todd Field’s Tár. Greatest movie of all time, Bob Fosse’sCabaret. I must have seen it a hundred times. Also hooked on old time Hollywoodmusicals. And anything French.
20 - What are you currently working on?
(Seequestion 2 above. This is a summary)
Ihave three projects on the go, to which, once I can emerge from the chrysalisof grief, I can apply my creative writing self. I am halfway through (I think!)a manuscript of a work of auto-fiction, ‘The Comedian Who Killed My Family’,a multiple perspective work, based on the death of a famous comic who committedsuicide in my family home in Australiain the late 60’s. I’m also recollecting a series of short stories based on thetheme of ‘Kol B’Isha Ervah,’ – the voice of the woman is … inappropriate.’ Mylove letter to my sister, ‘The Year of Dying Courageously,’ is more a diarythan a memoir at the moment and will take time and distance to massage into areadable form. I’m taking some light relief in polishing up a slate of musicalchildren’s stories, which seem to pour out of me.
