Listen Up!
Listen Up!
by Susan Speranza
One question a writer is often asked is how she comes by her
inspiration. Often she will state that reading other writers’ works has
provided her with the motivation and encouragement she needs to proceed with her
own writings. Indeed, most authors can rattle off a list of their favorite
writers who inspired them along the way.
But there is another path to inspiration which many people
are unaware of - that of listening.
My day job (and yes, most writers have day jobs!) is that of
a high school librarian. One of the things I do every year with my students is
run a scavenger hunt so that they become familiar with the library and its
resources. At the beginning of every session, I tell them that if they listen to
me, really listen, I will tell them everything they need to know to complete
the scavenger hunt and get an A. I am always amazed that very few of them
actually stop talking long enough to listen and most of them come back to me
during the hunt, asking me questions that I’ve already given answers to. And I
always tell them that if they had listened to me as I told them to do, they
would know the answer. They often look at me, puzzled, as if they don’t really
believe that something so simple as listening can make a difference.
But it can. Though a seemingly passive endeavor, listening
is a very important one; I learned early on that if I didn’t talk, but really listened
- especially to the right things - I could learn a great deal.
Many of the stories I wove into my novel, The Tale of Lucia Grandi, came from
listening. My mother, a stay at home mom, as most women were in those days, was
a great “coffee-klatcher”. She and many of the neighborhood women would get
together often, mostly at our house, sit around drinking coffee and talk about
everything. Even though I was young, I was invited to join these women, but they
made it clear to me that if I didn’t speak, but only listened I was welcomed to
remain at the table with them. I was therefore given the opportunity to step
into their lives as I listened to many of their interesting stories. They spoke
of their children, their husbands, their parents, their siblings, their hopes,
their miseries, their beliefs, their fears. My participation in this group of
adult women gave me the opportunity to peer into their worlds and experience
their lives vicariously. All because I listened.
When it came time for me to write Lucia Grandi, I drew upon many of these stories I had heard during
those years. It was natural then that I used the framework of a memoir in
shaping this novel – an old woman is asked to tell the story of her life and
she does so, only because someone wants to hear it. The concept of listening
informs the story.
So the next time you want to be inspired or even just want
to learn some interesting things, you should just listen. You might be
surprised what you hear when others start talking!
Thank you for giving us the chance to listen to you Sarah, and thank you for your wise advice. I'm going to add some information about The Life of Lucia Grandi now so readers will know what it's about and where to find it. It certainly sounds intriguing and I'm looking forward to reading it:
The Tale of Lucia Grande,
the Early Years
When an old woman is
asked to tell the story of her life, she tells is an intense and poignant tale
about growing up in and surviving an irrational, warring suburban family during
the 1950s and 60s. The narrative is told from Lucia’s perspective as the second
child where she and her siblings are caught in the middle of a lifelong war
between her mother, Ruth, an overbearing, unhappy homemaker, and her father,
Leonard, a manipulative, sometimes violent New York City cop. Lucia is the
silent, thoughtful eyewitness to her parents’ constant and sometimes
life-threatening battle.
The story is told as a memoir; each chapter describes a particular incident in Lucia’s life which shows the constant struggle between her parents and the perverse effect it has on her and her siblings. From her complicated and unwanted birth, to her witnessing a suicide at age 3, to her stint as a runaway at age 14, the story progresses to the final crisis where as a young woman, she is turned out of her house and banished from her family forever.
This timeless story of one woman’s courageous attempt to come to terms with her past and the troubled family that dominated it is powerfully and poignantly told.
The story is told as a memoir; each chapter describes a particular incident in Lucia’s life which shows the constant struggle between her parents and the perverse effect it has on her and her siblings. From her complicated and unwanted birth, to her witnessing a suicide at age 3, to her stint as a runaway at age 14, the story progresses to the final crisis where as a young woman, she is turned out of her house and banished from her family forever.
This timeless story of one woman’s courageous attempt to come to terms with her past and the troubled family that dominated it is powerfully and poignantly told.
This novel recently made
it to the Quarter final rounds in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest.
Amazon reviewers called it great storytelling and the wrote that the prose “
flows with such beauty you are holding your breath to eagerly read each word!”
Links:
Comments