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| The One Head of the book's title |
Reworking the short stories for a book of short stories is going well. Calling it tentatively Many Voices, One Head. I've decided I'm going to enjoy and like my stories for their uniqueness —or not—as I rework them rather than notice that some don't fit any current mold going the rounds at the MFA programs or in the major literary magazines of America. Over the years, I've tried many forms, tried many styles and "voices". One piece I'm working on now is a mock film treatment for a nonsensical absurdist epic romantic film. Think Doctor Zhivago set on the moors of England, put together by a creator from Loony Tunes. Think Wuthering Heights, Bronte on acid. The stories I'm reworking don't speak with one voice. Serious themes rub elbows with absurd nonsense.
I don't want to put a beat down on major American writers, but, what you do notice in many notable authors is that their stories have a recognizable and certain feel. Raymond Carver is Raymond Carver. You read a collection of his stories, and all the stories sound the same. They speak with one voice. I don't know whether that's necessarily a strength. Or a weakness. It's just the way things are with writers. They find a successful voice and go with it.
I felt that way about poetry. I knew when I wrote a potentially PUBLISHABLE poem, and, sure enough, those that fit the mold in my head of what was publishable were published. I don't know what to make of that. Do you? Among my fictions are a few that fit the voice of what was going about 30 years ago. One of them placed 3rd in a contest, and another was a runner-up in the Writer's Digest annual contest. Neither of them has seen publication. These will appear in Many Voices, One Head too. Maybe I don't spend enough time sending my fiction work out, but I like to spend my writing time writing. Right. OY! And I'm not Jewish.
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