Stir-crazy in Dairyland

by David Benjamin   “Conspiracy is a term which gets slighted. Conspiracy theories have been right about a lot of things.”  —Aaron Rodgers   PARIS—Maybe Wisconsin makes you stir-crazy. I mean, if you’re not from Wisconsin in the first place, and you’re not used to all the men in Wisconsin mumbling, so you have to…

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“Down-the-block” tough

by David Benjamin   “Don’t let him bluff you, Mr. Louie! Be firm. Stop him!” —Sherman   MADISON, Wis.—“Fight like hell!” quoth the demagogue, twenty feet above his congregation, wreathed in cashmere, framed among flags, shielded by bulletproof glass, flanked by bodyguards.  “Charge!” he roared, dispatching his masses as he slid into his limousine and…

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The Ed McBain Factor

by David Benjamin   MADISON, Wis.— Since I was never admitted—nor did I seek admission—to a prestigious university creative-writing program, I don’t know if the students in these curricula are taught much about digging. I learned to dig, rather, as a newspaper reporter and editor. None of my bosses in journalism gave me digging instructions,……

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Sins of the father

by David Benjamin   “The stories of young men searching for their fathers are the stories of young men who through their adventures father themselves by doing for themselves what they hoped a father would do for them.” —William S. Wilson “Someone once said that every man is trying to live up to his father’s expectations…

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A pregnant pause in the word wars

by David Benjamin   “‘You’re not allowed to call them dinosaurs any more,’ said Yo-less. ‘It’s speciesist. You have to call them pre-petroleum persons.’” —Terry Pratchett    MADISON, Wis.—Ever since I heard, in grade school, the passage in Matthew 25—“Truly, I say to you, as you did to one of the least of my brethren,…

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“Where do you get your ideas?”

by David Benjamin   MADISON, Wis.—A question readers often ask is, “Where do you get your ideas?” The short, smartass answer is “My head.” The candid response is hard to express because inspiration varies from story to story, book to book. What I’ve learned, for sure, however, is that you can’t fashion a good yarn……

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