Posts by David Benjamin
It’s the Vatican’s jalopy. Ship it back.
by David Benjamin “Catholic teaching was that no homicide was involved if abortion took place before the foetus was infused with a soul, known as ‘ensoulment’. This was believed to occur at ‘quickening’, when the mother detected the child move for the first time in her womb. It indicated a separate consciousness. “In 1591, Pope…
Read MoreThe author as educator
Some misguided souls refuse to read fiction, explaining—when I ask—that they want to learn stuff, as though there is nothing to learn in Aeschylus, Shakespeare and James A. Michener. The truth is that every storyteller begins with a ton of homework, lest his or her readers refuse to suspend disbelief. by David Benjamin Even the……
Read MoreWelles’ Law and the Ogden Nash Dilemma
by David Benjamin “What finally saved the movies was the introduction of narrative.” — Arthur Knight, The Liveliest Art MADISON, Wis.— Most contemporary writers crib from the movies. I do so voluminously and shamelessly. I grew up watching movies. I was the first kid in my grade to shlep downtown and go to the…
Read MoreAn open letter to my high-school best friend
by David Benjamin Dear Dick: At long last, I’m writing to apologize for mooching my way, uninvited and unwashed, into your life and the bosom of your family. If you recall, it all started one summer day in 1964, when I mounted my bicycle and pedaled the three miles from a cramped, cluttered and…
Read MoreToying with time
by David Benjamin Any time a writer decides to toy with time, to alter chronology as a narrative device, the risk is reader confusion. The writer also risks blowback for historical mistakes or by trips to the future that strain credibility. The temptation for time-travel must be executed with originality and bolstered by research. ……
Read MoreThe legal peregrinations of “Scrooge McDuck”
by David Benjamin “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” — Albert Einstein MADISON, Wis.—So, there’s this guy. Let’s call him Individual One. He’s rich, okay? But he really hates to pay his bills, He’d rather just sit in a big room on a…
Read MoreI am become Barbie, destroyer of worlds
by David Benjamin “I wanted to do something anarchic and wild and funny and cathartic.” —Greta Gerwig, director, Barbie MADISON, Wis.—You’ve probably heard the joke about Phil the promoter who barges into the office of a showbiz talent scout and says, “Sol, have I got a dynamite act for you! This girl, she’s not…
Read MoreThe moment of narrative confidence
by David Benjamin As I blunder through the first dozen chapters of a new novel, called Cheat, I can’t help reflect on the crisis of confidence affects every novelist, no matter how experienced, at the beginning—and in the middle—of every project. Even for a veteran author, beginning a novel is a daunting prospect. Continuing……
Read MoreMad as hell and still taking it
by David Benjamin ““ … Trump has energized a segment of America whose values and traditions are mocked as bigoted, backward or too religious. The world is hurtling past them at breakneck speed. Their belief that Trump is their last, best hope to avoid being left in the dust is partly disturbing, partly endearing and…
Read MoreThe little girl on the scooter and the feminine aesthetic
by David Benjamin “… And when she passes, each one she passes, goes “Aah’… ” —Vinícius de Moraes & Norman Gimbel. “The Girl from Ipanema” MADISON, Wis.—She was two blocks ahead and I was busy driving. But for a moment I froze, fascinated, drawing a testy honk when the light went green. Normally,…
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