Posts by David Benjamin
Toying 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,…
Read MoreThe invisible poetry of prose
by David Benjamin One of the secrets to writing fluid prose is to be educated in the meter, rhythms, discipline and wordplay of great poems. For a writer, the consequence of not appreciating the poetry of prose is to hit the sort of sour note that turns off the reader. For three years in……
Read MoreBienfang goes to college
by David Benjamin “Meritocratic systems, with objective grading scales, are critical to that belief [that “blacks can achieve in every avenue of American life without the meddling of university administrators”]. Such scales have always been a great equalizer—offering a metric for achievement that bigotry could not alter.” —Justice Clarence Thomas MADISON, Wis.—When I dropped…
Read MoreThe church-lady factor
by David Benjamin Since its beginning, literature has been hounded by bluenoses with blue pencils, trying to excise words and ideas offensive to the current legions of decency and orthodoxy. Every writer, sooner or later, has to decide a response to the relentless force of censorship. Last year, prior to the official “launch” event……
Read MoreThe things you carry
by David Benjamin “Never meet your heroes.” —Leroy Jethroe Gibbs, Rule #73 MADISON, Wis.—“Do you have a pen?” This is a question to which I’ve never said, “No.” Pens are among the things I carry. To some degree, each of us is defined by the accessories we take along, wherever we go. Likewise, forgetting…
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