Posts by David Benjamin
“I’m hip”
by David Benjamin “I copped a gig at Minton’s and one night Alfred Lions came in to dig us. He said we gassed him, but we were too far out for the people …” — Babs Gonzalez MADISON, Wis. — Since “woke” horned its way into the vernacular a few years ago, I’ve struggled…
Read MoreThe Ember of Anger
The Ember of Anger When I was still muddling with my prose in high school, there was a big trend in the literary world for the sort of writer referred to as the “angry young man.” (Note that no market existed whatsoever for “angry young women.” The closest I might possibly cite in those days……
Read MoreThe machine-gun in the cloister
by David Benjamin “… Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness. Defenceless villages are bombarded from the air, the inhabitants are driven out into the countryside, the cattle machine-gunned, the huts set on fire with incendiary bullets: this is called pacification…” — George Orwell, Politics and the English…
Read MoreComputer? … Computer! … COMPUTER!
by David Benjamin “The more complex the mind, the greater the need for the simplicity of play.” — Capt. James T. Kirk MADISON, Wis. — All through my grade-school years, a Friday afternoon tabloid called The Weekly Reader was every kid’s gateway to a golden tomorrow. In its inky newsprint pages were unveiled breathtaking technological…
Read MoreThe Elements of Character
As a young writer, a dilemma that troubled me was characters. I was busily writing sketches populated by imaginary people. But I wondered, are these guys, and girls, characters? Had I “developed” them, or did they just pop into my head, like visions of Milky Way bars and the Playmate of the Month? Since then,……
Read MoreDick’s “theory” rears its loony head … again
by David Benjamin “Donald Trump … suggested on Fox News Thursday night that [President] Biden should respond to the invasion by personally threatening to obliterate Russia with nuclear weapons.” — Greg Sargent, Washington Post MADISON, Wis. — David Brooks, the Times’ resident touchy-feely columnist, refers to Russian president Vladimir Putin as an “identity politician,” whose…
Read More“Memory Care”
by David Benjamin “… Strictly entre nous/ Darling, how are you?/ And how are all/ Those little dreams/ That never did come true?… ” — “Thanks for the Memory,” Leo Robin & Ralph Rainger MADISON, Wis. — Lately, I’ve been trampling on my sister’s memories. Margaret Ann Benjamin, henceforth referred to as Peg, was a…
Read MoreA novelist’s guide to dining in Paris
A novelist’s guide to dining in Paris One advantage of writing fantasy fiction is that you get to make up an entire world, with made-up heroes, damsels, villains, dragons, and an imaginary history. No fussy editor or reader can fact-check your backstory or expose your topographical blunders. On the other hand, when setting a story……
Read More“But, Sister, what if … ”
by David Benjamin “… There’s a limbo moon above/ You will fall in limbo love…” — Chubby Checker MADISON, Wis. — According to a shocking news bulletin, there are deacons in Catholic churches from Michigan to Arizona—and God only knows where else—performing counterfeit baptisms. Over the years, this scandal has affected hundreds, perhaps thousands of…
Read MoreThe allure of formula in mystery prose
The allure of formula in mystery prose Formula is the resort of the mediocre writer. It is, however, a resort visited occasionally by even the best of authors, especially when a story — faithful at first to formula — veers off the hackneyed path and springs a surprise. The two genres most subject to formula……
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