[Note: This essay was commissioned for a collection on the art of writing that was published in 1999. Each writer selected a topic from a list. The editor was very enthusiastic about my draft; but in the final stages, looking to reduce the overall number of pages, the editorial board decided to cut my piece. […]
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Writing “American Fish”
“American Fish” was initially written as a scene in a play. I was taking a playwriting class from Ed Bullins, African-American playwright, and we were assigned to write one scene per week. I wrote it in 1985, so I honestly can’t say that I remember what inspired the scene. I thought it would be very […]
Where stories come from
In 2001, a young woman in Florida wrote, asking if I would answer some questions about my writing. I said I would be happy to (and refrained from adding, although I wanted to, “…if you’ll answer some of MY questions about what the heck is going on with voting in Florida!”) She and her friends […]