Profanity alert. Anyone who reads this blog knows it rarely includes cuss words. About halfway through my writing career, I did an about face on “realistic” dialogue, bludgeoned by the overuse of our four-letter friends by Hollywood. I was able to eliminate it in most of my work. In Killing I substituted what I call Brooklyn Sicilian, hoping it would be a more artistic and fun approach. In Exchanges, which I hope will be in print shortly, I would not change the language of the trading floor, which was often blue. To have done so would be to move too far from the truth. In the arts, there are many instances where profanity works. I’ll cite two: Iggy Pop in concert. I don’t know how, but he managed to make it seem natural, unforced. And I found it exhilarating in David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), especially in the scene where Al Pacino rips Kevin Spacey a new one. Anyway, countless times I’ve borrowed bits of dialogue friends have used or some I’ve overheard in every day situations at work or on the street. It was so cold during my morning walk that I was reminded of two gems I’ll probably never use in any of my works. I went to Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. My freshman year it seemed like there were at least snow flurries every day, attributed to what natives call the Lake Effect. One day as I was about to exit the dorm, a student entered and said: “Motherfuckin’ cold outside.” The inflection was so perfect, so rhythmic that I was laughing all the way to class. Another time my friend Donnie, who was from Gary, Indiana, and I were walking out of the cafeteria when we heard: “Five mother-fuckin’ dollars, bitch” come from a table of males nearby. We looked at each other and guffawed. We repeated it to each other the entire semester, trying vainly to capture the naturalness with which it had been delivered. We might have done so longer had he not transferred the next school year.
Andre Malraux was a French leftist intellectual who lived a fascinating life. He participated in the Spanish Civil War and in the resistance during WWII. He was appointed to three ministerial positions by Charles DeGaulle. He also did a lot of writing. Among a recent donation of books, there was his first novel, The Conquerors, copyright 1929. It is set during the Chinese revolution of the mid 20’s, when a myriad of forces, including foreigners, strove to drive the British out of the country. Although I found it confusing to a large extent, it contains some gems. The lead character is fascinating. He grew up middle class, hated it, and believes he will despise the revolutionaries once they pull themselves to that level, which he, ironically, is helping them attain. He makes a few telling observations: “…though life is worth nothing, there is nothing worth so much as a life.” And: “Those who want to let go of the earth find it sticking to their fingers.” His best known work is Man’s Fate. He also wrote extensively on the arts. On a scale of five, I rate The Conquerors three. Then again, Malraux is on a much higher intellectual plain than I, so it’s probably absurd for me to offer an opinion on his work.
The floating book shop was again sidelined by the weather, but my good luck continued. I received a $35 gift card from Kantar, for whom I did a survey a while ago, entering my daily beverage consumption into an Iphone the company provided. Thanks.
Even cable TV has been affected by the cold, most channels unwatchable last night. I had to go to my video library. It was either that or watch back to back to back episodes of Charlie's Angels on THIS, 111.
Visit Vic's sites:
Vic's Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
No comments:
Post a Comment