In your story “Ming,” a poet named Thaddeus inherits millions of dollars worth of Chinese artifacts from a man he knew briefly several years ago. Did you start with that premise and see where it went, or did you know where the story was going from the beginning?
The theme and various elements of the story were originally independent islands. For a long time I wanted to write a story about an outrageous gift. That’s part of it. And I was visiting a friend at NYU Langone when it came to me out of nowhere. The hospital should have a poet residency program. It will not only give some relief to the patient, but also provide healthy social interaction. Then, regarding that extravagant gift, I began to think that it might be a valuable piece of art, something along the lines of, say, a Matisse canvas. I don’t remember how Matisse’s canvas turned into a Song Dynasty celadon cup, only that at one point I was reading a lot about Chinoiserie. And finally, I was walking past a local church on my way home late at night, and before long, the people who were often having the quietest, most intense conversations on the sidewalk were members of the Alcoholics Anonymous and Drugs Anonymous organization. I realized that I had just come out of it. And the subtext of their quiet conversation was, “Don’t leave me alone now.” This understanding gave me the most chilling feeling and I knew that someday I would write about these people.
Even if you try, the lyrics from Prince’s song “1999” – “When I wrote this, I was dreaming / Forgive me if I stray from the path” – will help explain how this story was written. I couldn’t have expected to be able to express it any better than “Tene”.
El Masri and his bequest are a mystery to Thaddeus. Are they a mystery to you too? Or do you sense what El Masri saw in Thaddeus that inspired the gift?
It could be a major act of whimsy on El Masri’s part. Alternatively, it is possible that the sickly El Masri exaggerated the meaning and significance of the time he spent with Thaddeus. Or perhaps there was genuine feelings from the older man toward the younger poet, or an (tacit) recognition of homosexual kinship. Or El-Masry may have read the poems Thaddeus wrote about him and published in a collection about their time at New York University’s Langone College. Perhaps El-Masri liked the poem. The bequest may be El-Masry’s own poems in exchange for Thaddeus’s. Alternatively, El Masri may have been lukewarm about the poem, but still decided to gift Thaddeus with a valuable Chinese artifact. Perhaps the teacup commemorates the tea-drinking ritual they performed every day during the two weeks that El Masri was bedridden. Or, El Masri could simply be a resolute, independent, solitary, and stubborn person, and when it came time to make a list of people to whom he would entrust things, he only had three names. , none of them were family members, and one of them was Thaddeus’s.
Thaddeus is a regular at AA meetings and has a kind of community there. How important is his history of alcoholism to the story?
As evidenced by the Prince lyrics I quoted to explain how I wrote “Ming,” I only understand many of the stories on an intuitive level, based on “vibes.”
The daisy chain of “Vibes” in “Min” looks like this: Thaddeus being in AA means he used to be “drinking,” which means he used to swim, which means he used to see the world from an oblique angle. means. That means he is prone to fainting. Therefore, it makes sense that Thaddeus is in AA, since according to El Masri’s will, Thaddeus is experiencing a “faint” for the second time in his life (the first being a period spent drinking alcohol). ). Most of us living ordinary lives would welcome the opportunity to pass out, but for Thaddeus, it’s an existential crisis. He is afraid that he will “pass out” from the edge of the cliff.
I was also interested in this contradiction, but only understood it retrospectively. How does a character with a tendency toward self-destruction (suggested by the history that led Thaddeus to AA) deal with the gifts that are offered, in a way? Is there an underlying love?
You give us a fair amount of information about Thaddeus’ current life and circumstances, and you also tell us a little bit about his drinking days, but nothing about his larger background or past. I don’t understand. However, his last name, Wong, suggests Chinese descent. Why did you decide to limit what readers know about him outside of the present tense of the story?
I’ve already mentioned “atmosphere” and I’d like to continue in this vein. These decisions, whether to surround a character with a limited set of attributes (for example, I’ve noticed that I rarely describe a character’s appearance), are emotional matters. I do what feels right. Write what you feel is required. My character makes decisions. In this case, Thaddeus decides to go to AA. Find fellow AA sponsors outside of meetings. Don’t enrich yourself by selling valuable gifts right away. Stop writing poetry. To start writing poetry again. And most of all, my character speaks. Even Thaddeus’ poetry is a kind of conversation. Through these two modes, a lot is revealed about your character. Sometimes it’s too much to bear. Also, according to the late painter Agnes Martin, “We are born as verbs, not nouns.” Amen, Sister Agnes!
As for the present tense, yes, I’ve written a lot of stories in the present tense. On the other hand, I avoid corners of the internet where people preach and preach about the recklessness of writing short stories in the present tense. To me, no one can make a convincing argument for not writing in the present tense. Also, Bitch-san, please.
The celadon cup that Thaddeus inherited caused various reactions within him, one of which was to write poetry for the first time in several years. Why do you think this particular object, or its juxtaposition with ultra-cheap, poorly made figurines, inspired him to write again?
This is my guess. It’s not just the cup, but the fact that Thaddeus knows he only has the cup for two more years that focuses his mind. A kind of suspense ensues for a while. Will the Grail freeze Thaddeus forever in unwritten silence? And I think we can say that by taking the pressure off and treating this precious object as just a prop in a child’s play, he is able to release the tension and, as a result, the writing returns.
