The Kerouac/Turgenev Connection

Whatever you might think of the quality of Jack Kerouac's writing, it's hard to deny that he could write about the feel of a jazz club well. Especially in On the Road, everything is soundtracked by jazz. Often the characters go to jazz clubs, and the improvised music speaks to them so intimately that they often speak back to it They shout to the musicians and encourage them to ride out the music, as though the musicians are riding, bareback and precariously, on strange beasts. It wouldn't be unusual to hear a character just shout out to a musician . . .

"Great, man, great! Get it, boyo! Get it, hold it, keep at it, stretch it, you snake! Stretch it, go on, and again! Make it hot again, man, you old dog, you! Oh, the devil take your soul, man!"

That quote could be directly from On the Road.

But it isn't.

Oddly enough, it's from a story called "Singers" in Ivan Turgenev's book Sketches from a Hunter's Album. In the story, two peasants are having a contest of singing in a hole in the wall excuse for a tavern called The Welcome. Turgenev takes a hiatus from hunting because of the heat, and inadvertently stumbles upon this contest between the singers. It's while the first singer is singing very well that one of the on-lookers bursts out into the exuberant quote above.

It just tickled me to read that quote in Turgenev's book -- written some 100 years before Kerouac's opus. I'm not sure why, but I just read and reread that ridiculous line and kept thinking, "This could be straight out of On the Road."

I was laughing out loud when I read it and, in my own way, shouting to Turgenev to ride it out . . . or write it out. Go, boyo, go!

Boyo?

I love it. Just love it.

Monetary Report: Week 17

Another good week. I was paid for a fiction contest I judged (which I'm going to count as writing profit), and I sold a few books. My profits for this week were $112.21. That, officially, is my second best week, and it brings my year total to date to: $688.92.

I guessed that each year I make about $1000.00 off my writing. Looks like I might actually do a little better than that.

We'll see, though. I have a feeling things are going to slow down.

I had a thought, and I wanted to include it because it feels like my whole blog has become about these monetary reports. For someone just tuning in, the reports might look a little odd. What I determined at the start of the new year was that I wanted to find out exactly how much I make in a year from my writing. I am counting only profits -- not things that are costs. So, if I sell a book for $12.00, but I buy saleable copies from the publisher for $9.00, then my profits are $3.00. I figured that my weekly reports might be of interest to someone.

Feel free to comment on the value of the reports.

Okay, here's the thought I had earlier . . .

Serious writers should think of themselves as unordained holy people or as seers or as philosophers. They should write because they have something to say about the world . . . they have a truth to share. Writers who put craft, style, and experimentation above everything else are charlatans masquerading as serious writers. They lack a message, but they wrap their empty box with the prettiest paper they can find.

I challenge anyone to write a down-to-earth story with real people in real situations and to make it good. Help readers see the extraordinary in the ordinary. Make the mundane mudluscious. If you can do that, you might have the chops to be a writer. If you can't, maybe you're just playing. Maybe, like so many Pollock knock-off artists, you're just dripping paint, and yet you can't even draw a decent piece of fruit. If you draw that apple well enough and with enough truth, you might just make someone hungry.

Sorry, I'm just rambling.

Monetary Report: Week 16

Well, that was one busy week! I hosted the poet Beverly Matherne at Delta College, I gave a reading at the Caro Public Library, I drove to the U.P. and presented the first winner of the John VandeZande Fiction Prize at Northern Michigan University, and then I gave a reading of my own poetry and fiction as a visiting writer in NMU's MFA program.

For writers, busy weeks tend to be profitable weeks. Week 16 saw me pull in $98.72 in profits. If you've seen some of the past monetary reports, you know that that's an exceptional week for a D-list writer like myself. In fact, it's my second best week to date. And, it brings my total for the year to $576.71.

What can I say . . . appearances, appearances, appearances. That's where writers make their money.

I want to mention that Josh Maday made the trip up north with me. What a great friend. We visited potters, gambled at cards, saw a logger wrestle a county worker, donated goods to Saint Vincents, and experienced some downhome surrealism at Flanagan's Bar.

Fair enough!

Thanks, Josh.

Monetary Report: Week 15

Well, after last week's three hundred-something dollar profit, things are back to normal this week. I earned $3.00 . . . better than nothing, I guess. I'm guessing that some more $0.00 weeks are in my future. This week, however, with readings at Caro Public Library on Thursday and Northern Michigan University on Saturday . . . well, let's just say that I'm anticipating a decent week.

Thanks for stopping by.

Total profits to date: $477.99.

Poetry Reading: Tuesday, April 15th

I've mentioned this, but I'll mention it again . . . especially since I think a few local folks actually read this now and again. On Tuesday, April 15th at 9:30 in the morning (yes, morning) Beverly Matherne will read from her poetry in G-160 (the lecture theater) at Delta College. This is free and open to the public. Please come. Hearing her read will be a real treat.

Dr. Matherne is a professor in the MFA program at Northern Michigan University. She is Cajun and will be reading some of her poems in both French and English.

Oui!

Update on NMU Reading

Well, just in case someone from Marquette comes to my website, I wanted to give the specifics about my reading on Saturday, April 19.

I'll be reading at 7 p.m. in the Charcoal Room of the Don H. Bottom University Center on Northern Michigan University's campus.

Hope to see a few people there!

Monetary Report for Week 14

Well, when it comes to making money as a writer, I have two words . . . make appearances. This week I made $319.09 in profits. The $19.09 was from books (an above average week), but the $300.00 was from the fact that I was invited to present in the Rally of Writers writing conference.

The conference itself was a great time at a great location. I got to spend the day yammering away with my good friend, Ken Meisel. It seemed to me that the sessions were very good, and the conference attendees were fine people. Lunch was excellent! All in all, a good and profitable day.

Well, the Rally of Writers appearance, along with everything else to this date, brings my total profits for the year to $474.99.

With this new total, making a thousand dollars this year seems like it's in the realm of possibility.