There I was, sullen and sitting in a local coffee shop three weeks removed from the recent election trying to figure out how on earth it turned out that way. Stunned? Well, (good grammar aside) that be me.
Now the fact is that I’d published two election related columns recently and was stuck midway through a third one when I took a break, refilled my cup, aimlessly flipped through my newspaper and came across a column by Roger Rosenblatt, author of “Unless It Moves the Human Heart: The Craft and Art of Writing.”
Now I’d not thought much about Rosenblatt’s book – and forgot that I actually had a copy – until I read his recent piece, “How to Be a Writer in the second Age of Trump.” Wow, talk about an attention getter, the juxtaposition of the words “Writer” and “Trump” in the same title snared my attention. Why? Because after reading it – several times in fact – Rosenblatt’s piece turned out to be what I needed and when I needed it. You see, although writing about Trump during times of Trump may be a boon for some, for others it’s downright exhausting.
Here’s how he started:
“When I woke last week to the news that Donald Trump had been elected president once again, my first impulse was to write. This is not unusual for me. I have been writing my way through difficult times for more than 60 years.”
A few lines down he continued, “But whenever I found myself lost in anger, anguish or confusion, the answer for how I could get through it has been the same: Put pen to paper.”
Now good writing, writes Rosenblatt, requires four things: precision of language, the freedom to say anything, respect and – perhaps most important – love. So for the rest of this narrative, I’ll look at those good writing requisites and follow with my reaction to each starting with “precision.”
“The simple reason precision is essential in writing is that it allows both the writer and reader a clear and shared understanding. One must be precise in all facets of writing. If you need three adjectives to describe something, you have the wrong something.”
Ahh, you got me on this one Mr. Rosenblatt. I’ll admit that when it comes to precision, I’m sometimes guilty of lack thereof and often wordsmith to the extreme. So yes, I have work to do here but your point is well taken.
On “freedom,” he writes, “The writer depends on total freedom to write what she wants to write, say what she wants to say in a form of her choosing. Freedom is what gives the writer power.”
Here I say, “amen” Mr. Rosenblatt and if you walked into this coffee shop at this very minute, I’d gladly pick up the tab for your favorite latte. What writer freedom means to me is freedom to push boundaries, annoy, educate, reeducate, validate, invalidate and, in the words of the late civil rights icon John Lewis, “Get in good trouble necessary to redeem the soul of America.”
Now Rosenblatt’s last two requisites – “respect” and “love” – led to a double take by yours truly followed by a bit of introspection. He wrote, “An author respects all his characters because he recognizes that we are all flawed and that everyone fails.”
Well, I get that, especially his no brainer about our flaws and failures. But here’s what he wrote that made me depart a tad from what he suggests (the italics are mine).
“(The writer) also respects all points of view, even the most abhorrent. Writers are representative of all humanity and thus are obligated to treat every person, idea and image fairly and honorably.”
Now although I doubt if that’s his literal intent, I’m here to tell you that there’s no way on earth that I’ll respect outright lies and expressions of hate, bigotry and racism, or the people who spout them. Sorry, but honorably respecting abhorrent points of view is a bridge too far for me and if anyone mouths any of that stuff, my respect for them will evaporate into thin air with virtually no chance of recovery.
He closes with “love”.
“Instead of seeing the world as a competitive playing place, the writer sees the world as a vast collection of people, all of whom share the same sense of wonder, the same fears and dreams and the same grief. The writer understands that everyone she meets is carrying a heavy burden. The writer feels that burden – in Madison, Wisconsin, in Santiago, Chile, in Moscow and in Beijing – and loves all who bear it.”
However, from my perspective that burden must include those living in challenging conditions in Port- au- Prine, Haiti, along the Gaza strip, Jerusalem, Mexico City and the Sudan. That burden must include those attempting to escape violence in their home countries or living in abject terror about the threat of mass deportation. That burden must include women whose lives are at risk because of abortion bans. It must include students and teachers dealing with gun violence in schools. That burden must include the homeless young mother with a year-old son who sat near me in the coffee shop where I wrote the piece you’re now reading.
Add those to your mix Mr. Rosenblatt and I’m all in.
Can writers survive, even thrive, in such an environment?” asks Rosenblatt at the end. His answer: “We’d better.” To that I’d append that with not yielding to threats to our core values as writers, nor refraining from saying what must be said and when and how to say it. Because times that writers must continue to “hold feet to the fire,” speak truth to power and call out hypocrisy, craziness and cowardliness whenever and wherever it surfaces.
If we don’t who will?
Terry Howard is an award-winning trainer, writer, and storyteller. He is a contributing writer with the Chattanooga News Chronicle, The American Diversity Report, The Douglas County Sentinel, Blackmarket.com, co-founder of the “26 Tiny Paint Brushes” writers guild, recipient of the 2019 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Award, and third place winner of the 2022 Georgia Press Award.