Today: Oct 07, 2024

Two SCSU professors take their writing skills to the books

Michelle Hennessy – News Writer

People wait for a muse to fulfill their dreams, but there’s no such thing, according to Communications professor, Frank Tavares.

“There’s occasional moments of inspiration and grab it when you can, but it’s really just getting off your butt, sitting down in front of the laptop or in front of the pad and just stick to it,” said Tavares, explaining how he went about writing his newest book, “The Man Who Built Boxes.” “Once I realized this, that’s when I started getting things published. Everything else is just an excuse. Some people don’t like to hear that, especially the ‘musers,’” said Tavares.

Tavares is one of two professors to have had books published this semester. His book is a collection of 12 of his short stories, which he dedicated to Leo Connellan, Connecticut’s Poet Laureate from 1996 to 2001.

“He was a mentor of sorts,” said Tavares. “He liked my work and he really encouraged me and one of the things he said to me very early on is, he shrugged his shoulders and said, ‘writers write – you either write or you don’t.’”

Tavares said though each story is independent, they all have a running theme.

“A lot of the characters in the different stories are dealing with situations that they put themselves in or have found themselves in that are restrictive, so that’s probably the theme that runs throughout,” said Tavares. “I’m hoping people will be really interested in how these people got into these situations and see a little glimpse of themselves in it all, that’s what all writers want.”

While he said the book didn’t come without its challenges, fiction writing is unlike any other type of writing.

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Tavares said: “It’s enjoyable work and it’s nourishing work. Fiction writing gives you the illusion of control in terms of the stories and the characters. That’s something that appeals to all of us as writers – we don’t have to worry about the client, we don’t have to worry about making sure that it ends in a particular way, we let the characters lead us in different ways. Some of the stories I write I have no idea who I’m going to meet or where the story is going to go and that’s part of the joy. I get to go on the same journey as a reader might throughout my story.”

English professor Tim Parrish also released a book this fall, called “The Jumper.” A  work of fiction touching on aspects of “crime, romance, racial identity and confusion,” according to Parrish. His other book, “Fear and What Follows: The Violent Education of a Christian Racist, a Memoir” tackles the deep rooted issue of racism in America, said Parrish.

“The memoir is about me being raised as a racist in Louisiana,” said Parrish, “getting in some pretty horrible street violence when I was 13 and falling under the sway of very powerful and charismatic racists and getting into some pretty horrific territory.”

Parrish said his turning point was during his senior year of high school.

“I got in a fight and got suspended my senior year from school, and a lot of good people — black and white — stepped in and helped me and made me realize I needed to better myself,” said Parrish.

After the Twin Tower attacks, Parish said a lot of the racist feelings towards Muslims encouraged him to write the book.

“It really started to bubble up after 9/11 when I saw how scared a lot of Americans had become and they were going to attack Iraq even though there was no good reason to,” said Parrish. “For me it felt a lot like what happened when I was a kid. When I was scared and when the people around me got scared, we decided that we could feel powerful through prejudice and even violence towards black people.”

While touching on topics that are “perhaps dangerous and even frightening which certainly entailed confronting painful personal issues,” Tavares said he has received a lot of positive responses for his memoire.

“I’ve had a lot of very powerful reactions from it, people tend to be relieved that I am opening up about this subject and that I’m admitting that I’ve struggled with racism,” said Parrish. “I think they find that honesty freeing.”

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