Steve Almond: MY LIFE IN HEAVY METAL

Steve Almond: MY LIFE IN HEAVY METAL

By Doug Holder




This is an interview with Somerville writer, Steve Almond. * published in the Somerville News.

There is a saying from an old television show, to the tune of, " There are a million stories in the Naked City, this has been one of them." This statement referred to New York, but this could apply to Somerville, Mass. as well. And not only are there a million stories, but there is an ample supply of writers in our locale to pen many a compelling tale.One new kid on the block is Steve Almond, who has written a critically acclaimed collection of short stories, MY LIFE IN HEAVY METAL. Almond, who teaches at Boston and Emerson colleges and has been published in any number of prestigious literary journals, has completed a work that explores the capricious nature of that thing that bewitches, bemuses, and bother us, namely, LOVE. I talked with Mr. Almond at Starbuck's in the heart of Davis Square, Somerville.

DH: Many writers get their start as journalists. Off hand I can think of Ernest Hemingway and Stephen Crane. You worked as a journalist for awhile. Did this spur you on to write fiction?

SA: Yeah. I didn't have the courage to write fiction just out of school. I was too beat up by my family, lack of self-esteem,etc..I did want to work with language. I needed to be pushed into the world a little bit. I was a reporter and it was the best thing I ever did. It forced me to shut up and listen to people. It gave me an ear for dialogue. I learned to write every day. I was slowly getting enough recognition and I was able to develop confidence.I was in my late 20's; and I thought" You know, I got to break away from the corporate setting. I have to try fiction, or I will hate myself if I don't."

"My Life In Heavy Metal" was my first book, so it was a big break for me. It is so hard to get stories published, and so hard to sell them. You have to sell books. I love readings, but the hard part is how many you sold, the numbers.

DH:You live in Somerville, the Winter Hill section. Is Somerville a good place to be?

SA: I have lived in Somerville for four and a half years now. I moved straight from North Carolina where I was in graduate school. I got an MFA in Creative Writing at the Univ.of North Carolina. I didn't want to stay in the South.In New York I felt I would be too distracted. I came up to visit in Boston and found an apartment in Somerville, one of those big, old houses-I loved it. I also knew I wanted to teach, and I knew I could teach here. I love the Portugese Bakery around the corner from my house( Winter Hill Bakery). I like a place where I can hear both Portugese and Italian being spoken. I like being close to Boston,but not being right in it. I like not living in Cambridge; it's too expensive.
Somerville is working class; there are some artists;there are university kids who bring energy, not a lot of corporate types. I am happy to have a quiet niche.

DH:Have you written any Somerville based stories?

SA: None of the ones in this book. The one story in the collection that is informed by Somerville, is: " The Last Single Days of Don Viktor Potapenko." It is about a pickpocket,and a lothario. There is a poetic squalor to the scene. It has the idea of gangsters...you can't live on Winter Hill without hearing about about the Winter Hill Gang and Whitey Bulger. There is some romantic danger just down the street. It takes me a few years to soak up a place that I live in, in order to write about it.

DH:In MY LIFE IN HEAVY METAL,you write about love, lust and relationships. In spite of all the ironic and glib barbs thrown in this book, there is still a sense of romanticism. Do you agree?

SA: Oh yeah. I am glad to hear you say that. In its worst moments it's glib. What I wanted to write about is the heartbreak and the suffering of desire. That's what everyone goes through. If they don't I pity them. The stories are about how we throw our bodies before our hearts.We pay a price...always. There is a larger endorsement of the effort for love in this book. I hope people who read these stories feel less alone with their dangerous desires...mistakes.

DH: Critics say that you write beautifully about sex. Can you comment?

SA: I have no interest in exploiting sexuality. I think sex is one of the deepest emotional, intellectual and spiritual experiences. There is no such things as "casual sex." There is a lot more going on.

DH:You teach at a couple area colleges and schools. How does this help or hinder your craft?

SA: I teach at Boston College and Grub St. I love it. I am energized by it because I get a chance to talk about what I love, and get paid for it.

DH: Are you in touch with other Somerville writers?

SA: I knoew (poet) Joe Torra. Josh Barkin is a friend of mine. I try to find other young writers to hook up with.

DH: As the song goes" It's still the same old story"; but is it? Is the search for love the same as 40 or 50 years ago?

SA: It is very different. The force of society to get married is gone. Men and women suffer for it. The larger message of the book is if you don't know yourself, you are sunk. Previously you banged things out in a marriage, now there is an extended adolescence.There are real prices to be paid.

DH: Any new projects?

SA: I am working on a novel. I am slugging it out. I hope to be done with a draft at the end of the year.