Pete Hamill Caps Writers Center Stage Season
Writer Pete Hamill loves libraries, librarians, and writing. During his appearance at The William N. Skirball Writers Center Stage, he spoke about his family, his creative journey, great writers and the writing process. He said, “Libraries help us to find who we are and how we fit into the world.” His mother, who raised seven children, introduced him to the library and he somehow learned to read just by being there.
Hamill is an accomplished journalist and essayist who covered wars and wrote for The New York Post, New York Newsday, Village Voice and Esquire for more than thirty years. He has completed nine novels and two collections of short stories, which include Snow in August and his memoir A Drinking Life. His latest novel, which he was signing last night, is Tabloid City. North River, his most recent novel, was published in 2007. His first novel, published in 1968, was A Killing of Christ. He spent many years writing news stories during the day and writing fiction at night after time with his family and a nap.
The evening was hosted by Sari Feldman, Executive Director of the Cuyahoga County Public Library. Cleveland State University President Dr. Ronald M. Berkman introduced the writer who took center stage at the Ohio Theater. The Series is presented by the library in partnership with the university. Each writer who participates in Center Stage works with CSU students, and Dr. Berkman remarked that what he finds most marvelous about Cleveland is “the commitment that Cleveland has for keeping the written and spoken word alive.”
Hamill was born in Brooklyn to Irish immigrants and he considers having been poor and being in the world before television to be a gift. He loved Terry and the Pirates, and at age 11, in 1946, he copied the pictures in those comic books. He eventually starting drawing his own comics but, after studying art, his love of reading lead him to journalism, which was self taught. He learned his craft in the graduate school of the newspaper business. His novels are character-driven and he sketches out the 3-act structure, but he likes the process of the story unfolding, and he gets out of the way to allow that to happen. He “writes to tell a story someone else might listen to.” He never thought about fame and fortune, he just wanted to be the best Peter Hamill that ever lived, and has been a happy man doing that.
Last evening’s talk by Pete Hamill ended on a note of hope for writers and libraries. Hamill does not believe journalism is in trouble, although newspapers might be. With all the ways we can read these days, our level of reading is likely to increase. He believes the internet offers hope. Books are here to stay and we will have many choices of how to read. Libraries will continue to be a catalyst for learning, living beyond our neighborhood, and encouraging people to tell their stories.
The Eighth Season of Writers Center Stage launches on Tue 9/20 with Elizabeth Strout. The five other writers (an increase over four writers this year) who will talk about their life, reading, and how they write are Michael Pollan, Billy Collins, Abraham Verghese, Anne Lamott and Colm Toibin. http://WritersCenterStage.org.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Claudia Taller, whose book Ohio’s Lake Erie Wineries will be published by Arcadia next spring. Her passion for words has led to creation of the Lakeside Word Lover’s Retreats, an outgrowth of her work with Skyline Writers. Her favorite foods are red wine, salmon, ice cream, and chocolate. She loves to read, write, tour wineries, ride her bike, ease into yoga, and cook gourmet meals for friends. Find her at http://www.ClaudiaTallerMusings.blogspot.com or at http://www.OhioLakeErieWineries.blogspot.com.
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