Post written by Laura Cococcia. You can follow Laura on Twitter.
Writing isn’t what you do; it is what you are. What can you do but what you are meant to do? So I tell my writing students the same thing: Wear them down. – Luis Alberto Urrea
I love exploring a writer’s brain. Why do they do what they do? Do they ever get tired? Do we have to be writing 400 words a day, every day from 4-5pm? What if I forget how to spell?
While no one writer has all the answers, it’s fascinating to hear the colorful responses – where they differ an
d where they align.
Before I moved back to NYC from Chicago a few months ago, I had a chance to interview Luis Alberto Urrea for Examiner.com; Urrea is the professor of creative writing at the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) and Naperville resident. He recently released his latest book Into the Beautiful North.
An award-winning poet and essayist, Urrea has published 11 books and was a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction. He is a member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame, and uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss and triumph.
Urrea graciously answered a few questions about his writing motivations and shared his advice for writers.
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Laura: You’re an award-winning, critically acclaimed poet and essayist. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
Luis: I come from a compulsively story-telling family, so I was interested in that from the moment I could talk. I would say that a fanatical hunger for reading pushed me over the edge at around the age of 13. I just had to do what my heroes were doing.
Laura: Your new novel, Into the Beautiful North, was released not too long ago. Separate from the characters and plot development, what do you think differentiates this new work from your other writings?
Luis: It’s funny, but some people who have read it note that it is so different from The Hummingbird’s Daughter. But the truth is, The Hummingbird’s Daughter was the anomaly. I have always been interested in the fertile borderland between tragedy and all forms of comedy. That being said, this book feels richer to me and more vividly inhabited by its characters. For the first time, I feel like I could write a novel about each person in this book.
Laura: What are you reading right now?
Luis: Everything! I’m in the middle of Denis Johnson’s Tree of Smoke, but also piles of poetry. I’m really enjoying Michael Perry’s Coop and Pete Dunne’s Prairie Spring. And that doesn’t take into account all the manuscripts that keep coming in looking for blurbs.
Laura: What’s your favorite thing about living in the Chicago area?
Luis: I am designing a course at UIC called The Ghost of Chicago. I am delighted and haunted by the shadows of all the Chicagos down through time. I did not realize just how much history, astonishment, and magic there was in this land. In fact, I am sure Chicago will forgive me for thinking just the opposite after having lived in the Rockies, the Sonoran Desert and Louisiana’s Bayou Country. So now I have to say I am enjoying simply basking in all this Chicago-ness (and I love Sara Paretsky.)
Laura: What advice do you have for aspiring writers – or even established ones – looking to hone their craft and stay committed to the writing practice?
Luis: My first book, Across the Wire, sought a publisher for 10 years. Nobody would take it, not New York publishers, not small presses, not university presses. It takes a certain amount of madness to keep going at a book for 10 years. However, writing isn’t what you do; it is what you are. What can you do but what you are meant to do? So I tell my writing students the same thing: Wear them down.
Visit Urrea on his website: http://www.luisurrea.com/
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
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Luis’ advice in the end was very inspiring. It only proves that patience and perseverance leads to success. I will write a book in the near future, and I will remember to hold on to my goals. :-)
Wear them down, indeed! My personal publishing hero was the late great William Stafford, whose first book was not released until he was in his late forties. Just keep at it!
.-= Linda Dini Jenkins´s last blog ..Proud to Present . . . =-.
@Walter – I love his advice – and definitely let me know how your book goes!
@Linda – “Wear them down” was an unbelievable message – love that William Stafford was older…I think there’s nothing we can’t do, no matter what age. Thank you my friend!