What experiences do Il authors share? How do Midwestern values shape writing?
Chillicothe “Probably Dead” Definitely two Illinois. . downstate and Chicago.
I’m not sure there are regional authors like their used to be. Technology has pretty much homogenized us. If this conference were held in 1967 when I was a senior at Perry High School, most of you would have lived on a farm. I doubt that’s the case today. Most of you would have watched two TV stations. . 7 and 10. Some of you may have watched more than those since the conference started this morning. In 1967 our audience would have been all white. (Still is?) Most of you would have milked a cow. Most of you would have seen a calf or pig being born. In 1967 you could all have sung the lyrics to the Beatles’ Penny Lane and the Doors’ Light My Fire because we all listened to the same music. If you listened to country music you did it secretly and didn’t mention it to your teenage friends. So . . .what experiences to Illinois authors share today? Not many. . . we’ve lost some of our regional flavor. . .so what’s left? Regional values. We still have many of these.
What are Midwestern values. . .understatement, modesty, stoic. . we put up with things instead of complain. Bull hit by sports car.
Uncle Pete. . hay. “That was close.”
Taking Illinois kids through traffic in Paris. . . takes forever. . .always stepping aside to make room for others on the sidewalk. Very hard to teach them to be pushy. Former student now at Second City in Chicago. . .Walking through White Oaks Mall..stepped front of a lady to get on escalator. “Oops. Forgot I was downstate.”
European tour guide. . .Midwesterners must make a connection with each other.
Less dense areas. . less of a desire to maintain one’s reputation so we tend to talk less about ourselves. . . a bit more humble, self-depreciating. Riverboat. . two other entertainers. . begin with long bio of themselves.
One Midwestern value that I keep seeing pop up in writers from our part of the world. . . the reliance upon family.
Yesterday morning. . This I believe on NPR. A girl from Pittsfield High School. Learned independence from her great grandmother. Juliana Fray. I am pushy and assertive. I am ambitious and a leader. I am independent and can survive on my own, just as my great grandma did when she was living in a labor camp in Germany during World War II. After escaping from the camp with her child - my granddad, she fled to America and started a new life. Her story of perseverance and strength are the reasons why I love my heritage, family, and being Ukrainian. She is the reason for my independent attitude and the reason for my love of freedom.
So. . . What experiences do Illinois authors share? Not many any more. What Midwestern values shape writing? Self-reliance . . . what’s always made Pike Country unique. . . being cut off geographically. Modesty. . not tooting our own horns. Our reliance upon what we’ve learned from our family.
(could end here)
I didn’t intend to be a writer…. As a joke I sent in a weekly column to paper…Hubberville Drippings… People liked the joke. Editor stole the concept and had it copy written… Started Coonridge as a joke in competition with Hubberville…They took it seriously. I’ve never asked any newspaper to run my column…it runs in 14.
Wanted to be a mortician...needed money for mortuary school…Dad said get a teacher’s certificate. Night before graduating from IC…first real prayer… Jim Brim.. “By the way, can you direct plays?” Yes…I’d seen one. Time to produce a play…Where? I didn’t intend that. By the time I retired I was a guest lecturer at the U of I and ISU on playwriting…. a complete fake.
Didn’t intend to write TV commercials… had to have one written and inquired…$200…That’s ridiculous.. I’ll write my own. The company hired me.
Mrs. Smith.. Perry 5th grade.. “Whatever you do….” I wrote about space ships and aliens….terrible. Grandpa, three fingers. Pop goes the weasel The teacher liked it! My friends liked it! 2 donkeys… one bucked Aunt Lizzie into a tank full of water Same! Grandma… cutting chickens head off… backed her into a bush Same!