The Paula Gordon Show |
Misfortune | |||
Misfortune is not all bad, according to Wesley Stace
and John Wesley Harding. The two names fit one man -- Mr. Stace, aka
the performer John Wesley Harding -- as the one title, “Misfortune,” is
shared by the song he wrote that inspired his first novel by the same
name. |
Conversation 1 Wesley Stace describes the part his novel plays in the heritage of story in English culture for Paula Gordon and Bill Russell. The importance of story-telling in the human experience is considered, in books and in music. 6:51
secs
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Conversation 2 Noting the long and illustrious tradition of English ballads and their stories, Mr. Stace relates ballads to the tradition out of which his novel comes, as do his albums. He describes his approach to finding information. He thinks of the ballad tradition as a river, he says, and compares how he sings them to singing songs he’s written. He describes how he wrote the novel _Misfortune_, starting with his song by the same name, creating a whole world, drawing on all the things he knows how to do. 11:05
secs
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Conversation 3 Mr. Stace lets his character, Rose, explain the possibility that it is women who are the great female impersonators. He describes why he thinks of his novel as a coming-of-age story. He wanted to write a very warm book with big characters and a big plot, Mr. Stace says, so he had to let the book decide how to write itself. He remembers why he chose to set the story in the past and describes the freedom that gave him. He talks about the importance of clothes, of gender and of not fetishizing the past, content with what he calls a rip-roaring plot. 11:16
secs
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Conversation 4 Having written hundreds of songs, Mr. Stace describes ways that being a musician contributed to becoming a novelist. Music is part of his whole family, he says, remembering the doctorate he did not complete at Cambridge. He describes how life has unfolded for him. He draws parallels between the song, “Misfortune,” and the novel. He focuses on how Rose has to invent herself. Expressing his rejection of slavery, patriarchy and religious institutions, he gives examples of how novels give the novelist away. 11:10
secs
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Conversation 5 Mr. Stace recalls his favorite part of his novel, a mystical moment similar to the spirit of old ballads, he says. A reader should never feel manipulated by a writer, he says, and explains why. Averse to sloganeering, he compares great songs to terrible ones. Story and characters hold people, Mr. Stace believes, confident a good story allows things to emerge. He describes touring, why he does not have to replicate himself musically. He thinks of the people who fund his career as his patrons, he says, and explains. He puts his approach in historical perspective, describing his own love of story and his drive to revive things. 11:39
secs
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Conversation 6 He’s still discovering, Mr. Stace says, with vivid examples from his novel and his songs. He summarizes his hope to honor individual consciousness in Misfortune. 4:36
secs
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Acknowledgements We are always appreciative of unhearlded people it
takes to get a good book into the hands of the reading public. We thank
Sophie Cottrell for her hospitality and for giving us a glimpse into
the “behind-the-scenes” work in the publishing world. |
Links: |