While reading the WTV reader Expelled from Eden, I came across this piece. It is taken from Vollmann’s Iraq chapter from Rising Up and Rising Down and from a speech he gave in Sacramento in 2002. I searched online to see if I could find this particular section, the three suggestions that he offers to writers writing about war, but I also think it has a broader appeal and applies when trying to write about any group that is well-known and often misunderstood or misrepresented.
“My advice to the writers among you would be as follows:
1.) Never forget the other point of view. No matter how you judge it, try to see it fairly and try to describe it accurately. Failing this, you will remain unable to evaluate the ideological claims to which you will be subjected for the rest of your life. Whatever you write about, let your subjects teach you in their own way, and show them that you have learned it and respect it. Let them be round characters always. The most anti-American Taliban officials were kind to me when I showed them my own copy of the Koran.
2.) Never forget your own point of view. If extremists convince their neighbors in the Muslim world that we are all pawns of Israel, maybe you can unconvince them. If our government presents our next archenemy as a flat character, lern enough to present him as a round character. If you become a reporter, you will have to live with dumbing down your message, but please never, ever allow the fundamental essence of that message be distorted. Remember, we writers are among the few who enjoy the privelge of presenting and standing by our own independant position to the world. We are beholden to no one.
3.) In these times, any one of you who feels inclined to risk a little and earn a lot should travel to an Islamic country to make friends and learn, not to teach. I can promise you that the mere fact of your interest will make a difference in a world where most Americans are seen as ignorant bullies. You should consider it an honor and a duty to keep those friends for life. You should get to know them well enough to understand why what they elieve is plausible to them, and you should explain their views to other Americans as sympathetically and as accurately as you can.”
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officially official
Well the past few months have been a whirlwind of events.
Some to be expected and some unforseen.
It took a minute for things to unfold, but unfold they have.
I am no longer a part of the magazine I helped to start and build, and while it didn’t conclude the way I hoped or imagined, it was clear the time was right to move on.
I took a minute to breathe, read a few books, and ignore emails and the incessant connection to the internet.
At the same time, I don’t want to become too comfortable and lose my focus and drive.
So it’s about time I dust off a few pitches, begin updating this, LinkedIn, and doing what I love to do an am good at.
Writing.
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Tags: update
David Harple needs your help
This is for one of my closest and dearest friends.
David Harple is the chief photographer at the News-Times in Danbury, Conn., and a NPPA award winning photographer. He is battling a form of kidney cancer for which there is no cure. The financial burden on his family is taking it’s toll, and a site and fund has been established to help.
Any help is deeply appreciated.
If a financial contribution is not possible, passing this site along would be appreciated as well.
http://www.harplefamilyfund.com
Thank you all.
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today
Hectic. Little time to chase down freelance…
I did come up with a few possible pitches I need to work out.
Stuck them in the Blackberry for later…
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Tags: freelance
my daily grind…
My daily grind usually starts with checking my email and my Google Reader.
I have to prioritize and my magazine work takes precedence right now. Deadline for the writers getting content to me was yesterday, and I officially have received only one piece.
In addition, two of the major pieces (the cover and the centerfold pull out) won’t even take place until this week and next week. Also, because of the economy (I know, I know…) I’m not sure what the number of advertisements looks like, so I am up in the air about the amount of pages I need to fill. I need to meet with the publisher, advertising guy and creative director who is in charge of layout to see what it looks like.
In the meantime, I pour over my new Google Reader foler titled “freelance” which pulls posts from the links listed on my blog roll, all relating to trying to find work, aka: pay rent. Usually discouraged, my former professor from Temple, George Miller, usually has some good suggestions, pointers, ledes, etc. He’s always good to go to. He’s encouraging me to write up some of my expereinces and pitch them. While I’m doing that, I also have been trying to build and maintain this, as well as build my LinkedIn profile. And maintain my Twitter. Right now I am trying to do all these for both my business and my personal stuff, so it’s hectic. To say the least…
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The search begins…
It strikes me as interesting that I can simultaneously have a good bit of media/publishing/writing experience, and seem so unqualified to do certain freelance work. Without sounding arrogant, I feel like I am a pretty good, not great, writer, passionate about my work, but somehow my clips of a highly controversial interview with one of the most popular artists in the world, doesn’t seem to qualify me for much. It wasn’t just the interview or drama, but the writing I did about the experience that I feel is pretty solid.
I also think it’s interesting that with zero experience in publishing, what we have built does not translate to initiative, responsibility, commitment, etc.
It is what it is…
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Christopher Malo 