|
A Somerville scribe
Patricia Wild Interviewed by Doug Holder
: A Close Look At A Somerville Scribe
Interviewed by Doug Holder
Union Square is a section of Somerville that defines the city. There is an engaging hustle and bustle as pedestrians of all stripes, be it Haitian, Brazilian, Asian, etc... go about their daily business. Like most of Somerville it is congested, with a tangle of old Victorian homes competing for limited space. Here, amidst this eclectic urban niche, lives the novelist, journalist, playwright, and long term Somerville resident Patricia Wild.
I first saw Patricia Wild's smiling face at the top of her regular column for the Somerville Journal. Wild's column is a lively slice of life, that deals with her experiences with people and places, in and around the city. She has a definite activist sensibility, and cares a great deal about creating community. Wild moved to Somerville in 1978. She started off by teaching a women's writing class,and then a GED class in a Somerville Housing project. From 1990 to 1995, she taught homeless men and women in local shelters. Writing was the mainstay of her curriculum.
Wild noticed that a common theme in her students writing was sexual abuse. In her novel that takes place in Somerville, SWIMMING IN IT, she writes about a 30 year old female character , who is the victim of an abusive background, and finds herself adrift and vulnerable in Somerville. Wild is a well studied observer, and she skillfully captures the things that are unique to our city, such as a chilly Winter wind that cuts across a swath of Winter Hill like a knife, or the way the male patrons of a bar react when an attractive female invades their space. On a warm Summer morning, I talked with Wild about her writing and her life, in her home just outside Union Square.
Douglas Holder: How did you come to define yourself as a writer?
Patricia Wild: I just always wrote. When I was a little kid, my cousins use to complain that whenever they visited I made them act in plays that I concieved. I always kept a diary, and later a "journal." I wrote short stories and plays, started a newspaper in college in Boston...there was always some involvement with writing. I was also very interested in music. My grandmother was a voice and piano teacher. When I was in high school I was very musically inclined. My father worked for General Electric, so we moved every three years or so. Eventually when I was in the 10th grade, we moved from upstate New York to Lynchburg, Virginia. In Virginia the "cool" people were not musical people, but literary people. So this is when I really took up being a writer. My creative writing teacher, Mary Spotsworth Payne,( a wonderful Southern name!), was an early mentor. She was very encouraging, which was unusal because I was a "Damn Yankee," or more accurately a "Tacky Yankee," according to Southern sensibilities at the time. My parents encouraged my writing, but they were products of the Depression. They would never say take up writing, because that was not practical. Employment options for a woman in the 1950's were limited. Basically you were either a nurse or a teacher, so I picked teacher, and I have lived a blessed life since. I am a good teacher, and I love it. At age 56 I'm writing...still not making much money, but doing what I want to do! It's funny...when we hit our stride.
DH: What is it about Somerville that makes it a great location to be a writer?
PW: Well it's the first place that I lived for any consistent length of time. Running into people I know in Union r Davis Square is still a thrill for me. I take great pleasure in that. I'm sure a lot of folks take it for granted. I also like the architecture here... the way people use space is fascinating to me. I am very drawn to all this. There is a lot of visual stimulation here that is inspiring for my writing. But, best of all is the diversity of people in Somerville. This is changing however, as housing becomes more and more expensive. I think it is a shame that people who were born and raised here, can't afford to live here.
DH: What gave you the impetus to give up teaching and devote yourself to writing?
PW: Well I did teach at the SCALE program in Somerville for 16 years. This has been my favorite teaching job. The publication of my novel, SWIMMING IN IT, gave me some validation in the literary world. So I decided this was the time to take the plunge. I will still be teaching part time...it is a very important part of my life.
DH: In your role as a columnist, what would you describe as a common thread in your pieces? There seems to be a call for a strong sense of community, at times a rant at what you see as injustices, or kudos for organizations or people you feel need exposure.
PW: That pretty much sums it up. Some writers want fame, which of course usually means money. I wrote a story about a young man, Mike Matthews, who is a boxer, and works at the Beacon Street Star Market. People who worked there appreciated the story so much that when I go to the market now, I get such great care. They have made bagging into an art form. So I may not make much money, but I am a rich woman in many ways. This makes my life wonderful. As a writer, my tools are the stories of people...people I meet right here in Somerville.
DH: In your book, SWIMMING IN IT, you establish a strong sense of place. You capture the accents, the unique sensibility and geography of Somerville. Do you think this novel is dependent on this milieu to work?
PW: Yes...unfortunately. As a writer, my writing has deepened since I wrote SWIMMING IN IT. That book is too dependent on place. I feel I didn't write a story that would speak to everybody. Now, I try to write universal stories, that people outside Somerville could understand. I am glad I could speak to the issue of sexual abuse in the novel...but I wish it wasn't as provincial as it turned out to be.
DH: The main character in your novel is a troubled young woman by the name of Jewell. She is a woman who is suffering from the aftereffects of years of sexual abuse. Was she based on a particular person, or was she a composite?
PW: She is not based on any real person...she is a composite. She is really in a sense based on Mary Magdalene. She is, to use the Jungian term, a red-headed "archetype." She tells the story we want to hear about women. She is not defined by a man...she is herself. She is struggling on her own, as a female. However, in the sequel, she does fall in love with a man.
DH: When I was reading the book, I said to myself, " My God...every man seems like a potential sexual abuser." Is this how they are viewed in this subculture?
PW: Once you start to think about and research this topic of sexual abuse, you have to go there. I started to view men with suspicion...of couse about this time I met my husband who helped me overcome my aversion to men, very sweetly I might add.
DH: The book deals with the Quaker philosphy, and infact Jewell lives in a Quacker run half way house. What is your religious background?
PW: I have been a Quaker for twenty years. I am a convert fron Unitarianism. For me, the best things about Quakerism is the belief, " That of God, is in everyone." Also, I love the social activism of the Quakers. What's really comforting is that Quakers assume you are a GOOD person.
DH: I am told you are working on a sequel to SWIMMING IN IT, and you are also working on a play. Can you talk a bit about future projects?
PW: I am working on about fourteen things at the same time. One of these things may hit pay dirt, and then the others could follow. I am trying to get a play produced, and of course the sequel you mentioned. The play is about a history professor with early Alzheimer's and his relationship with his caregiver.
Doug Holder
--This article first appeared in the Somerville News. The book is $14.95, Flower Valley Press, can be ordered on Amazon.com
|
