Shirley Gerald Ware is the author of three published books, and the founder of Fresh Literary Magazine based in Somerville, Mass. I talked with her on my Somerville Cable Access TV show “Poet to Poet: Writer to Writer.”
Doug Holder: Can you tell us a bit about your three books?
Shirley Gerald Ware: The first book was “The Final Goodbye” based on the loss of my father at 10 years old. I was a little girl once with five brothers. I couldn’t understand the meaning of life and death. I wrote about how this young girl found her father dead in the woods of South Carolina. He was only 32 years old. His death followed me all through adulthood, until I came to grips with it. I finally took control of my life after a lot of soul searching.
“Somebody Too” is more like a novel. It tells the story of an alcoholic. It is based on my late brother’s life. He lost his life due to his addiction. The book is sad, but hope compelling.
My third was a collection of “kid” stories. It dealt with kids up to age 16. It concerns the pressure that’s put on kids these days. It gives you everyday accounts of what kids are faced with.
DH: You like to write for kids?
SG: Kids are amazing. It’s fascinating to see them grow and understand the world. I think kids are born into the world smart. They look around and figure out where they fit in. It’s fascinating to see them grow and understand the world.
DH: You have been publishing “Fresh! Literary Magazine” for 10 years now. It is both print and has an online presence. What gave you the inspiration to start a magazine?
SG: Jim Smith, the other founder and editor and I birthed the magazine in 1998. I started out publishing stories I wrote on the Internet on my web page. Soon people starting sending me their own stories. The first person that sent me a story was a retired veterinarian from the Midwest. He still writes for us.
Fresh! Is worldwide. We publish authors from Germany, England, Israel …you name it.
The magazine is a family magazine. Anyone should be able to pick it up and not be offended.
We have a contest going—open to all writers.
Fresh! Comes out 4 times a year. We send it to local libraries, to Mullins Library in South Carolina; we also send it to contributor’s local libraries.
DH: You are one of the blessed few literary magazines that break even, or even make a small profit. What’s your secret?
SG: No nonsense. I am very serious when it comes to the magazine. You got to watch the costs. Make sure you know what you need in order to publish. We usually sell out or magazines.
DH: You got your Master’s in English Writing at Northeastern University. Any teachers that had a positive influence on you?
SG: I did. I remember people like David Grace, Joe De Roche, and others. They were all very serious. I really wasn’t into writing at first. I was a Psych major.
DH: So you bloomed as a writer at Northeastern?
SG: I did. I remember I had to write a screenplay for a class. I was working fulltime at John Hancock, and I felt overwhelmed. I was told I had to do the assignment. I stayed up a couple of nights working on it. I completed it and I got a book out of my experience.
DH: You champion the writing of teenagers, why?
SG: Money. (Laughs) Kids are very interesting. When I worked with abused kids we used to say: “Write it down if you can’t say it.” Kids send messages to the world through their stories. It is amazing. I don’t think their messages are heard enough.
Doug Holder/Ibbetson Update/Sept 2008
