Ellen Meeropol

Sometimes I feel like a divided woman, caring fiercely about both social justice activism and literature. On first glance, it might seem easily reconciled: write fiction about injustices and resistance, right? Only – of course – it’s not at all that simple. Sometimes the brain cells, the synapses and dendrites and neurons (all that anatomy I studied years ago and have mostly forgotten) that make connections necessary for activism seem not only very different from those that create good fiction, but also in direct contradiction.

And then, just when I despair that I can’t get it right, I read books that are so good, such exquisite combinations of bearing witness to the world and fine literary work, that I’m inspired to keep working. Three recent books made me feel this way.  Read More 

Thank you to my friend and writing buddy, best-selling author Jacqueline Sheehan (see Quick Link to the right). Jacqueline invited me to join this online community, “The Next Big Thing,” where authors share current projects by answering a set of questions, then tag writers they like and admire to do the same. So, here goes:

WHAT IS THE WORKING TITLE OF YOUR BOOK?
Hurricane Island.

WHERE DID THE IDEA COME FROM FOR THE BOOK, and WHO OR WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THIS BOOK?
One day, while I was waiting in the security line at JFK Airport, frustrated with all the shoes-off, liquids-in-the-plastic-bucket regulations, a main character simply appeared in my imagination. I immediately knew who she was and why she was in the airport. I “watched” as she was hooded, handcuffed, and taken away. When she did not return, I had to write the book to find out what happened to her.  Read More 

Reading advance copies of novels is one of the pleasures of my job at the Odyssey Bookshop. Here are some of my favorites, of the books coming out this winter and early spring. I know, I know: I promised this list a couple of weeks ago. But I got sidetracked, partly with reading a lot of IVY & BEAN (very literary stuff!) to my granddaughter Josie…

KIND OF KIN by Rilla Askew will be out in January. DON’T MISS THIS BOOK. Set in Oklahoma, it tells the story of a local man whose barn is used to shelter undocumented migrant workers. When Brown is sent to prison, his young grandson tries to set things right. Told through multiple points of view holding conflicting opinions about the events, Askew shows us a community at the explosive intersection of politics and loyalty.  Read More 

Choosing my favorite books of the year is both difficult and delicious. I read for so many different reasons: For language. For the love of story. For the opportunity to deconstruct how other writers structure plot and develop characters and keep my interest (or not). For the opportunity of having my neurons rearranged and my eyes exchanged for others’ so that I can experience the world anew. I read for comfort and discomfort. For pleasure and sorrow.

These are my (current) favorites of all the 2012 books I’ve learned from and lived inside, the books I curled up with, the books that goosed me. Some are written by friends and teachers, some are the latest offerings from beloved authors, and some written by strangers.

THE CUTTING SEASON by Attica Locke. I love novels in which history is a character, onstage and present. That’s what Attica Locke does in this half-mystery novel, half-literary exploration of how history – both personal and national – shapes us and our choices.  Read More 

I’ve been approaching this week with some trepidation: this is when I return to writing fiction after a hiatus.

I’ve been busy during this time-away: Reading and critiquing work for my manuscript group, and planning and teaching writing workshops. Writing the script for a dramatic program to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the execution of Ethel & Julius Rosenberg, to be held in New York City next June. Reading some amazing new and forthcoming fiction – THE OBITUARY WRITER by Ann Hood, and THE COMFORT OF LIES by Randy Susan Meyers and ALL THIS TALK OF LOVE by Christopher Castellani and KIND OF KIN by Rilla Askew. And most recently, I’ve had four delicious days with growing grandbabies and gatherings of my extended family.  Read More 

Although I’ve tackled this subject before, I keep returning to it, unsatisfied. It’s a hot-button issue and one that’s close to my writing heart. Because even after all the eloquent arguments around racial stereotyping in the novel THE HELP and recent discussion about Michael Chabon’s choice to write African American characters in TELEGRAPH AVENUE, readers and writers still ponder the politics and risks of writing POV characters whose skin color and experiences differ from the writer’s.

We’ve probably all participated in these conversations about cultural appropriation and trivializing stereotypes. What interests me most as a writer is the implicit criticism of the white author of THE HELP for even attempting to tell the story of the black maids – because how could she possibly know their hearts, how could she presume to speak their voice? I think one adjective used was “cringeworthy.”  Read More 

You might think I’m nuts to travel 500 miles to attend a book group discussion, but that’s exactly what I did last week. My friend Rita invited me to join the book group she started eighteen years in the Society Hill/Queen Village/Bella Vista/Washington Square neighborhood of Philadelphia. They were discussing my novel, HOUSE ARREST. I said, “yes, of course. I’d love to.”  Read More 

I just finished reading a new novel and it blew me away. Typically when I finish a book I’ve really enjoyed, one I think I might want to blog about, I wait a few days to let my responses marinate, settle. But this book wasn’t typical and I can’t wait to tell you about it.  Read More 

After a summer of interruptions, I’m back to my novel-in-progress, trying to satisfy my characters that I’ve returned for real, that I didn’t abandon them. They’re not entirely convinced.

To be honest, I’m not convinced either. I don’t yet know where this novel is going. But I believe in the truth of E.L. Doctorow’s statement, "Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

Unfortunately at the moment my writer-car has a single headlight – a padiddle – and that one is dim.  Read More 

Vacation is over and I’m home. I didn’t write a word of fiction in two weeks; I can’t remember the last time that happened. Usually I write on vacation. This time, I decided to take a break from my characters. My two delicious grandchildren might have had something to do with that decision.

Instead of writing, I’ve been time travelling - decades back in time - to recapture muscle memories long unused. Like the unconscious sideways sway my body begins the second 12-week-old Abel settles on my chest in the BabyBjorn. How to maintain that baby-sway while cooking a scrambled egg for four-year-old Josie or drinking coffee or checking email on my laptop. Not that we had email back then, of course.  Read More