Interview with Brian Griffin and Lisa Wieland's Southern Literature Class at Spalding University

(14:55) [Nickole] Welcome to the SIE chatroom! Today, author Brian Griffin is meeting with Lisa Wieland’s class at Spalding University.
(15:01) * Eleftheria nods...
(15:02) [Nickole] FYI—Anyone wanting a transcript of this chat after it is over, please make sure to register at the beginning of the discussion area. Make sure to put your full e-mail address, and I will e-mail a copy of it to you.
(15:10) [Emilia] Hi El
(15:11) * Emilia is happy :)
(15:11) * Emilia is happy :)
(15:11) * Emilia nods...
(15:12) * Emilia is sad :(
(15:12) * Emilia kisses you all :*
(15:12) * Emilia kisses you all :*
(15:12) [ Everyone—if you have any technical questions or whatnot during this chat, feel free to ask me. . . I will be silently lurking in the background.
(15:12) [Brian Griffin] Greetings from the University of Tennessee, where a crack team of medico political researches announced, only moments ago, that 301 uncounted ballots have been discovered hidden beneath the band-aid on George W. Bush’s face. Details at 11.
(15:13) * Anastasia is happy :)
(15:13) [Tammy] Hello! Thanks for taking time out of your day today to answer our questions. Not all of us are English majors. We have art, business, education, nursing, and graduate students. Some of us are traditional students and some are non-traditional. We are anxious for you to enlighten us on what motivates you to write such interesting stories. Again, thank you for your time.
(15:13) [Brian Griffin] That’s \"researchers\" not researches.
(15:13) [Brian Griffin] Okay, Tammy. Hold on...
(15:15) [Brian Griffin] I think I have a need to understand my own life and the world I grew up in, and I use the discipline of fiction writing to further undertand it -- and to make discoveries. Making art of any kind is really an act of discovery...
(15:16) [Brian Griffin] ...and an act of faith
(15:16) [Emilia] Do you identify with any particular character in Sparkman?
(15:18) [Brian Griffin] If you mean do I think of one of the characters as myself, the answer is no. Instead, I \"identify\" with all of my characters (or try to) in the sense of somehow trying to understand them as approximations of real human beings.
(15:18) [Eleftheria] We have some questions about the significance of various aspects in your stories? Therefore, we were wondering what was the lesson learned from Muck in \"Goats: The Courtship of Dixie Pepper\"
(15:18) [Brian Griffin] ...real human beings that are, in some ways, based on folks I know...
(15:21) [Brian Griffin] Well, I’m not sure I understand the question, though I do remember that the narrator of the story at some point claims to have learned a lesson from Muck about responsibility. You might try to understand what that means in the context of the people in his life...his wife and son, for example. Does he learn something from his experiences in the story? I think so...
(15:21) [Sarah W.] You are what we refer to as an \"updater\" of distinctively Southern characterisitics in literature. One of these is the importance of being close to nature (ie. Agrarians), you seem to extend that idea into the supernatural, such as Sparkman in \"Sparkman in the Sky\" and Aunt Maggie’s mystic quality in \"The Big Ash.\" Could you talk about that for a moment?
(15:24) [Brian Griffin] I was utterly shocked (I’m embarrassed to say) the first time someone referred to me as a \"Southern\" writer. I don’t quarrel with that label, but I never actually thought about it before then. I’m writing about my world, not about literature. It happens that, in the course of doing so, I end up crossing paths with (\"updating\") some literary precedents. Aunt Maggie is based on a lady I know.
(15:25) [Brian Griffin] And I’m curious about your reference to the \"supernatural\" in the title story.
(15:26) [Sarah W.] Honestly, the reason supernatural came to mind in Sparkman, was the intent to fly and it also reminded me of a short story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
(15:28) [Anastasia] When you publish work, you relinquish control of interpretation to the reader. Literary works should be ambiguous, but how do you feel when a reader interprets your work differently than what you may have intended?
(15:28) [Brian Griffin] That’s interesting. I tend to think of it as an unrealistic dream. I wrote an essay about that story one time, in which I discuss Sparkman’s visit to the hospital -- clearly he’s headed for some broken bones. Or is he? Maybe a gust of supernaturalness comes over him...
(15:28) [Brian Griffin] Ok, Anastasia. Just a second...
(15:30) [Brian Griffin] I think that any interpretation that can be supported by the words on the page -- any and all of them -- is fair game. (That isn’t the same as ambiguity -- I see that as richness.) But it can be utterly shocking to read sometimes. I try to stay away from it.
(15:32) [Donald] How have your experiences with Southern Baptist religion influenced you writings?
(15:33) [Tammy] Hello! Thanks for taking time out of your day today to answer our questions. Not all of us are English majors. We have art, business, education, nursing, and graduate students. Some of us are traditional students and some are non-traditional. We are anxious for you to enlighten us on what motivates you to write such interesting stories. Again, thank you for your time.
(15:34) [Nickole Brown] Tammy, did you accidentally re-send that message?
(15:34) [Tammy] Sorry, our server crashed!
(15:35) [Brian Griffin] A great question. I can honestly say that I would not be writing at all if it were not for my Southern Baptist upbringing -- especially the King James Bible, which I came to think of as an elaborate poem in which God had hidden ultimate truth, disguised in language that needed only a good hard look...a good close reading...
(15:36) [Brian Griffin] It introduced me to the idea of language as an art form darn close to magic
(15:37) [Karen] In a Few Casualities, does the horse, Suey, have a symbolic meaning?
(15:38) [Donald] Being a Christian myself, I noticed that your Baptist upbringing was noted in the back of the book and that you made some reference to the church in the Sanctuary.
(15:38) [Brian Griffin] Gee, if you think so, it probably does. I thought of Suey as a link to the narrator’s past. Also, I saw a horse like that in a field near Charlottesville, Virginia and I named it Suey. I’m not sure why. But BLAM--old Suey wandered into my story.
(15:39) [Tammy] What influenced your use of the grotesque in \"The Sanctuary\" and other stories. Other authors? Past experiences?
(15:39) [Brian Griffin] Okay Donald...just a second...
(15:40) [Brian Griffin] FIrst let me do Donal, then Tammy. HOld on...
(15:42) [Brian Griffin] Donald: I use fiction as a way to discover things about my past. I think writing this book helped me understand my own Christianity in a deeper way than ever before. The church portrayed in \"Sanctuary\" is a superficial church, in which the people are not really in touch with their
(15:43) [Brian Griffin] ...with the faith they pretend to espouse.
(15:44) [Brian Griffin] Tammy: The story \"Sanctuary\" is based on something that actually happened to me. I never set out to write \"the grotesque.\" I simply tried to capture some of the craziness of those people in that time.
(15:44) [Anastasia] What suggestions do you have for people coming to read your work for the first time?
(15:45) [Brian Griffin] Buy two copies -- one for someone you want to change.
(15:46) [Sarah W.] It is kind of funny that you do not think of your self as a Southern writer because I have noticed influences of Faulkner and O’Connor in your stories, for example the idea of a set place and the grotesque, and I guess I am wondering if you do this consciously, and then write, or do they come out in pre-writing and you expand from there?
(15:46) [Brian Griffin] But seriously, I guess I’d say \"Enjoy.\"
(15:48) [Brian Griffin] I just sit down and write. I write about things that seem to hold meaning for me, and in the process of writing, I come to understand what it is I need to say. I have never consciously modeled any of my stories after anyone. I read a lot, of course...
(15:48) [Brian Griffin] And I do (now) think of myself as a southern writer. I have no choice. It happened.
(15:48) [Eleftheria] In Goats: The Courtship of Dixie Pepper, is there any significant meaning behind the names of characters - Dixie, Oscar, Red, Ellie, and Hal?
(15:49) [Brian Griffin] No. The names seem kind of silly now.
(15:50) [Emilia] how do you suggest reading Sparkman, as seperate short stories, or is there an intentional order placement. Should it be read as a collection of short storries or a novel?
(15:52) [Brian Griffin] The stories stand on their own, obviously. But the book is intended to be read as a whole. I worked consciously to shape it that way when I decided that these particular stories do indeed have things in common. It was a wonderful discovery, by the way, to realize that lots of my stories actually fit together as a whole. I think they should be read as a discontinuous novel.
(15:52) [Anastasia] I have trouble revising stories that I write. How do you know when you are done revising and the story is finished?
(15:53) [Tammy] What kind of stories interested you when you were growing up? When did writing become a passion or when did you realize it was something you wanted to pursue?
(15:53) [Brian Griffin] A terrific question, with no real answer except to say: you know it when it feels right. A story must have a sense of closure, which can often be little more than a moment of epiphany for one of the characters...
(15:54) [Brian Griffin] But there’s more, Anastasia...hold on...
(15:56) [Brian Griffin] You also need to put yourself in the shoes of the reader and ask, Is there something here that breaks the fictional dream? That’s something young writers struggle with, especially. After you get that right, the hard part begins: is this FULLY saying what it purports to say. That is a tough one.
(15:57) [Brian Griffin] Oh, I just noticed Tammy’s question...hold on..
(15:59) [Brian Griffin] My biggest influences when I was growing up were probably the King James Bible and Steinbeck’s \"The Grapes of Wrath,\" which I read in the fifth grade. I decided I wanted to be a writer years later, after a ten year \"career\" as a photographer/painter/artist. As a child (and through high school) I wanted to be an astronaut.
(15:59) [Anastasia] Even though you hadn’t previously considered yourself a Southern writer, what about your style of writing do you consider most distinctly Southern?
(16:01) [Brian Griffin] Gee, I’m not sure. I guess it is most everything. Lots of folks mention things like \"grotesque\" characters (which is a reference to Faulkner/Anderson) but I don’t think of my characters that way. I actually know folks like this. I’m from Soddy Daisy, for heaven’s sake.
(16:01) * Anastasia is happy :)
(16:01) [Sarah W.] Thank you so much for answering our questions, I thoroughly enjoyed your stories. How long did it take to write this collection, and what is your process for writing, do you journal or write down ideas on scraps of paper or napkins, how do you organize all of these ideas and instances?
(16:01) [Emilia] Where is Soddy Daisy?
(16:02) [Brian Griffin] Right there where it has always been.
(16:02) [Brian Griffin] Tennessee. HOme of Al Gore.
(16:02) [Emilia] Eastern or Western?
(16:03) [Brian Griffin] Eastern. It is two towns, Soddy and Daisy, which decided to join together. They are linked by Highway 27. A drawing of the city limits looks like a barbell.
(16:05) [Sarah W.] I am sorry I sent my question prematurely, It came right below the \"Where is Soddy Daisy..\" question
(16:05) [Brian Griffin] Sarah: just a second.
(16:06) [Brian Griffin] I worked on this book for about two years. I wrote lots of stories and one day piled them in three piles on my desk. One of the piles became this book, the other is an incomplete book, and the third will never be a book. I write constantly, by the way. I don’t keep a journal. I just write.
(16:07) [Brian Griffin] I am working on two novels right now.
(16:07) [Tammy] Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions and be able to understand your point of view as an author. We thoroughly enjoyed reading your book and wondered if you have anything in the works. Do you have any questions for us as readers and students before we sign off?
(16:07) [Nickole Brown] Everyone, just as a head’s up, we only have about five minutes or so remaining for this chat. Are there any last questions or comments you might have for Brian?
(16:08) [Brian Griffin] I hope you’ll keep your eyes open for my new book -- I wish I could tell you when and where it will be published, but that would be premature at the moment. Thanks for the kind comments and the good questions. Anyone else?
(16:08) [Nickole Brown] And, as a reminder, if anyone wants a transcript of this chat after it is over, make sure to register. (So far I only have three.)
(16:09) [Anastasia] I guess that’s it. Thank you so much
(16:10) [Emilia] Thanks!
(16:10) [Nickole Brown] Thanks once again, Brian, and thanks to all of you as well!
(16:11) [Brian Griffin] Goodbye...
(16:11) [Eleftheria] Goodbye!!
(16:11) [Tammy] Bye!!
(16:11) [Donald] goodbye
(16:11) [Sarah W.] goodbye and thanks