(from the April 8, 2005 edition of Lewis & Clark College's Pioneer Log)

Alumnus publishes book, offers students advice
by Lexie Briggs

Eric Wasserman, an alumnus who graduated in 1997 from LC, is publishing his first book. The book, entitled The Temporary Life, has just been released. You can visit his website, ericwasserman.com, for more information. One of our writers managed to catch up with Wasserman. [Note: the interview has been edited for space.]

Pioneer Log: Can you give a synopsis of your book?

Eric Wasserman: It’s a collection of short fiction with each story containing the loose theme of exploring Jewish-American life on the West Coast, offering an alternative perspective to what is often Northeaster-centric Jewish-American fiction. All of the stories take place in cities on the West Coast in Oregon, Washington and California.

PL: How do you remember your time at LC? Did any of your experiences herehelp shape you as a writer or help in shaping this work in particular?

EW: While at LC I wrote an original draft of the title story for the collection while in a summer writing course taught by Diana Abu-Jaber at PSU. The conclusion of that class was to give a reading at 23rd Ave. Books as a class, where I read the original draft of the story.

Now, nine years later, I will be reading from my first collection at 23rd Ave. Books on April 27, so that is nice to think about.My final year at LC I wrote rough drafts for a few of the stories that ended up in the book. I worked with visiting writer Rick Hillis who was later the writer in resident at Reed College. Rick was an early believer and really encouraged me to pursue a longer project.

What I remember best though, are my friends from LC. When I was doing my graduate work in Boston I saw a buddy of mine from LC I hadn’t seen in years and it was as if no time had passed. During that same period I also rented a car and drove to the Jersey shore to see another LC pal who had just gotten out of the Peace Corps. The friendships are what matter to me most from LC.

PL: What was LC like back in 1997?

EW: I remember a lot about LC while I was there. The school was changing during that time, in some ways for the better and in some ways not.

The History and English departments were certainly becoming more professional and seeking out professors with more ambitious research and publishing endeavors. The student body also changed considerably while I was there, becoming far less progressive, becoming much more cynical.

I look back fondly at LC, but by the time I left it felt much more like a business than a school I was attending. The focus was moving away from teaching and student dedication to improving the school’s reputation. I haven’t been back to the campus in many years but I am aware of some of the recent problems faced by the President’s office and I can’t help but think that’s a symptom of what started changing when I was at LC.

PL: What have you been up to since graduation? How long have you been working on this book?

EW: All together, I have been working on the book for almost nine years. In that time I have also been working on two novels. Since LC I have generally been involved in education, teaching at the middle school, high school and college levels. I also performed a year of voluntary national service with AmeriCorps, working with at-risk youth through the “I Have A Dream” Foundation.

PL: Do you have any advice for any budding writers at LC? What did it take to get published?

EW: Publishing holds no guarantees and as an undergraduate you should probably be focusing on writing good stories, not publishing. However, if you are ready to seek publication, GO FOR IT!

I will only say that you should not rely on anyone else but yourself—not an agent, a contact, etc. The person with the best interest in mind for your work is you.

I would also suggest reading as much as you can. And that means ignoring a lot of what your professors think about literature. Open yourself up to the fact that college is an insular world and your supposedly liberal instructors often have the most narrow and conservative approaches to literature and writing. I also highly suggest avoiding television unless you plan to write for that genre in its industry (note: it is an industry). If you are a person who needs a thriving social life and has trouble being in a room by yourself for long periods of time, writing might not be for you.

Be honest with yourself. Is writing a hobby or a calling for you? And please, do not think you must get an MFA to be a writer, even though such degree programs, such as the one I attended at Emerson College, do have their incredible merits.