JERRY LEVY
I’ve always felt that literature could be transformative. I recall that when I was a young boy, I saw the movie ‘Oliver’ numerous times during its extended run at a local theatre. I’d sometimes leave school at mid-day and spend the afternoon watching it. I was just so taken by the music and story that if I could, I’d have slipped right into the screen! I knew I couldn’t be Oliver since Mark Lester had a shock of blond hair (mine was black…it still is, actually) But I could be the cheeky Artful Dodger, played by Jack Wild! Yes, I could pick-a- pocket or two, boys. Well, actually not; I knew I didn’t have it in me to sneak someone’s wallet out of their pocket.
So while I may not have exactly morphed into the Artful Dodger, I was forever changed by the movie. Once I found out that someone named Charles Dickens had written a book upon which the movie was based, I started reading many of his novels. And that’s how I became acquainted with Pip and the prisoner, Fagin, Nancy, David Copperfield and the rest. Such a magical world!
I went on to read Fyodor Dostoyevsky and then D.H. Lawrence, George Orwell, Christopher Isherwood, Virginia Woolf, Franz Kafka. Growing up in Montreal, I couldn’t overlook Mordechai Richler, Marie-Claire Blais, and Leonard Cohen. They all instilled in me a great desire to create my own fictional world. Which is what I did, all throughout high school. But having said that, I never really set out to be a writer. I mean, I loved prose but it just seemed to happen to me - to write, that is. Almost as if it were my gift from the heavens (although some people might say that writing is more like a curse!), like I had no say in the matter.
I’ve always felt that literature could be transformative. I recall that when I was a young boy, I saw the movie ‘Oliver’ numerous times during its extended run at a local theatre. I’d sometimes leave school at mid-day and spend the afternoon watching it. I was just so taken by the music and story that if I could, I’d have slipped right into the screen! I knew I couldn’t be Oliver since Mark Lester had a shock of blond hair (mine was black…it still is, actually) But I could be the cheeky Artful Dodger, played by Jack Wild! Yes, I could pick-a- pocket or two, boys. Well, actually not; I knew I didn’t have it in me to sneak someone’s wallet out of their pocket.
So while I may not have exactly morphed into the Artful Dodger, I was forever changed by the movie. Once I found out that someone named Charles Dickens had written a book upon which the movie was based, I started reading many of his novels. And that’s how I became acquainted with Pip and the prisoner, Fagin, Nancy, David Copperfield and the rest. Such a magical world!
I went on to read Fyodor Dostoyevsky and then D.H. Lawrence, George Orwell, Christopher Isherwood, Virginia Woolf, Franz Kafka. Growing up in Montreal, I couldn’t overlook Mordechai Richler, Marie-Claire Blais, and Leonard Cohen. They all instilled in me a great desire to create my own fictional world. Which is what I did, all throughout high school. But having said that, I never really set out to be a writer. I mean, I loved prose but it just seemed to happen to me - to write, that is. Almost as if it were my gift from the heavens (although some people might say that writing is more like a curse!), like I had no say in the matter.
In university though, I dropped the whole idea of writing. My studies got in the way, I guess. So I graduated with a business degree from Concordia, an emphasis on Economics. After that, I began working in the corporate sector in Toronto. But something gnawed away, that old desire to create, the Gods tapping me gently on the shoulder.
I returned to school in the evenings and received a T.E.S.L. (Teaching English as a Second Language) certificate. I taught at night for many years thereafter and it was a wonderful experience; I learned as much from my students as I taught them. Teaching also renewed my love of language and it wasn’t long after that I started writing in earnest once again.
My stories started getting published in literary magazines and anthologies. First in Canada, and then the U.S. and the U.K. I did readings, anywhere and everywhere I could. I also organized a book club that has now been going on for many years. Being exposed to amazing writers like Jose Saramago, Carol Shields, Gwendolyn MacEwen, Ha Jin, Haruki Murakami, Nino Ricci, Paul Auster, John Banville, and so many others, has stoked the fuels of my creativity. I generally write for myself, in my own inimitable voice, going deep into the rabbit-hole to come up with ideas. It works best that way. I always say: “Write for yourself, edit for the public.”
I returned to school in the evenings and received a T.E.S.L. (Teaching English as a Second Language) certificate. I taught at night for many years thereafter and it was a wonderful experience; I learned as much from my students as I taught them. Teaching also renewed my love of language and it wasn’t long after that I started writing in earnest once again.
My stories started getting published in literary magazines and anthologies. First in Canada, and then the U.S. and the U.K. I did readings, anywhere and everywhere I could. I also organized a book club that has now been going on for many years. Being exposed to amazing writers like Jose Saramago, Carol Shields, Gwendolyn MacEwen, Ha Jin, Haruki Murakami, Nino Ricci, Paul Auster, John Banville, and so many others, has stoked the fuels of my creativity. I generally write for myself, in my own inimitable voice, going deep into the rabbit-hole to come up with ideas. It works best that way. I always say: “Write for yourself, edit for the public.”