A side of grits and a portrait of the Dickens of Detroit
The specials at a local restaurant the other evening were called “A Taste of New Orleans,” and my Blackened Twin Filets Diablo with jumbo shrimp, tomato butter, white wine, herbs and white cheddar grits didn’t disappoint. Far more interesting, however was the portrait of one of my favorite local writers, the late Elmore Leonard, which hung above the booth where we sat at Kruse and Muer on Main.
I told the husband how much I admired Leonard. So many writers in the Detroit literary community would agree that “Dutch” Leonard was generous, friendly, and willing to share his knowledge.
The husband and I really enjoyed the TV series “Justified,” which was based on one of Leonard’s short stories, “Fire in the Hole.”
He set down his fork and asked me, “Who wrote that one book you gave me to read–The Terrorist?” He often confuses writers that I’ve foisted upon him.
“That was John Updike. Not Leonard,” I said.
He told me, again, how that book disappointed him, the way it simply fell apart at the end. (He’ll never forget or forgive me for recommending Updike.) I should have known better. Leonard’s style of writing is the polar opposite of Updike. Don likes Leonard much better.
Leonard Was Watching. The Waiter Had No Idea.
I asked Alex, our tall young waiter with a bun and curled dark hair around his ears and nape, if he knew the guy in the black and white portrait.
“Oh, man,” Alex said, taking a step back, laughing with his hand on his chest. “People ask me that all the time. I knew it once… um…?” Since he looked embarrassed, I told him.
“That’s right,” he said, and ventured to guess Leonard’s profession, wrongly.
I told Alex that Leonard was a highly esteemed and well-published writer. I listed a few of the films made from his books and stories: “Get Shorty.” Alex shook his head–he’d never heard of it.
“3:10 to Yuma.” Alex shook his head.
“Freaky Deaky.” Again no.
“Okay, the tv show ‘Justified’ with Timothy Olyphant,” I said. Nope.
“Okay. They’re all before your time,” I said. “But he was a terrific writer. He didn’t waste time writing about the weather or the kind of pants a character is wearing.” Unlike Updike, who could spend two pages describing a character’s golf attire.
“Sounds like my kind of writer,” Alex said, which gave me hope. He reads books! Yay! I plan to give him a copy of Get Shorty.
He wrote the “rules” of writing
Leonard (1925-2013) lived in a community near me in Michigan. He gave many readings and talks when I was just beginning to write fiction, so I heard and chatted with him many times. He was witty and always willing to share advice and anecdotes. You could ask him near anything, and he’d answer.
What he said about keeping your writing succinct stayed with me.
Don’t go into great detail describing places and things, unless you’re Margaret Atwood and can paint scenes with language. You don’t want descriptions that bring the action, the flow of the story, to a standstill.
I can’t allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.
If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go.
I’m very much aware in the writing of dialogue, or even in the narrative too, of a rhythm. There has to be a rhythm with it … Interviewers have said, you like jazz, don’t you? Because we can hear it in your writing. And I thought that was a compliment.It’s my attempt to remain invisible, not distract the reader from the story with obvious writing.
Here’s another quote of his that I’m fond of: “Psychopaths are people who know the differences between right and wrong, but don’t give a shit. That’s what most of my characters are like.”
The only thing that saddens me about his portrait is that Elmore is facing the wall in the restaurant. I think he’d much rather be facing the dinners so he could eavesdrop.