INTERVIEW: Stephen J. Spignesi

For Stephen King fans, the name Stephen J. Spignesi should be quite familiar. He’s written a slew of books about Stephen King, and has been noted as an authority on King and King’s body of work.

As I’ve said before, one of my favorite things to read is books about Stephen King. Go figure. Anyone who wants to know more about King and his work should take some time reading books by Stephen J. Spignesi. His passion for King and his work shine through his research. In The Shape Under The Sheet, Spignesi writes, “Stephen King’s work became something beyond entertainment for me; I realized that I was privileged enough to be witnessing the creation of a true American literary giant.”

One thing I appreciate about Spignesi is that he is factually correct – something not true of every book/work about Stephen King! I have often reached for The Shape Under The Sheet to fact check things before posting on the blog, or to fact check other authors who might say something that seems. . . iffy.

Spignesi is author of books like the massive Encyclopedia, The Shape Under The Sheet and the outright fun The Essential Stephen King , The Lost Works of Stephen King and The Stephen King Quiz Book. He has also written books about the Beatles, the Titanic, assassinations, recipes, the Beatles, ER, and even Native American History for Dummies – and so much more! He has also written fiction as well.

INTERVIEW

Talk Stephen King: Thanks for agreeing to answer some questions. Tell me a little about yourself.

Stephen J. Spignesi: I was born in a manger on a cold winter’s…oops…sorry about that.

I was born in New Haven, Connecticut and have pretty much lived here all my life. I graduated from Catholic grammar and high schools and then went on to graduate from the University of New Haven where I now teach. For 25 or so years I helped run a family jewelry business while also writing full-time. The business closed in 2001 and in 2005 I started teaching full-time while still writing around a book a year.

I’m the eldest of four siblings, a lacto-ova vegetarian, and I collect TV series on DVD (someday you can ask me about my collection, which I take great delight in). I always put copies of my manuscripts and published books on my Kindle, and I have a grey cat named Chloe who I love dearly. I also believe Wintergreen Altoids is one of the most under-appreciated candies of all time, and I can’t stop wondering what ever happened to Pudding Pops.

TSK: Please tell us a little about your novel. Most of us know you for your non-fiction.

SJS: I’ve written one novel so far that’s been published. (I’ve got five or six in manuscript currently making the rounds of publishers.) It’s called Dialogues and came out in hardcover from Random House in 2005, and is now in mass market paperback from Bantam. I teach it every semester to my Composition and Literature students. Rather than ramble on, here is what the publisher said about the book:

In this electrifying debut, Stephen Spignesi reinvents the psychological thriller with a chilling tale of mounting intensity. Ingeniously crafted and crackling with suspense, here is a puzzle within a puzzle, at the center of which stands a hauntingly enigmatic young woman whose story will challenge everything you think you know....

Six people have been murdered in the animal shelter in which they worked. One unlikely woman stands accused of the crimes. Her name is Victoria Troy, and she is the most improbable of cold-blooded killers. A lover of animals, petite, brainy, and gifted with a sharp sense of humor, she too worked in the shelter, in an anguishingly difficult job. What could possibly have provoked her to murder six of her own coworkers--some of whom were her friends.

Who is Tory Troy? It is up to Dr. Baraku Bexley to find out. An astute psychiatrist hired by the court to determine whether Tory is mentally competent to stand trial, Bexley must explore her complicated background and her unusual convictions as he interviews her in the Connecticut psychiatric hospital in which she is confined--and also talks to others who have known her.

What Bexley learns about this gifted young woman comes almost solely from these interviews...but is that enough to explain the divide between the person Tory seems to be and the terrible crimes she’s accused of committing? Others find her difficult to fathom too: her lawyer, her nurse at the hospital, her mother, one of her former teachers; but all seek the same objective, to learn the truth no matter where it leads--or what secrets it may reveal about Tory, about the nature of evil, about us all.

Fiercely engaging and morally provocative, Dialogues is a rush of adrenaline that will keep you riveted from the first page to the last.

With the daring immediacy that a novel-in-conversations can deliver, Dialogues will confound, conflict, and possibly convert readers to the heroine’s hauntingly disturbing point of view. Here is one of the freshest first novels of the year. In a mental hospital in Connecticut sits Tory Troy, a young woman facing six particularly grotesque charges of felony murder. Tory--bright, blunt, and empathetic--has spent the past year as a certified animal euthanasia technician; it was in the Waterbridge Animal Shelter that the police arrested her. As readers, we come to know her through the dialogues conducted with the doctor the court has appointed to assess her competence to stand trial--and through further conversations with the nursing staff, her mother, her one-time English professor, her lawyer, and others. Her singular perspective on the world--intricate, contrarian, deeply felt--makes Tory a fascinating but enigmatic guide to the darker regions of the human soul. In a novel that is distinctive not only for its subject matter but also for its unorthodox and riveting structure, author Stephen Spignesi leads us into Tory’s world and leaves us there to find our way out. Each dialogue reveals something new or confounds our assumptions about her. Each time we believe we understand what has happened, difficult questions and insights arise. Gathering pace as the case reaches the courtroom--and then far beyond it--Dialogues will leave us both breathless and deeply moved.

TSK: You’ve written a LOT of books. What’s your favorite?

SJS: There’s more than one, actually. I’ll give you my Top Ten (in no particular order):

Dialogues

The Titanic forDummies

The Lost Work ofStephen King

The Essential StephenKing

The Woody AllenCompanion

Here, There andEverywhere: The 100 Best Beatles Songs

The Odd Index

The “ER” Companion

The Weird 100

Grover Cleveland’sRubber Jaw

TSK: When people find out about your work on Stephen King, do some people give you that look that says, “You read him?”

SJS: I sometimes get an “I can’t stand that stuff!” type of response, but I perceive that to mean a general dislike for horror. I also commonly get an “I love/hate his movies” response. When I explain that I write about his written work and his significance as an important American writer, suddenly they get interested. I’ll get asked questions and I have a few standard answers about the best of his work.

A very common approach that I use is to ask them if they’ve seen either The Shawshank Redemption or The Green Mile. Of course they have, and of course they loved them, so when I then tell them, “Stephen King wrote them,” they’re immediately amazed and usually won over as to my thesis of taking him seriously as a writer.

TSK: A lot of us have read with interest your books about Stephen King. In fact, my copy of The Essential Stephen King is worn to tatters! What books does Stephen Spignesi read about Stephen King?  Were there any particular works that have been helpful in studying King?

SJS: I’m a big fan of the others who have written about King, particularly George Beahm, Bev Vincent, Michael Collings, Rocky Wood, Anthony Magistrale, and Tyson Blue. I’ve read almost all of their books about King and loved them all. They’ve all been helpful in the sense of giving me insights into how other experts perceive King’s work, but my books about King are so thematically-focused that ultimately the books of others serve mainly as background research rather than influences.

Some memorable titles that stand out for me include George Beahm’s literary biography of King, as well as his Stephen King Country (not to mention his monumental look at the art of Stephen King, Knowing Darkness) ; Michael Collings’ literary analyses of King (his Starmont volumes); Bev Vincent’s Road to the Dark Tower and Illustrated Companion, and Tony Magistrale’s book about The Shining. Kevin Quigley has also been doing some really interesting King-themed chapbooks that I greatly enjoyed. Also, I’d be derelict if I didn’t mention one of the books (along with Beahm’s The Stephen King Companion) that started it all, Douglas Winter’s The Art of Darkness.

TSK: In your book The Essential Stephen King, you listed IT as the number one novel. Does this mean it is your personal favorite work of King’s as well?

SJS: Yes, it does mean that IT is my personal favorite. However, The Shining and Misery come in at an extremely close second for tie as personal favorites.

TSK: If you were writing TESK today, would IT still hold the top spot, or would it have to step aside for another work?

SJS: That’s a good question. I haven’t changed my mind about the placement of almost every other work on the list, so essentially I’d have to ask myself if anything he’s published since 2000 been of such excellence that it would kick IT out of the top slot. The answer, for me, is no.

I would, however, move things around a bit to get 11/22/63, Lisey’s Story, Duma Key, Under the Dome, and probably Cell into the Top 20, or maybe Top 25. If you study my ranking, you’ll note that novels are all in the top 50 or so, so those major works would have to be included. All the new Dark Tower books would fall under the one single Dark Tower ranking, which is number 10.

All bets are off, though, when Doctor Sleep is published. Considering the excellence of The Shining, I am greatly looking forward to it, but am very curious as to whether or not it will equal the literary merit of The Shining, which is the most taught King novel at the high school and college level. I taught The Shining when I taught my “New Gothic Horror of Stephen King” course at UNH. Hardly any of the students had read it, but they were all blown away by it.

TSK: Speaking of TESK’s rankings, did you get any reader feedback on slipping The Stand down to the lowly, humble second spot?

SJS:  I got some feedback, but I think most of my readers realized and understood that I was trying to focus on literary merit and the quality of the two most important elements of fiction: plot and character. IT excels in both those categories, especially plot. King writes two parallel novels — 1958 and 1985 — and switches back and forth, and the reader never gets lost. I think it’s his magnum opus.

Fan popularity wasn’t allowed to factor into my decision. My co-author and best friend Mike Lewis and I used similar criteria to rank the 100 best Beatles songs in our Here, There, and Everywhere. Musicality, Lyricism, Production, and Performance were the four criteria. Again, fan popularity did not matter. We get a lot of complaints about our ranking for that book. Fans get upset when their favorite isn’t on the list. It doesn’t matter to them that a song may be musically inferior (three chords) or lyrically simplistic (bland, one-dimensional lyrics), etc.

I always try to concentrate on the quality of the work. For many readers, The Stand is more fun, and I understand that and can relate to it. But I feel IT is a better novel and thus, its number one rank.

TSK: Both you and Stephen King have written quite a lot about the 60’s. King through fiction, you through non-fiction. What is so important about the sixties?

SJS: It was a seminal decade in the history of the United States and the world. It redefined everything: civil rights, voting rights, LGBT rights, and women’s rights. Art and popular culture were, in a sense, reinvented, and politics, freedom, and commerce all took on new meanings. Feminism was born, as were movements in support of Hispanic rights and African/American rights. The antiwar movement railed against the Vietnam War and we lost JFK, Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, and others. It seems as though Americans woke up in the Sixties. Thus, it is fertile territory for an artist, no matter what area or element of the decade you want to study and write about.

TSK: You gave four years of your life to The Shape Under The Sheet. Did you feel like it was “complete” when you were done, or did you just decide “I’ve got to stop someday!” What was the signal for you that the work was whole?

SJS: The latter: I knew I had to stop. I knew the book would never come out if I didn’t set a stop date. King has never stopped publishing, so you have to set your sights on a specific year and say, “Okay, this is when it will be published; thus, I have to stop researching and writing here.” Which is what I did. Also, the publisher was getting a little anxious, considering the book had been announced. Plus, I had other books I wanted to write.

TSK: You indicated with The Shape Under The Sheet that you wanted to give the constant readers (and I guess the world) an “ultimate reference.” Of course, that was published over 20 years ago now. Any plans to update the volume – turn into volumes?

SJS: It’s highly unlikely I’ll ever be able to update the book. My life has changed drastically with teaching full-time and also maintaining a book-a-year schedule. The research alone would require a massive commitment of time, and frankly, there isn’t a publisher who would be able to pay me to do it. It would be great fun to do it, but I can’t see how everything could conspire to allow me the time and funds to do it. Maybe if I hit Powerball…

TSK: I loved all of The Shape Under The Sheet! One of the really unique points was the information gleaned from your interview with David King. What is he like?

SJS: Dave is a consummate gentleman. He had rarely (or possibly never before) spoken about his brother and their childhood and he went out of his way to provide me with items from their youth and to talk about the family.

Can you imagine what it must be like to be Stephen King’s brother? Anyone who finds out who your brother is, is going to immediately ask millions of questions (and possibly favors) and it has to be extremely difficult to be yourself, instead of “Stephen King’s brother.” Yet, Dave lives a quiet life, has a wonderful family, and is utterly normal. To this day, I am extremely grateful for all his help with Shape.

I know you’ve interviewed or spoken with Robert McCammon. What is his take on Stephen King? Is he offended or excited when fans and constant readers note the similarities in their work?

SJS: Rick is, likewise, a gentleman and a total professional. Some writers do not like to acknowledge influences on their work, or their particular genre. When I asked Rick if King had influenced his own writing, his answer was along the lines of, How could he have not? which is gracious, self-effacing, and yet completely recognizes the massive — and that is the appropriate word — influence King has had on both genre fiction and American fiction.

But McCammon is a brilliant writer in his own right. King has influenced us all, but the cream of the crop, the great American writers who have their own voice and something to say, like McCammon, have written works of art that are theirs and theirs alone in terms of artistic sensibility. Art is everywhere and artists everywhere are influenced by other artists.

Going back to the Beatles, think about how many bands and songwriters today have been influenced by the Fabs. The list is endless and ongoing. And look at King: he himself has acknowledged being influenced by Poe, Twain, Dickens, John D. McDonald, Richard Matheson, Don Robertson, and many others. This is what art is all about. And there’d be no Dark Tower series at all if King hadn’t read and been influenced by Robert Browning, right?

TSK: I know that you “study” Stephen King. When you read a King novel for the first time now, are you simply enjoying it, or does the research continue?

SJS: All of the above. When I read King, I cannot help but notice the literary skeleton of the story, the man behind the curtain, the shape under the sheet. I read him as a fan, a King researcher, and an English teacher. It’s an all-consuming experience.

TSK: What do you think of the King movies? Got any favorites?

SJS: The Darabont collection — The Woman in the Room, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Mist — is extraordinary. Other standouts for me include The Dead Zone, Kubrick’s Shining, Misery, Stand By Me, Carrie Dolores Claiborne, Apt Pupil, and 1408. I’m also a huge fan of the short film Paranoid by Jay Holben (based on the King poem from Skeleton Crew) and the Golden Years TV series.

TSK: You said you are a Woody Allen fan. I loved Radio Days! What Woody Allen movies are you passionate about. . . or does being a Woody Allen fan mean by definition you like all of them?

SJS: I am a HUGE Woody Allen fan. I think he is a filmmaker and writer of, and for, the ages. And I’m not just talking about his films. I’m talking about his stand-up comedy routines (which I transcribed verbatim off his albums), his books, his plays, his essays, and more. He is the classic artist. His short stories and essays in Getting Even, Without Feathers, Side Effects, and Mere Anarchy are literally laugh-out-loud funny.

As for favorite movies, my number one is Manhattan, followed by Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, Midnight in Paris, Whatever Works, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Love and Death, Stardust Memories, and Mighty Aphrodite. I even love Wild Man Blues, the documentary about Woody touring Europe with his jazz band.

I love Woody one-liners (Did you hear about Cyclops? He got a middle-eye infection.”). I am currently in the ongoing process of replacing my VHS copies of his movies with DVDs. I also hope to someday update my now out-of-date Woody Allen Companion. As far as I know it’s the only book to completely deconstruct every comedy routine he performed and every short story he had written up to that time. Woody is a genius, a brilliant writer, and a supremely accomplished artist. And I like his glasses.

TSK: Wow, I could go on writing questions all day, because I really do enjoy your work on King! I’ll stop here, but is there anything you would ask if you were given permission to interview Stephen J. Spignesi?

SJS: Yes, there is something I’d ask Mr. Spignesi:

In your book, The Odd Index, in the chapter “39 Acts of Select Mayhem in 2 Three Stooges Films,” you write “Moe dials Shemp’s eyes, thinking his face is a phone.” Do you see a deeper subtext in the fact that the metaphorical instrument of abuse is a communication device — that Moe uses Shemp’s face as a phone?

To which I would answer:

The Three Stooges were notable for their allegorical, metaphorical, and symbolic use of communication devices in their work. In a scene in Brideless Groom, Shemp’s fiancée compresses his head in a letter-press, an older type of printing press.
 In Punch Drunk, the Stooges drive a truck with a PA system playing music through a wall at a prize fight at which Larry had been hired to play the violin ringside. Larry’s violin is smashed by Curly who, it turns out, goes nuts anytime he hears violin music.
 In Three Sappy People, the Stooges answer a phone call intended for three psychiatrists Ziller, Zeller, and Zoller and then assume the doctors’ identities. In They Stooge to Conga, Curly impersonates a telephone repair man to spy on spies.
 In Goof on the Roof, the Stooges attempt to install a television antenna on their friend’s roof and they ultimately destroy his house. Oftentimes, the mishaps involving communication devices result in eye jabs, punches, pokes, and other forms of retaliatory punishment, usually inflicted by Moe upon the other Stooges.
 What is this saying? That communication errors can result in “damage,” both metaphorical and literal? That effective transmission of whatever the message might be can assure a placid response? The semantic and semiotic impact of these scenes manifest a sociocultural paradigm that…what’s that? You meant a question about Stephen King? Oh. Sorry. Okay. I’m done.

THANKS STEPHEN! 

The Stephen King Companion: Four Decades of Fear from the Master of Horror

First the confession:

I dropped out of the Bazaar of Bad Dreams.  Stopped with Bad Little Kid.  This is not a complaint about Stephen King.  This is my difficulty with reading books of short stories.  Not short stories.  Books of short stories.  On audio.  Each time I start to feel slightly committed -- if those feelings ever come -- the end jumps out at you and it's all over.

Batman and Robin have an Altercation was awesome.  But there were others there that I just didn't get.  A man and woman have an argument.  The woman dies.  That's all.  On to the next story.  . . . HUH?  What was this story about?  Reading books of short stories makes me feel like a golf ball hit full swing in a tile bathroom.

I feel bad.  Like I did when I gave up on Insomnia.  Am I still a constant reader if I drop out on the latest book?  Of course.  I just don't do as well with those short stories.

By the way, a word of parting on Bazaar -- I really like the introductions King does to each story.

The Stephen King Companion:

Setting Bazaar aside, I've started reading the new George Beahm book, The Stephen King Companion.  I think this would be companion book number 3 for Beahm, but I'm losing track.  He is also author of America's Best Loved Boogeyman and several other King books.

The book does two things in the early biographical portions --
First, Beahm does an excellent job introducing new biographical material that was previously absent from other works.  Drawing on PBS' investigation into King's past, we learn about King's father, Donald King, and where he went after he left the family.

Second, most of what Beahm introduces thus far is not really new.  Meaning: He doesn't seem to have gone and done new interviews -- he is pulling already published materials together into a single source.  That's okay, because I like it.  But I am starting to cringe at the sheer number of times The Stephen King Encyclopedia is mentioned.  I read that book, and loved it!  And I'm enjoying Beahms book.  But (BUT!) this is starting to feel like an updated version of the Encyclopedia with a new format.

WAIT -- I was wrong.
It would be easier to just erase the above.  The danger in blogging as I read is that I complain and then get proven wrong.  There's plenty of new stuff here.  Just read a great (GREAT) interview in the book that is with one of King's childhood friends.

Whining aside, the book really is very good.  Beahm is my favorite King biographer, and his insights are always sharp.  Besides, he holds a special place in my heart because he once confessed (I think in the first Stephen King Companion) that he just couldn't get into the Talisman.  I felt such sweet comfort when he said that.

Strange, isn't it, that I would go from reading Stephen King to reading about Stephen King.  I'm sure I'll return to the Bazaar, but for now, George Beahm has me pretty engrossed.

By the way, the introduction by Stephen Spignesi was worth the price of admission.

What It Means To Be A Stephen King Fan

1. It means first editions really do matter to the way the universe runs.  REALLY.

2. It means family members should understand that first editions are not for reading.

3. It means, most years at least, you should not plan to see me in November.

4. It means I'm scared of clowns.

5. It means I get excited when I pass a 1958 red and white  Plymouth Fury.

6. It means books with Stephen Kings signature inside are really important to the rotation of the planet.

7.  It means I have a love/hate relationship with specialty publishers.

8. It means I have seen a lot of really good movies.  But most of them are about prison.

9. It means I have seen quite a few really bad movies.  In fact, it means I've seen more bad movies than good. 

10. It means I own multiple copies of the same book.

11. It means I imagine terrible things that could come from ordinary objects. 

12. It means people assume some things about me that are not totally true because I read Stephen King, and they assume some things about him that are not totally true.

13. It means I can totally disagree with someone politically and still read their books and admire their art.

14. It means I wonder why bookstores bother to sell other authors.

15. It means I cringe a little when you hear the name Mick Garris.

16. It  means I own some strange collectables -- like a blue matchbox Christine -- that you wouldn't otherwise.

17. It means I often quickly shut the CD off when my kids get in the car because -- well, there's THOSE words I don't want them picking up.

18. It means feeling both overjoyed and a little burdened when you hear a new novel is over a thousand pages.  "YES!  I get to read all that!"  and, "Oh man, I've got to read all of that."

19. It means I've read both versions of the Stand multiple times. And if you're a Stephen King fan, you do know what "both versions" means.

20. It means I'm happy when I find books  by Bev Vincent, Stephen Spignesi, George Beahm.

21. It means I own a cellphone, but I'm suspicious it already turned me into a zombie.

22. It means I have pretty strong opinions about which novels are the best -- and I'm right, you're wrong.  That's how it is.

23. It means I wish I owned The Stand leather bound edition, but I'm not sure why, because no one would be allowed to touch it.

24. It means I can spot a Stephen King reference in movies and television pretty quickly.

25. It means that I have at least tried to read Insomnia.

26. It means I'd like to read Dean Koontz, but am afraid I'll get really interested and then not have time to read Stephen King.  This is a problem.  And then there's Mccammon, and Grisham and Follett.

what does it really mean?  It means I've read a lot of good books.

You're turn.

NY TIMES Discusses The KING Family

Check out Susan Dominus' lengthy article, Stephen King’s Family Business. (www.nytimes.com) There is actually more personal information in this article than in most of the Stephen King biographies I've read!  Which brings to mind, I am still waiting for George Beahm to update his wonderful biography of Stephen King, America's Best Loved Boogeyman.

Here's some bullet points:

• They do read Dean Koontz. Some like 'em -- some don't.  They also like Larry McMurtry, Wilbur Smith, Tolstoy, C.S. Lewis, James Cain, John D. MacDonald, Neil Gaiman
• Stephen King bribed his kids to read books on tape for him.  Including some pretty nasty stuff, like Raven, which is about the Jonestown massacre.
• At bedtime, King's children were expected to tell their parents bedtime stories.  That's pretty cool!
• Stephen King used to win prizes in Sunday School for memorizing verses.  No one should be surprised by this; his writing shows a working knowledge of the Biblical narrative.
• They also took time to read after dinner books like The Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia. 
• Joe Hill cannot stop working if a sentence ends on an odd count of letters.  (Who counts?)  Rather compulsive, he has been known to miss appointments because he keeps going home to make sure the oven is off.  I understand this!  I run back to make sure the door is locked, then think, "now, did I really check?"
• Naomi King wrote fantasy as a kid.
• I appreciated Tabby's point that her children should not sulk too much about the burden of being children of writers -- since everyone has parents they will be compared to in some way.
• As always, I love the love story between Steve and Tabby.  Not only how they were  young, in love and poor -- but how she was willing to confront his worst habits and demand the best in him. Dominus writes: Tabby explained to all of them that if their father did not agree to get sober, she would ask him to leave. “I didn’t want to lie to my kids,” she said. “I’ve never really gotten lying anyway, because all you do is postpone the day at which you’re revealed to be a liar.” As the family discussed the intervention all these years later, the conversation grew almost hushed. “It was terrifying,” Naomi said. “Are you going to have a dad anymore?”
• The critic they all fear is Tabby.  She got Joe to change the ending of one of his books!  (And remember, she's the reason Dreamcatcher isn't named Cancer.)
• Naomi King isn't really a fan of the horror genre -- she's a fan of theology.  Dominus quotes Naomi, "I do care about monsters — I care very much about theological interpretations of how we make friends with our monsters. If we demonize other people and create monsters out of each other and act monstrous — and we all have that capacity — then how do we not become monsters ourselves?”
• Joe is a positive guy. (read the article)

photo credit: nytimes.com

I found this just down right sweet, about Owen King's wife, Kelly, and the King's:

The relationship between Kelly and Stephen has the easy rapport of in-laws relieved to enjoy each other’s company, the conversation light, less likely to turn to the mysterious process of writing than to the end product — either someone else’s work or their own. The Kings’ embrace of her writing is clearly not a function of politeness; they seemed to be competing to outdo themselves in their praise of “Save Yourself” when the subject came up. 

The full article is at: www.nytimes.com

Is King More Personal

Does Stephen King make a deeper connection with his readers than other writers?

Question -- do you feel like you know Stephen King better than other authors?

I  found myself thinking about this as I read The Stand.  A character named Joe appears on the scene -- a child who doesn't talk but sure likes knives!  Larry Underwood is not a fan of  the kid.  I thought, "I wonder if Joe is a tribute to his son.  Probably same age when it was written."  Then I began to think how much I know about King.  Strange.  I didn't seek to know anything.  That's  the truth!  I just read books.

But I don't know Tom Clancy's kids names.  If I work real  hard I might come up with Dicken's  wife's name -- but I don't remember.  I did see Dicken's biography on Biography channel, but it was so cut up and scattered that it offered nothing.

But  without much extra effort you learn a lot about King and his family.  For one thing, that's because  his introductions and commentary's are  always so chatty and personal.  For another, his writing itself is very personal.  Scattered  throughout novels are  personal  nods.

Is it just that I read more King?  I read Anne Rice's books for a while.  I know she had a husband who died and a son.  And I read a book about her return to Christianity (before she un-returned!).  But still, there's not that  sense of personal connection.

Seems the more you know about an author,  the clearer their  narrative voice becomes.  I suspect one reason readers go back again and again to certain authors is because they feel a connection to them.  I know, and disagree with, King's politics.  But actually knowing where  he's coming from helps me understand what he's writing about.

Now I'm not advocating crazy fandom!  In fact, I don't make any attempt -- or want to -- meet King or know him.  I'm just a reader.  It worries me when I see how crazy people get for a signature in a book or. . . more.  But a "constant reader" as King calls us slowly learns more  and more about the artist just by reading.  Of  course, King has made himself  available for about 1.6 billion interviews!  So that helps.  He speaks often on an array of subjects.

One of the things I really respect about King is his love for his wife.  Does this make him a better writer?  Probably not.  But my respect for his treatment of his wife gives me a deeper appreciation for his work.

Now I have read a couple biography's on King.  But  here's an interesting thing: His biography's all follow the same trail!  They focus on his writing career (as they should) instead of personal interactions with family.  By the way, George Beahms "Stephen King, America's Best Loved Boogieman" is the best bio out there.

Think about all the stuff  you know about King.  Isn't that strange?  Do you know that stuff about other authors?  Did you go out trying to find out those things, or did the information just come bit by  bit as you read.

Good Sequels

In an interview with EW, Stephen King said one of his hesitations about doing a sequel to the Shining is that "most sequels really suck."  He gives only two exceptions: Huckleberry Finn  and the Godfather II.

Do you agree?  I'm not sure I do.  I think sometimes a story is better as it continues because the writer is in familiar territory and is working to their strengths.

Here are a few sequels that did not suck:

1. The Drawing of the Three, Stephen King
2. Odyssey, Holmer (The Illiad)
3. World Without End, Ken Follett (Pillars of the Earth)
4. The Empire Strikes Back, Glut/Lucas (Star Wars)
5. Piercing The Darkness, Frank Peretti (This Present Darkness)
6. Return of Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)
7. Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games)
8. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter)
9. Patriot Games, Tom Clancy (The Hunt For Red October)
10. Leaving Cold Sassy Tree, Olive Anne Burns (Cold Sassy Tree)
11. The Two Towers, Tolkien (The Fellowship Of The Ring)

(I have not read Talisman or Blackhouse)

Many famous writers have actually resisted the temptation to go back  and write sequels.  Charles Dickens and John Steinbeck to name two. I also notice that John Grisham also does not do a lot of  sequels.

I think King may feel some pain when it comes to sequels, since his own works have had to endure  the likes of Return to Salem's Lot, Firestarter II and all those dreadful Children of the Corn movies.

George Beahm once said that  Eyes of the Dragon deserved a sequel.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION:

1. What is your favorite sequel?
2. What Stephen King book would you like him to write a sequel  to?

STRANGENESS, The Backbone of a Good Collection

Where do you start collecting Stephen King?  I think the best advice has always been to start with first editions.  The earlier the better.  My earliest is a copy of The Shining.

A couple years ago, I stopped collecting first editions.  I only have so much shelf space, and it seemed that newer books had such a huge first run that the first editions would never be worth much.  I chose instead to buy special editions of these books.  For instance, Cemetery dance released a beautiful copy of Full Dark No Stars.  I chose to invest in that instead of a first edition.  Besides, someone usually gives me a copy of the latest Stephen King book!  (Hint, hint family – still no 11/22/63)

So what makes a good collection of Stephen King books?  Depends on what you like.  If you want to line all the books up in chronological order, Carrie to 11/22/63, then first editions are the way to go.  Of course, that system leaves nerd questions, like, “What do I do with the Dark Tower books?  Put them on their own shelf (yes!) or mix them in (no!)?”

I think the backbone of a good collection is strange stuff.  Yep, a little bit of everything makes the collection a lot of fun.  If everyone has the same set of first editions – that’s not really so cool, ya know?

Here are some strange things I’ve enjoyed hunting:

1. Magazines.  These are cheap, and a thrill to read through.  Magazines with Stephen King interviews, magazines that contain his original stories, or magazines about King are all easy to find.

2. Cemetery Dance editions.  I like books published by CD.  In particular, Blockade Billy, Full Dark No tars and the recent 20th anniversary of IT were all pretty cool.

3. Red leather editions.  I’m not crazy about these, because they come out looking pretty uniform – but a few a fun.

4. Trinkets.  The world is full of strange things from the world of Stephen King.  A matchbox Christine (mine is blue?),

5. Booklets.  Sometimes longer short stories were published as separate booklets.  I have The Raft as a booklet originally published in Gallery and a small Penguin paperback of Umney’s Last Case.  Sometimes the booklets are giveaway’s – just a few chapters of larger novels.  I have a copy of a Wizard and Glass booklet – just the first few pages.

6. British editions can also be cool.  I have the unabridged version of The Stand.  Strangely, the British edition looks a lot thinner!  Also a British edition of Skeleton Crew.  Actually, this is something I don’t do a lot of hunting for.  After all, the only thing really different is the cover, and again – I need the space.

7. Some cassettes are worth looking for.  I hunted The Stand and The Mist on cassette.  (Once upon a time The Stand was only available in the original abridged format and even that was out of print.)  Copies of King reading The Dark Tower are also pretty cool, in my opinion.

If you can get your hands on the original recording of The Mist read by Frank Muller, I think it's worth  it. I'm not sure what the copyright deal is on this book is, but it seems to be out of print.

By the way, there is an abridgment of Thinner that King really didn't like!  It was so bad, he decided not to allow future books be be abridged.  But then, Desperation was later abridged!

8. Newspapers and periodicals.  In particular, the Castle Rock was a neat publication.  I only own one.  It was very well done and a great way of keeping news out there in an age pre-interent.  There were several other unauthorized publications that are fun to dig up.

Phantasmayoria was a unofficial magazine published four times a year.  I think this was the work of George Beahm. I have a Summer 1997 edition.

The Red Letter by Greg Hotchkiss was another King news booklet about 10 pages per issue.

Also SKIN: Stephen King Information Network was the work of editior Lori Zucearo.  This publication is about 10 full sized sheets of paper – always green.  It seems the 90's were really the era for these publications. (See blog post, The History Of Skin)

9. The Dark Tower in its first publication in Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine.  I had a lot of fun hunting those down, it became a quest.

10. Original copies of the Richard Bachman books.  The only one really hard to find it Rage.  The copy I have is pretty tattered.  Actually, all my Bachman paperbacks are well worn!

11. Comic books.  I don’t purposefully collect these, but have somehow ended up with quite a few.  Anyway, comic books can easily make a collection unique.  There are some that are more fun to hunt down than others.  I  think the Batman #400 is pretty awesome.  King reveals if he is a Batman or a Superman.

12. Some books about King are invaluable.  For instance  The Shape Under The Sheets is out of print, and a very unique book!  Lilja’s Library is also a lot of fun to just sit and thumb through.  (When it comes to books about King, I like books you don’t have to read beginning to end, but can hope around in.)

13. Movies.  One Summer I tried to collect all the SK movies.  I’m not sure it’s possible!  And some I just refuse to invest in, making it impossible to collect them all.  Sorry, Sleepwalkers and Langoliers!  I don’t really think movies do much in terms of collecting.  I don’t even keep the cases, but put them all in one folder of SK movies.

14. Desk Calendar.  I have just recently become a big fan of the Stephen King desk Calendar.

15. Books with introductions by Stephen King.  King’s introduction to any book is a lot of fun.  I don’t collect these, but would gladly sit and read every introduction if given the stack of books.

What is it?
Some stuff I have I’m actually unsure. . . why I have it!  I keep it in this big plastic tub, and my wife probably thinks it’s full of old books or something.  I just toss srange things in there that I’m unsure what to do with.  A lot of it are things that came in grab bags or – stuff I don’t know I got it!

Examples:

• A big red sticker that says: “Buy Desperation and The Regulators and get a gift from STEPHEN KING... an excerpt from The Dark Tower IV.  
• A TV Guide from May, 1997 with the Shining miniseries on the front.  I’m not sure why I bought this (for something like $2).  But now that I bought it, I can’t part with it!
• A VHS box for The Lawn Mower Man, unrrated directors cut.  This is only the fox, still flat, never had a VHS tape in it.  I’m not sure why I have this – or why I keep it.  Hopeful it may for some reason be valuable.
• Stickers with this instruction from New Line Cinema: June 30, 1993, “Dear new Line Home Video Customer: Enclosed are corrected credit block stickers for the new Line Home Video title The Lawnmower Man.  Pursuant to a court order, please place this approved sticker on all available copies of The Lawnmower Man in your inventory.  The Lawnmower Man is available for sell-through at $19.95 suggested retail price.  Thank you for making The lawnmower Man a huge success.”  RIGHT!
• Papers.  Yep, papers from a court proceeding regarding Lawnmower Man.  Nothing interesting – just court docs.  
• Charlie Fried’s original draft’s of his articles for SKIN.  Including: Stephen King on Audio, Stephen King’s World of Horror, The Lawnmower Man meets the Rock Bottom Remainders Stephen King Plaintiff or Defendant, and more.

The really fun stuff are things that you think no one else has.  My favorite is Charlie Fried’s notebook.  It’s nothing that incredible – just a scrapbook by a fan.  But I like it a lot.

There's so much stuff you could collect!  Movie posters, event tickets, signed items, signed baseballs, bobbleheads, action figures, toys, bookcovers. . .

So, tell me – what odd things make your collection fun and unique?

Also see my 2011 article, Building A Unique Collection

Misery Journal #5: Conclusion

What a ride!  Misery was a huge surprise to me.  I did not expect to like it.  How, I wondered, could King carry the story of a trapped writer for so many pages?  Of course, my opinion was based solely on the movie.  Having read the book, I now fully understand what Bev Vincent meant  when he wrote, "Misery will get under your skin."

Misery Origins:

In The Stephen King Illustrated Companion, Bev Vincent says that Misery was  inspired  in part by John Fowles's The Collector and the Evelyn Waugh short story "The Man Who  Loved  Dickens."  Vincent writes:

After reading the latter, King wondered what would happen if Dickens himself were held captive.  He reflected in an interview, "Halfway  through. . . I realized I was trying to express some of my own deepest fear-feelings: the sense of being trapped, the sense of having come from someplace like Africa and knowing I would never be  able  to get home, and trying to figure out what  it was I was doing, why I was  doing it, and why people were  responding to it."  (p.96) 

Vincent further explains that the novel was the result of a dream King had while flying to England.  "He dreamed about a woman who held a writer prisoner and killed him, skinned him, fed  the remains to her pig, and bound his novel  in human skin."

The Stephen King Universe notes that due to its realistic themes and dark ending, King originally intended Misery to be published  as a Richard Bachman novel.

Number One Fan:

Autograph hunter Mark Chapman gets a signature from John Lennon
outside his elegant Dakota apartment building in New York
where hours later he gunned down the former Beatle
(photo credit HERE)

King fans can be obsessive.  One guy broke into King's house claiming to have a bomb.  He is mobbed for autographs, and sometimes the fans turn out to be flat out scary! The Stephen King Universe says, "Misery was clearly inspired by events in King's own life."  It relates this frightening account:

In 1980,  he reportedly signed one of his books for a stranger  who literally did call himself King's 'number one fan.'  That lost soul was Mark Chapman, who would later earn his palce in history by shooting and killing John Lennon shortly thereafter." (SK Universe, p.335)

The encounter with Mark Chapman is elaborated on for a full page in the original edition of The Stephen King Companion (p.248) which is quoting form King's September 22, 1986 Virginia Beach lecture.

The book is dedicated to "Stephanie and Jim Leonard, who know why.  Boy, do they."  George Beahm offers this insight in the original Stephen King Companion, "Stephanie Leonard, for many years King's secretary and the editor/publisher of Castle Rock, knows firsthand what it's like to deal  with the fans -- the good, the bad and the ugly."

Here are my final notes for the present Misery Journal:

1. Suspense: As Paul finishes the novel, King builds intensity.  What is going to happen when he finishes writing?  The pages left to write become something like a clock running down, like in Running Man.

The novel employs Hitchcock levels of suspense at the end as the reader (and Paul) wnder if Annie is really dead.  She is discovered, not laying dead with wads of paper coming from her mouth -- but outside Misery's pig stall, with one hand wrapped around the handle of a chainsaw.  

2. There are rats here!  King has a way of sending rats racing through a story at moments I do not expect them.  Who would have expected to find rats in Misery?  I didn't!  But rats there are!  They are down in Annie's cellar.  Of course, Paul can't move, so the horror builds all the more as he  contends with rats staring at him.

3. ESCAPE: As with any novel where an escape is required, the reader is left thinking how they might execute an escape in a similar situation.  What the reader is likely to forget is just how weak and dependent on Annie Paul really is.

4. King takes us inside the writers mind as he works through problems.  Misery is really about the art of writing.

The Stephen King Companion, by George Beahm, notes that the August 1987 edition of The Castle Rock included an article by Tabitha King in which she reminded readers that Stephen King was not Paul Sheldon.  More importantly, she made the point that Annie Wilkes is a "metaphor for the creative drive itself." Beahm writes (quoting Tabitha King):

Beyond merely a tale of torture and murder, "Misery is far more concerned with the way in which a creative person can be tortured by his own powers, addicted to the act  of creation, damaged by it.  At the end, Paul Sheldon has not freed himself from Annie Wilkes; she holds him captive still, emotionally and creatively." (The Stephen King Companion, Revised Edition, 269)

I like the insight that a novel never turns out quite the way an author first imagines it.

He felt as he always did when he finished a book— queerly empty, let down, aware that for each little success he had paid a toll of absurdity. -- Misery, p. 287

Not  only is it about writing, but it is about writing being an act of creation (as discussed above by Tabitha King),

Still, it was good to be done— always good to be done. Good to have produced, to have caused a thing to be. In a numb sort of way he understood and appreciated the bravery of the act, of making little lives that weren’t, creating the appearance of motion and the illusion of warmth." -- Misery,  p.288

5. Disgusting!  Stephen King almost made me gag.  I don't normally have any physical reaction to books.  I don't cry, I don't get grossed out, I don't get scared.  Sometimes I talk back to a book -- but I'm actually pretty passive.   But I was driving to work listening to Misery as King described the final fight with Annie.  Paul shoved the novel down her throat -- while it was on fire!  The description was so powerful, I stopped the CD because I was gagging. 

King brilliantly drags that part out, letting you suffer with Annie as more  and more pages are jammed down her throat.  Even though she is getting what she deserves, the reader hurts with her.  That is a sign of good writing!

6. Irony: The novel employs a lot of irony.  For instance, Annie supplies Paul with the instruments that will be used  to bring about her own demise.  Both the typewriter and the pages of Paul's novel are weapons he will use in the final struggle.  

King himself points all  this out, writing,

So in a way she had been killed by the very typewriter Paul had hated so much. -- Misery, p.307

11.22.63 Journal #2: Derry Doesn't Welome You

I don't know how many novel's Stephen King has written.  Do you count Blockade Billy?  Why is the Mist a novella, but The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon is a novel ?  Whatever the number -- it's a lot.  In fact, King has written a whole lot of novels.  Every one of them have been entertaining.  Each novel is also practice.  Put another way, King's writing keeps getting better.

I weary of people who suggest that King's greatest novels were the first dozen.  While I enjoy those novels a lot, I think it is naive to think that King's writing has not strengthened with time and experience. 

King has said that he tried to write 11.22.63 years ago, but discovered he was not ready to take on such a monumental challenge.  The novel is different from other King novels just by the amount of research and historical data required to build the story.  What is not different is King's crisp, entertaining and often lively narration.  While the book is long, King does not belabor scenes or commit the sin of boring the reader! 

That sign from the IT mini-series ought to read "Derry Does Not Welcome You."

King skillfully weaves history and fiction.  For instance, we all know Derry is really Bangor.  But it's a messed up Bangor!  A city where a monster roams and kills little kids.  In 1/22/63 King lets us in on a side of Derry we missed in IT.  He reveals what the city and it's adults are enduring as its children are killed.  How do child murders darken a city?  Makes me think of Atlanta. 

Derry is a city where people are not just guarded, they are down right unfriendly -- suspicious. 

In his wonderful book, "Stephen King Country", George Beahm writes

"In reading King, the sense you get is that his literary landscape -- a geographic jigsaw puzzle -- is an ongoing exploration, for not only was IT set in the mythical Derry, but so is Insomnia and, most recently, Bag of Bones." (Stephen King country, p.107)

Beahm also notes:

"Equipped with a street map of Bangor, you would be able to identify on a walking or driving through much of the geography found in IT.  In addition, the references to Bangor and the greater Bangor area dot the novel's imaginative landscape."  (p.104)

Beahm then takes us on a tour of real world / fictional world linkages.  I have added notes at the end of Beahms comments to connections I spotted in 11/22/63. (Beahms list is on pages104, 106-107)  Beahm's writing is in yellow and my notes are orange. 

The Barrens:

There are several photo's of the Barrens HERE.

 "[A] messy track of land about a mile and a half wide by three miles long.  It was bounded by upper Kansas Street on one side and by old Cape on the other."  (In the novel, this is where the sewer pipes lead underground to IT's lair.) 

This is also mentioned in 11/22/63.  Where half a dozen murdered kids were discovered.  There is a grassy pic-nic area between a fence and the drop into the barrens where Jack encounters a couple of the children from IT.  This meeting is a particularly magical scene for readers of IT.

Bassey Park:

 In IT, this is the park that flanks the high school.  Real-life Bangor has a Bass Park. 

In 11/22/63, this is where the "so called" kissing bridge is.  There are a lot of carvings on the bridge, including the words, "I will kill my mother soon" and someone else has carved, "not soon enough, she's full of diseeze."

Derry Library:

For two of the Losers -- Ben Hansomb and Mike Hanlon -- this library was especially significant: It was Ben's favorite place as a child; and as a adult, it was Hanlon' place of employment.  (He also kept in its vault his manuscript, "Derry: An Unauthorized Two History."  Real-life Bangor's Public Library is situated on Harlow Street. 

In 11/22/63, Jack visits the library to try and find census records.  Also at the Derry library, Jack researched the murders that took place between 1957 and 1958.  In 2011 Jack used the Derry library system to do research online.

The Derry Mall:

 In IT, Dave Gardener had one of his Shoeboat retail stores in this mall.  Bangor has Bangor Mall, now the major shopping area of the city. 

In 11/22/63 Jack uses the cover that he is scouting for a mall.  Though he never quite says this, he just says he's there on business.

Mount Hope Cemetery:

photo credit HERE
The empty spot in the middle is where Stephen King presided over the funeral in the movie Pet Sematary

In IT, this is where George Denbrough was buried.  (Readers of Pet Sematary will probably notice that this was where Gage Creed was buried.)  In Bangor, the Mount Hope Cemetery is where, for the film version of Pet Sematary, Stephen King, as a minister, presided over Creed's funeral at this real life cemetery in Bangor. 

In 11/22/63 the Cemetery is Longview -- where Frank Dunning visits his parents grave, and where some sweet justice is delivered.

The Standpipe:

 A prominent landmark in Derry, a water tower that holds almost two million gallons. Real-life Bangor's Standpipe, on top of a hill, is one of its most prominent landmarks, towering over the city. 

In 11/22/63 there are decorative pillows with the Standpipe embroidered in gold thread on them.


The Paul Bunyan statue

The statue is mentioned in 11/22/63 -- small replica's are sold in Benton's drug store.

The University of Maine:

Two of the losers -- Bill Denbrough and Mike hanlon -- graduated from here. . . Stephen and Tabitha King -- and Stephen's childhood friend Chris Chesley -- are graduates of this university. 

In 11/22/63 the narrator, Jack Epping has a B.S. from the University of Maine. He also says that Carolyn Poulin went to the University of Maine as a Business major. Frank Dunning seems to have a sweet spot for the school. It was his school of choice, but he got a girl pregnant and life took other turns. Dunning also took his kids to the football game at the University of Maine.

Penobscot County & River

Fictinal Derry as well as real-life Bangor are located in this county.  Penobscot River: The sewers in Derry empty into the Penobscot; running east-west, it bisects Bangor and Brewer.

St. Joseph Hospital:

After she broke her leg in a car crash, Cheryl Tarrent was taken here.  In reality, located in Bangor.

West Broadway:

The street in Derry known for its mansions and Bangor's most famous street historically, where the lumber barons at the turn of the century made their homes. The King's home is on West Broadway. 
Also:

• Shawshank (fictional): A Maine prison where an Air Force colonel is sent after getting Cheryl Lamonica pregnant.  (This is also where Andy Dufresne was incarcerated, in "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.")  In 11/22/63, Harry's dad was sent to Shawshank, and died of stomach poisoning.  There are about 3 references to this prison in the novel.
• The Viking Press: The publishing house in New York City where Bill Denbrough submitted his first novel, a horror story about ghosts.  before King defected to Scribner, he was published in hardcover by Viking.  There is no mention of the Viking Press in 11/22/63.  What a surprise!
• The Frati Brothers Pawnshop: In the novel, this store was replaced in 985 by a Trustworthy Hardware Store. In Bangor, not far from Betts Bookstore, you'll find the Frati Brothers Pawnshop.  In 11/22/63 it is called "Chaz Frati's Mermaid Pawn & Loan."  I was unable to locate this.

Other places in 11/22/63 that I don't think are actually in Bangor:

• Machen Sporting Goods.
• Derry Townhouse.
• The Lamlighter (a bar and grill.)
• The Center Street Market

George Beahms book "Stephen King Country" can be purchased HERE.

Lisbon Falls And Stephen King

One of the really neat things about 11/22/63 is that it connects real places with fictional characters and places.  One of the very real places is a spot from Stephen King's past -- Lisbon Falls.


The King connection:

Lisbon Falls Maine ME 1950s view of the High School.

According to George Beahm's fantastic book, "Stephen King Country", King commuted to Lisbon High from Durham.  Because the town was not big enough to afford, or require, a full blown school bus to transport the four students to Lisbon High, the town contracted with Mike's Taxi to transport the kids.

Now get this. . . the taxi was a converted hearse!  And one of the kids riding with King was the girl who would later serve as the model for Carrie White.  YIKES!  Pretty cool, when you think about it.  Stephen King rides in a hearse with Carrie White, eh!

Worumbo Mill

Worumbo Mill

The Worumbo Mill was constructed in 1920.  In the novel, the local mill is now an abandoned shoe factory.  The mill is the site of the time portal (I think).

Here is the town website.