Interview with a Writer
In my last post I reviewed Martha Horton’s first novel The Faun. I’m always interested in the creative process so I interviewed Martha to get more insights into her intriguing novel. This is part 1.
How long did it take you to write The Faun?
About six months, while on unemployment and not doing the 9 to 5 thing. It was fun, quick, easy.
Where did idea come from?
I first read Hawthorne’s The Marble Faun when returning to the US after several years in Italy. I was fascinated with the premise and the characters - and frustrated by the loose ends, the 19th century syntax, the ending. (Readers in Hawthorne’s day also were frustrated - the book became a “hit” primarily as an early guide book to Rome).
How long did you live in Italy?
I was there 1962 - 1965. I edited a tourist magazine in Rome, then edited a journal of international affairs at Johns Hopkins School of international Studies in Bologna, and finally worked as a correspondent for McGraw-Hill World News in Milan. I returned to the States because I was expecting my second bambino and my Italian husband had been drafted into the Italian Air Force, which at that time basically paid enough for one good dinner per week.
You were married to actor Steve Reeves’s double.
My husband was “discovered” on the beach (somewhat like Donatello in the park).
He doubled Steve Reeves in the “Hercules” series and also was one of about 30 stuntmen who attended a special school where they learned gladiatorial combat (net and trident, etc.) He was in a number of the “myth and muscle” movies like “Barabus,” “Ben Hur” and “Cleopatra” as well as some pirate films. But he couldn’t handle dialogue.
From the book, it sounds like you really loved the Italian culture.
Yes, I love the usual things visitors enjoy - the history, scenery, food, wine, art, architecture, opera, the vitality of the Italians. Living there is different, because you come up against some of the less appealing aspects - provincialism, cynicism, official RED TAPE that is appalling. Of course, I was there in the Sixties - almost half a century ago!
On a recent visit, I found Rome much more tourist-friendly than before, much cleaner, and somehow “homogenized,” as is much of Europe. But as you walk the streets of the city there is still the same sense of coexisting with antiquity, and the atmosphere of “golden gloom” that is so compelling. I feel strangely at home in Rome.
What are some of the differences between the Italian and US cultures?
These are fewer and less striking than they once were. Anywhere in the world, not so many years ago, when you asked a US citizen “Where are you from?” the answer was almost always ”America” or “The United States.” Ask an Italian, and the answer would be “Roma” or “Siena” or “Sicilia.” There was not a strong national identity - Italians identified more closely with their football (soccer) teams. I think, particularly in the Southern half of the Italy, one stills finds a greater appreciation for simply living life well as opposed to “making it.” Expectations may not include the big house and fancy car but they do include good food and good friends and close family and time to enjoy them. Also important is the “bella figura” - good appearance. You may live in a closet but when you go out, you take pains to be well groomed and well dressed. No butt cracks, no hair curlers.
The government there is much more socially progressive, i.e. universal health care and long vacations and “the 13th month” Christmas bonus, etc. It’s also incredibly corrupt at all levels (I’m not sure that’s so different from the US, but here we at least make a pretense of abiding by the law). And because Italy is not a world power, the Italians are not so obsessed with the military.
Note: More in Part 2 next week. You can find Martha Horton’s novel, The Faun, at www.amazon.com