Interview for "To Love Mercy" author Frank S. Joseph

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We are very pleased to talk with Frank S. Joseph, long-time
writer who has recently penned his first novel, "To Love
Mercy." Welcome to Reader Views Frank.

Juanita: Thanks for talking with us today Frank. Please tell
us the story within the pages of "To Love Mercy."

Frank: "To Love Mercy" is a fable about blacks and whites,
Christians and Jews, conflict and forgiveness. It tells the story
of two young boys - one black, one white - who meet under
the worst of circumstances, in a darkened parking lot following a Chicago White Sox game on June
15, 1948. The black child, whose nickname is Sass, is injured accidentally and the white family takes
him - most unwillingly - to a nearby emergency room. But the white child, whose name is Steve, can'
t get the incident out of his mind. The next day, Steve finds his way to Sass's hospital bedside for a
tense encounter. That would be the end of it, except Steve's grandfather Nate accuses the black child,
Sass, of stealing a precious silver talisman from him. Nate threatens to throw Sass in jail. So Steve
finds Sass and the two of them go off on a search for the silver talisman, which takes them across a
hostile city over a long day and night. At the end, these two boys have survived disasters and come to
an understanding of their world that is deeper than that of their own mothers and fathers.

Juanita: Tell us the significance of the contrast between the innocent young friends and the racial
inspired, fearful parents?

Frank: The parents are victims of the pressures of society, racial and religious. But the boys are
seeing these things for the first time, and we readers see these things as they see them, through their
eyes.

Juanita: What was your experience and history with Chicago?

Frank: The story in "To Love Mercy" is a story of what my childhood might have been. Like Steve,
I grew up in the '40s and '50s in Hyde Park, a comfortable neighborhood on the South Side of
Chicago that was then heavily Jewish. But my grandfather Nathan Joseph owned and operated a
movie theater in the heart of Bronzeville, the ghetto where just about every black Chicagoan lived
during the '40s. Where I lived, in Hyde Park, was just 30 blocks from the States Theatre, but a world
away. What if little Frankie Joseph had met a kid like Sass? How would my life have changed?

Juanita: Have you based any of the characters on anyone you know? Is there any of you woven
into any of the characters?

Frank: Absolutely. Almost all the major characters are based on real people in my growing-up.
Steve, of course, is based on me. The grandfather, Nate, who owns the movie theater, is based on my
own grandfather, Nathan Joseph, although the character of Nate is meaner than my own grandpa
was. But Sass is pure fiction. One day this kid appeared in my head and started talking. I just wrote
down what I heard.

Juanita: That is very interesting. The dialogue of Steve and Sass is very accurate in its depiction of
how innocent children would talk. Tell us a little more about these characters.

Frank: Steve is na?ve - he is constantly putting himself in harm's way because of his innocent and
trusting nature - but he's worldly too. Coming from a comfortable background, he's been places and
done things. Sass, on the other hand, hasn't even been outside his own neighborhood ... has never
been the Loop 30 blocks north, doesn't even realize there's a lake - big one - 10 blocks east. But Sass
sees everything with perfect clarity. It's easy to B.S. Steve, but no one can ever B.S. Sass.

Juanita: You did extensive research for this book. Tell us about this process, and the inclusion of
the very powerful Afterword with historical pictures and quotes.

Frank: The first three chapters or so just poured out of me. Then I hit a wall. I needed to start
writing the Bronzeville characters and I realized I just didn't know them well enough. So I put on my
reporter hat. I started calling black-oriented organizations and offices - the public library branch in
Bronzeville, the offices of the politicians who represent the area, etc. - asking for leads to people who
grew up in Bronzeville in the '40s and '50s. With much luck I found a half-dozen such people -
ordinary folks, with extraordinary stories to tell - and interviewed them on tape. I also spent hours at
the Chicago Historical Society, especially in the 1995 records of the Douglas-Grand Boulevard
Neighborhood Oral History Project. I listened to hours of tapes and read dozens of transcripts. From
these I extracted the stories that appear in the Afterword - a history of Bronzeville in the voices of the
people who lived there. And we illustrated the Afterword with black-and-white photos, mostly taken
by a white photographer named Wayne Miller. Miller took these photos over a two-year period, then
they just went into a drawer - they weren't seen or shown for some 40 years. When Miller was in his
80s, the photos were published by the University of California Press as "Chicago South Side, 1946-
1948." We selected seven of these marvelous photos to illustrate the Afterword.

Juanita: Frank, the Bronzeville area in 40's Chicago was then rich in black culture. Why were you
drawn to this time and place?

Frank: Because of the time I spent there. When I was a little kid, my dad would take me down to my
grandpa's theater, where I could go up into the projection booth and watch the movie. I would watch
as the operator, George Machree, lit the carbon arc that movie projectors used to use, an exciting and
terrifying process Steve describes in the novel. And out on the street, I would see this incredible
liveliness that made Bronzeville truly "Chicago's Harlem." But I have to add, Bronzeville was a scary
place for a little white kid. My mom and dad were truly liberal people for their time, but when my dad
would take us down there in the car, he'd say, 'Lock the doors.' This disconnect between what my
parents said and how they behaved may actually have been the seed from which this novel grew.

Juanita: How do the families come to terms with their fear?

Frank: The families in the novel never do. They go at one another with insults and epithets. It's the
kids who finally reach an understanding of the world they live in.

Juanita: Frank, what is your statement to readers through the story of "To Love Mercy?"

Frank: As people read this novel, I'd like them to be thinking how, in some ways, the world has
come an incredibly long way since June 1948 ... and in some ways, it hasn't changed at all.

Juanita: For people who haven't traveled to Chicago, what is Bronzeville like today and how has it
changed?

Frank: It's a shadow of its former self. Starting in the early '50s, urban renewal began mowing the
neighborhood down. The construction of the Robert Taylor Homes - giant skyscraper projects that
became the crime-ridden shame of public housing and eventually were torn down - that construction
destroyed most of the businesses along State Street, including my grandpa's theater. The theater was
boarded up some time in the '50s and the building was torn down around 1961 or 1962, leaving
almost nothing in a block that had once been one of the busiest in the city of Chicago. Now, some 50
years later, a real estate boom is going on in Bronzeville, which after all is located only 3 ? miles
south of the Loop. But only about 20% of the original housing stock exists; the rest was urban-
renewed to the ground decades earlier. There are still blocks and blocks of vacant lots.

Juanita: You have had a significant writing career. Tell your readers about your writing history.

Frank: When I was 21 and a creative writing major in college, I wanted to be a novelist. Instead, I
became a journalist. I had a wonderful career, first with the City News Bureau of Chicago, then the
Chicago bureau of The Associated Press - where I covered the Democratic National Convention
disorders, the Detroit riot, Dr. King's march into Cicero Illinois and many other eruptions of the mid
and late '60s. I moved to the Washington DC area, where I still live, and became an editor at The
Washington Post during the Watergate years. Then I went into the newsletter business, first as a
journalist, now as a publisher. But I never stopped thinking about the novel I wasn't writing. And at
last, I've written it.

Juanita: Congratulations for not forgetting about your dream. Was there one particular thing that
inspired this novel?

Frank: "Huckleberry Finn" was the book I had in mind when I wrote "To Love Mercy." Sass, in his
clear-eyed appraisal of the world and his moral center, is like Huck. And like Huck and Jim, Steve and
Sass are a white and a black person thrown together on a quest. I think the Great American Novel
already has been written, and it is "Huckleberry Finn." I would not dare compare my talents to Mark
Twain's, but his book inspired me.

Juanita: Frank, you covered many of the hot issues during the 60's. Some would say there are
many similarities to the 60's and the times we find ourselves in today. I would imagine you have a
unique and informed perspective on how things have changed yet stayed the same in this country.
Would you share your thoughts?

Frank: Race was the big issue facing America then, and so it remains. I say that knowing many will
disagree with me, but here's why I believe it: The race issue never goes away. It just sits there like the
800-pound gorilla in the living room, because we aren't willing to have an honest discussion about it.
In some small way, I'm trying to start such a discussion.

Juanita: How long was this book in the making, and what was your inspiration for writing "To Love
Mercy?"

Frank: It took about three years from start to finish of the first draft. Of course, after it was
accepted for publication, the publisher wanted significant changes. My inspiration was my feeling that
blacks and whites see the same events differently ... that children have their own way of seeing the
world, which is different from the way we adults see the world ... and that disconnect I mentioned
between what people say about race and religion, and how they actually behave.

Juanita: Frank, who do you hope reads your book?

Frank: Obviously, Chicagoans will get an extra kick out of this novel, with its many recreations of
beloved places long gone - Riverview Amusement Park, for example, and the old Maxwell Street flea
market, not to mention Comiskey Park, home of the White Sox, and Bronzeville itself. But beyond
Chicago, I think any adult who ponders the way things are in the America we live in - as well as any
thinking teen-ager - will enjoy reading "To Love Mercy."

Juanita: Do you have plans for another novel in the future?

Frank: I have one half-written already. It's set in 1965 and it draws on my experiences at The
Associated Press, covering the ghetto riots. At first I thought this novel was my effort to understand
what was going on during those riots - how people who had next to nothing to begin with, could burn
down what little they did have. But as I reread this draft, I'm taken with its humor and romance. So I'
m trying to bring out those qualities along with the serious stuff.

Juanita: How can your readers contact you or find out more about "To Love Mercy?"

Frank: Just go to http://tolovemercy.com

Juanita: Do you have any last thoughts for your readers?

Frank: This has been a pretty serious interview, Juanita, so I just want to let readers know that, hey,
this is a pretty funny novel. Check out Steve and Sass's theological discussion about hot dogs, for
example. And also, I think the novel is a pretty easy read. It was important to me to write a book that
would be hard to put down - a page-turner. Readers will have to decide for themselves whether I
succeeded. I hope they'll try.

African American Literature - Beginning

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The first African American to publish a book and achieve international recognition was Phillis Wheatley. Her first published poem appeared in 1767. Published literature by other African Americans followed.

Reading and writing were forms of power. It was illegal to teach slaves to read and write in the Southern states. There were some slave owners in the South who did not obey this law. Some allowed their slave children to learn and others were taught for practical reasons - their jobs. The Northern states were more lenient since there were more free men of color living in the region.

In the urban areas of the North, free Blacks used writing to call for the abolition of slavery. David Walker wrote an appeal that called for an uprising against slavery. Other literature pointed out the conditions of slavery and its injustice.

Literary societies were formed in the early nineteenth century by free Blacks. During this period, the first African American newspaper, "Freedom's Journal," was founded (1827-1829). The paper published original poems, appeals, editorials, and letters. They were all considered literature at the time.

Another form of literature was the slave narrative. Slaves who had found their way to the North would tell stories to white abolitionists. They, in turn, would write down the narrative and it would be published in abolitionist papers and distributed at meetings. Frederick Douglass broke this cycle. He wrote his own narrative which was published in 1845. Following his lead, William Wells Brown, Henry Bibb and James W. C. Pennington chose to write their own narratives. Later slave narratives, such as the one of my great-grandmother, were documented as part of the WPA Slave Narrative project.

Stories about slave life began to appear in the 1850s. Frederick Douglass published his first historical novel, "The Heroic Slave" in 1853. "Clotel; or The President's Daughter" written by William Wells Brown was published the same year. Brown published the first African American drama, "The Escape; or A Leap for Freedom", in 1858. Following publication of works by Douglass and Brown, Martin Delaney published "Blake; or The Huts of America" in 1858. It is the story of a slave who leads a revolt in the South. Harriet E. Wilson is given the honor of being the first African American woman to have a novel published in the United States. Her book, "Our Nig; or Sketches from the Life of a Free Black" was published in 1859.

The first African American literary magazine, "The Anglo-African Magazine", began publication just before the Civil War. The literature appearing in the magazine was written by prominent African American intellectuals.

Sandra is a founder and board member of the Clementine Mathis Rouse Scholarship Fund. Her interest in African American history began in high school and she continues to build her library. Read more about the scholarship fund and Slave Narrative of my great-grandmother.

Libya is an which includes Country in International addressed the Due to Location-Book Review

Libya is a country in North Africa very which includes, and what happens in the region, "does affect much more than you believe l. If you ' ve watched the UN meetings on TV you can immediately see "is a bit of animosity between the Western World and Libya. And at one time not long ago, in the distant past Protocol agent, Libya was considered practically a terrorist state, and it was actually officially by the US State Department.

In fact, not much credit has been given to the President Bush for his handling of Libya, but they came clean, after they saw President Bush meant business when he went into Sector. But before you consider all the modern day issues, perhaps you like to read a little l history on this nation-state. Yes, that would be wise. Well, "there is a very good-then book that I believe you should read, and it is a book I own myself. You can read this in one day, between your other duties or employment. The name of the book is;

"Libya" (Modern Nations of the World Series) by Debra a. Miller, Lucent Book Publishers, New York, NY, (2005), 112 pages, ISBN: 1-59018-443-2.

The author of this book is a writer and a personal historian, she is also a lawyer. Interestingly enough she has a passion for current political events. This book is very well footnoted, and very much up to date as of its publishing. Debra Miller In the introduction explains that Libya was a former terrorist state, and she also goes into the challenges and hardships of living in desert land. "There are many different cultures and Libya, and things have really changed since Qaddafi came into power.

In one chapter, she explains the traditional land and how society and lifestyle has changed over many years. She also explains where Libya into the "future" a., and in hindsight she was exactly correct. It is interesting to read this book written in 2005, in 2011, to see how accurate was Debra, therefore much kudos goes to her observations, and knowledge at the time.

The reference section is full of excellent articles, and recommended reading "future for the reader. "There is also a timeline of chronological events, which puts everything into perspective for you. The book also has lots of great pictures to give you a sense of what a feel and it's like to live amongst the Libyans. And yes American is a section on the 1988 Lockerbie bombing of the 747, one of the worst aircraft terrorist bombings in history. Indeed I hope you will please consider this.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Chain Nowadays, and now runs the Online Think Tank http://www.worldthinktank.net/-Lance Winslow believes it's hard work to write articles 22,222; Http://www.bloggingcontent.net/

Guide to Etiquette and Manners in Different Countries For Business and Students

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World Passport for Global Managers
Author: Walter Vieira
ISBN: 9788178061849
Pages: 168
Price: INR 150.00

The book 'World Passport for Global Managers' has been written purposely to acclimatise those who keep moving or are inclined to move from place A to B or from one country to another for business, study or travel. And what does it familiarize us with? The book includes practically all important basics about the characteristic behavior, etiquette and manners practiced in day-to-day life by people in different countries. It makes us aware that a custom accepted at one place may not be so elsewhere. It may even be a subject matter of scorn.

Why learning such mannerisms has suddenly acquired importance? Simply because being unaware could hurt host's sensibilities and create bad vibes between the host and the guest. Take the RIGHT FOOT forward. Moreover, globalization is pushing businesses into every corner, taking people along in the process. Tourism is another factor attracting billions of men and women to distant lands, different cultures. People mingle with one another. Faraway, when you meet someone you ponder how to greet, how to receive, how to speak, what to say, how to eat, where...? Different language, different manners stand as verbal barriers. You think of millions of questions but no satisfactory answers.

Each chapter is loaded with information that is guaranteed to make us take on the world confidently.

This book will motivate you to read more, observe more and learn more, about the different ways in which people do things and how they are different from one another. The knowledge gained will be helpful in behaving appropriately in varied situations. Basic theme being -'show consideration for others'. Remember etiquette is connected to success -especially on the global platform - 'manners maketh the successful man'.

The author Walter Vieira helps stop all such mental pounding by presenting in a lucid and lively language his first-hand cultural observations, acquired over 4 decades of working across continents, and prepares us to understand subtle nuances attributable to various country customs and mores. This book tells you how to behave in varied circumstances. Smart tips in verbal and non-verbal communications, business etiquette, human skills etc., hone our sense of civility for ultimate business success. Ideally suited for people in IT, BPO, KPO sectors and others who move in cross-cultural societies.

Cutting For Stone - A Novel by Abraham Verghese - Book Review

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Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese is a word short of being phenomenal. Being a practicing physician and an exquisite writer, he manages to pull together the two to create a magnificent first novel.

Marion and Shiva Stone, the two protagonists in the story couldn't be more interesting. Born from a mother who was a nun, they were orphaned at birth and conjoined at the skulls. They were separated immediately, and they grew apart more than two brothers ever could. Their father mysteriously disappears upon their birth, and the disappearance provides a constant back story for the novel, and which importance is later revealed in the story.

The story takes place in locations like Ethiopia and New York, the two travel the roads that further and further separate them physically and emotionally. However, they are still reunited later, because of both their passion for medicine and the puzzling disappearance of their father.

The novel cannot be possibly put down. It's gripping like a long lost love continuing to stay and linger on you. And it's definitely a powerful first novel for Abraham Verghese. Being compared, both positively and negatively, to authors like Salman Rushdie, Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, John Irving, and Anne Tyler, he is a both a victim and a victor in his own right.

However one looks at it, it cannot be denied that something wonderful has been done with the novel. Verghese's expertise in both medicine and writing perhaps? One thing is sure though, that Abraham Verghese definitely has his own magic when it comes to writing novels.

For a more in-depth review of Abraham Verghese's Cutting for Stone, click on the link.

My name is Seymour and I'm a freelance writer for http://www.top40workoutmusic.com/

How to Understand Antigone

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One:

As human beings we all tend to hold on to and cherish memories of loved ones, sometimes so much that is seems to outweigh the importance of ones own life, just as Antigone did. The word "Cherishing" (L 986) is significant in one of the speeches done by Antigone in regards to the death of her brother. Antigone cherished the wishes of the God's and her family, by burring her brother, she cherished the idea of seeing her family together again in the afterlife, as well as cherishing closely the relationship she had with her brother.

Two:

To cherish, to adore, to protect, to hold something so dear that it becomes a part of ones own self. Antigone had just lost both of her brothers, her parents were dead, and her sister is to afraid to stand up to the king, their uncle. Her brother deserved the respect of having a proper burial so he could continue his life in the underworld, and be reunited with the rest of his family. There was no way, anyone, even the new king of Athens was going to tell her otherwise. Antigone "cherished" (L 986) much more the wished of the Gods than the new tiresome law put down by the king. If this was a man in which she didn't know, it would be a simple task to abide by the wishes of the king, but it wasn't, it was her own brother. If "A husband dead, there might have been another. A child by another too."( L 1002-1003) however no one could ever replace her own flesh and blood, her brother, and this is why she felt so strongly to honor him.

Three:

Her committed, cherished, and preserved memories of her family and beliefs of an honored burial may have cost Antigone her life but in the end kept her true to who she was. Everyone is afraid to die, therefore dying for someone or something higher than oneself seems like the most selfless and dignified ways to go.

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Wearing Chinese Glasses - How Not to Go Broke in Chinese Asia

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Wearing Chinese Glasses: How (Not) to Go Broke in Chinese Asia is a clever treatise on how to see the business world the way Chinese people do. It is apparent from author Greg Bissky's painfully funny stories that he learned this valuable lesson through much trial and error at the cultural school of hard knocks. His business culture book is part biography, part reflection, and part reference tool for cross-cultural communication.

Wearing Chinese Glasses presents Bissky's 20 years of experience in business as a Westerner immersed in the Asian culture beginning with his first disastrous forays into Asian society with his myopic Western glasses firmly in place. The culmination of his experiences and insights into this culture, so foreign from his own, is creatively presented in this his debut work.

Bissky wittily depicts the good, the bad, and the ugly American from the Chinese perspective. In each instructional segment of the work he manages to weave in some tidbits of wisdom and self-deprecating humor. It is easy to see oneself, so worried about how to use chopsticks or to know some other Chinese habit that we fail to even recognize we are completely ignorant of the customs of communication.

Fluency in the language and knowledge of an obscure dialect will never seal the deal! Grammar and vocabulary are not going to be the source of business problems in Chinese Asian business deals. Instead, the "way the language is used" will be the epicenter of ruin according to the author. The Western Rules of Communication are very different from the Chinese Rules. Violating these rules can mean the difference between the success and the failure of the Westerner in the Chinese business community.

Understanding the rules of Chinese communication comes from understanding Chinese culture and its origins. What makes Westerners uniquely different from our Chinese counterparts culturally is not our family values, our history, or even our Judeo-Christian religions it is our philosophy that keeps us apart. Bissky maintains our philosophical origins are so vastly different that it is like comparing an apple to an orange.

Western culture has a Hellenic philosophy, influenced by Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle based on learning and discovery. Chinese culture, heavily influenced by Confucius, has a philosophy based on relationships and rules. No wonder they think we are barbarians; we are the proverbial Venus and Mars when it comes to philosophy!

Wearing Chinese Glasses will be an important guidebook for anyone brave enough to venture into the complicated business world of Chinese Asia. Fear not! With this book in hand, you too can attempt to master the ways of the Good Westerner by educating yourself and embracing the fact that the Chinese do things in a different way. Success will come through study, practice, adapting and trying to be a good, sensitive barbarian.

Wearing Chinese Glasses: How Not to Go Broke in Chinese Asia

Author - Greg Bissky

Publisher - Trafford Publishing, 2007

ISBN: 142511186-6

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Shannon is also a co-author of Get Found Now! Local Search Secrets Exposed: Learn How to Achieve High Rankings in Google, Yahoo and Bing and multiple business ebooks. Her books teach entrepreneurs how to leverage the internet to attract new clients.

Shannon has a wide and varied background in both the practical and the pragmatic aspects of the business world. Shannon loves nothing better than teaching local businesses how to think globally and to be searched locally.