Benchley isn't "all but forgotten" in my world- he was an influential figure in print as a newspaper and magazine columnist and on film as a Hollywood actor.
I remember reading about and reading both older men when I was in elementary school and my folks let me roam the local library's shelves and take out whatever I liked. I read about Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker at a very young age and hoped I would be a writer too some day. I think I read Jaws, too, whenever it came out. The movie freaked me out and I've never seen it again.
Making the cut is a great step. I won 2nd prize in the UMass MFA program's contest my first semester there. The judge was someone famous from Dutton (sorry I can't remember who!) and this was after my first week when I was so crushed by feedback to my story I left and went home. The next year, I won 1st prize and the judge was Martha Foley who edited Best American Short Stories volumes. It launched my long career. And I have to say it was an unexpected vindictive triumph because the workshop *and* the professor *hated* my story.
Third place is nothing to sneeze at, well done, Ramona! I got an Honourable Mention in a Canada-wide writing contest when I was in high school, and had completely forgotten about it until I found the story (a treacly, maudlin tale called "The Gift") tucked into my high school creative writing binder (found it during the pandemic).
Isn't it odd that we can forget such things? My one and only published short story ended up in an anthology and an editor nominated it for a Pushcart Prize, yet when I read it now I see all kinds of cringy parts that could have used the editor I am now. 😏
Thank you so much, Patricia. There’s no need to sign up for a paid subscription. You can still subscribe for free and have access to everything everyone else does. If you want to, that is. 😊
Benchley isn't "all but forgotten" in my world- he was an influential figure in print as a newspaper and magazine columnist and on film as a Hollywood actor.
Glad to hear it! He was huge in his hey-day.
His son Nathaniel and his grandson Peter also acquired literary legacies of their own, though Nathaniel’s work was closer to his father’s in spirit.
Yes, Peter Benchley is the author of “Jaws”. Not quite the kind of zany humor his father was known for, but the funny parts fit!
I remember reading about and reading both older men when I was in elementary school and my folks let me roam the local library's shelves and take out whatever I liked. I read about Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker at a very young age and hoped I would be a writer too some day. I think I read Jaws, too, whenever it came out. The movie freaked me out and I've never seen it again.
Wonderful essay - deserving of first place!
I thought so, too! ❤️
I agree, but judges have their likes and dislikes and who knows where we fit in their scheme of things (to almost quote David Bowie).
Making the cut is a great step. I won 2nd prize in the UMass MFA program's contest my first semester there. The judge was someone famous from Dutton (sorry I can't remember who!) and this was after my first week when I was so crushed by feedback to my story I left and went home. The next year, I won 1st prize and the judge was Martha Foley who edited Best American Short Stories volumes. It launched my long career. And I have to say it was an unexpected vindictive triumph because the workshop *and* the professor *hated* my story.
Martha Foley! I loved when she edited Best American Short Stories. They were always my kind of stories!
Me too. When I told her that the workshop hated the story, she growled:Don’t change a goddamn word.
Classy!
Third place is nothing to sneeze at, well done, Ramona! I got an Honourable Mention in a Canada-wide writing contest when I was in high school, and had completely forgotten about it until I found the story (a treacly, maudlin tale called "The Gift") tucked into my high school creative writing binder (found it during the pandemic).
Isn't it odd that we can forget such things? My one and only published short story ended up in an anthology and an editor nominated it for a Pushcart Prize, yet when I read it now I see all kinds of cringy parts that could have used the editor I am now. 😏
It's not the peaks and valleys of the heart monitor but the length of the graph.
Okay, what??
How long you stay in the game. Yea, wife says I am half a bubble off plumb.
Oh, I see. I guess that's what makes you so...Malcolm. 😏
Your essay was truly funny and I thank you for it. I cannot subscribe to you right now but I can say you deserved better than third place 👍
Thank you so much, Patricia. There’s no need to sign up for a paid subscription. You can still subscribe for free and have access to everything everyone else does. If you want to, that is. 😊
This story is hilarious. If only we could convince a certain president to put removing him from his job up for a vote.