claudiapena.com

This is an interview with j. r. gonzales, copy editor here in town as well as a Houston history blogger on his relationship with the English language. As I was swimming the complex sea of the internet, I stumbled upon jr who confirmed my ranting that there is no such word as wuthering in the English language…but should I take the word of one whose screen name is rimmers? Dare I ask and will it publishable on my wholesome site?

j.r.gonzales: That’s my job. There are 10 of us. Well, we have slots who work here too, you know. My relationship with language? The English language?

cp: (no, cantonese) yes

j.r.gonzales: I think I’ve developed a nice relationship with the English language over the last few years. I would say we were well apart for quite some time until I started to take her seriously. Now it works out great and I get paid every other week for my efforts. More like “I never knew you existed,”"where you been all my life.” It would have been nice if I got to know it a little better sooner.

cp: Do you taste every word or use it like spork?

j.r.gonzales: I wouldn’t relate so much to words, but more like punctuation and usage and grammar. No…those are more like the plates and glasses. They keep everything together and in place.

cp: so, what is desert for you? what do you look forward to in your writing job?

j.r.gonzales: Hard to say. I take greater joy in writing a clever headline more so than when I was reporting. Coming up with a headline is like trying to solve a puzzle. You have so much space to fit the words. And you have to be accurate about it too. By longest, they could take an hour. You only have so much time with a story before you send it off. And I probably read about 7-10 stories a night. So, you can’t really dawdle on a story or headline. I remember a nice one that never got published when Katrina was off the Louisiana coast: “Doom Awaits Gulf Coast.” The gulf coast was doomed in retrospect.

cp: do you ever feel poetry in your craft? or would you describe it as an art?

j.r.gonzales: It’s definitely an art. Depending on the way words come together, it can sound like sheer bloody poetry. Some work on an informative level. Others come with double meanings that are both relevant to the story. My boss had a great one a few weeks back when Queen Elizabeth II visited the U.S.: “Queen with a capital queue.” Queue means line. It’s also how u pronounce the letter Q. yeah. Some headlines elevate themselves to sheer poetry. Some can be so succinct as well. The NY Post had a famous headline on Gerald Ford denying federal money to help NYC’s financial crisis. It was “Ford to NYC: Drop Dead.”

cp: what do you do to further or perfect your tools?

j.r.gonzales: READ. Oh, and READ SOME MORE. Building vocabulary, reading comprehension adds more tools to my toolbox. I don’t write in my books. I don’t check out books because I don’t read fast enough. When I finish reading, I keep them and put them on my bookshelf or I just give away to people. I read one book at a time. I don’t have a particular nonfiction writer or blogger. I don’t read much poetry. I try to alternate between topics. I just finished a novel on espionage. Now I’m reading something on howard hughes. Last one I read was “Slaughterhouse Five.” In a few weeks, I’ll begin “Grapes of Wrath” or maybe “Fahrenheit 451.”

cp: wow. Thank you for your interview, is there anything else you would like to add?

j.r.gonzales: Tempus fugit. Time flies.

cp: BTW, I want to know your truthful thoughts on my work

j.r.gonzales: I would say your poetry is… vaginal.

(there was a long pause after this, i didn’t know if I could laugh or be offended, I opted for laughter)
cp: I have never heard anyone describe my poetry that way…the best is nuttier than squirrel feces. Yours just took the cake

j.r. gonzales: Hmm…I think it sums up poetry that comes off as wildly feminine, angry, cultural, out in left field, frentic, needy, wanting and imaginative. But overall, it’s vaginal.

ummm…thank you, ummm, (I guess?!)

add to del.icio.us