Katherine Vaz, the 29th writer in residence of the Harman Writer program, came to Baruch to speak about her 5th book, but also her writing in general. Her writing was full of imagery and metaphors. Speaking of “eating music”, she described the mother pleading for help in a dignified way. The character in her new book is described as “consuming the birds song” from within the jail; an extremely fresh and vivid metaphor describing the woman’s distress.
She told the story of a family moving to the Midwest. “In the beginning was New York. The Midwest would be a haven of jobs and shelter. Here praising God is action.” Her writing flows beautifully well and invokes and incites the reader’s and audience’s imagination and memory. Vaz confesses the difficulty she had when writing the war scenes. However, the reader would be totally unaware of her clumsiness as her writing flowed beautiful even in her war writing. She describes the men “crying out for their mothers, always their mothers.” The savagery of war is illustrated by her portrayal of wild animals eating and attacking the bodies of men. She depicts the battle horses as “dreams of flight”, with their sleekness and regality saying, “any horse, after all, is evidence of God’s artistry.”
During the Question and Answer session Vaz was asked many questions by aspiring writers. Some of her advice included, “There is not good time to start [writing]. Commit to writing, 15 minutes in the morning.” This advice mirrors the same advice I’ve received from almost all my English teachers. It seems that by habitually forcing yourself to write something down each day, we eventually come up with something that we want to pursue and refine.
Katherine Vaz also spoke of different words of wisdom she tries to keep in mind every time she writes. The first quote she spoke of was by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, “People tire of magic and want the real.” I especially enjoyed this quote. The simplicity, yet veracity of the statement resounded within my very being. We don’t want to be fooled, but told the truth. Humans don’t like be tricked.
She also tried to follow the advice of Percy, “The feel of the place on your skin”, especially in describing the wind of Jacksonville. Vaz stressed the importance of research in developing a character’s persona. Her Portuguese roots and Catholic background helped form a strong foundation for all her writing. Katherine Vaz’s unbelievable ability to take an audience through an experience was absolutely wonderful.
