Editor of The Tribune
AUSTIN, Texas - Back when this Blog pulled out of the barn, when I was living in the Rio Grande Valley down south, I used a variety of pseudonyms in bringing readers stories from that same variety of angles, perspectives and character-within-the-character.
For me, writing this blog always has been a laboratory of sorts, a place to try things and a place for fleshing-out characters. Bonner was the stiff, high-throated, aging cowboy who loved his battered El Camino and just had to have his shirts starched just right by the dry cleaners he frequented in his hometown of Combes, Texas. Klement was the introverted descendant of a Nazi officer who'd fallen for the lovely women of the Texas-Mexico border and insisted he'd die there. Mexico was the "Keith Richards" of the staff, a man who lived life to the fullest, had to make love like a panther and was, not surprisingly, murdered in Amsterdam after being fired by The Tribune for drinking on the job.
These creations were not exactly pseudonyms; they were characters and nothing more. Still, they delivered the real news in their own way, each of them working-up a style by way of vocabulary and sentence structure. We came to know them in photographs that made for images fitting their writing and life styles.
I firmly believe that using a pseudonym, as I do with my Patrick Alcatraz novels, unlocks a certain new vein of creativity. Paz-Martinez writes about the Texas-Mexican border as if he's lived that experience, which he has; Alcatraz writes about the American West as if some bon vivant out for nothing but sex and laughs. Are they "romance novels," as has been posed by some? Yes, and no. Romance between a guy and a gal, yes. There is quite a bit of that in my books. Someone famous once said that there is no literature without sex. Well, absolutely. Sex is a huge part of the human existence, both with a loyal mate and, often, with a disloyal one. Plus, pseudonyms, also known as pen names, often take on a life of their own. The highly-regarded Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa had more than 70 literary identities.
The American horror writer Stephen King has written "literary fiction" under the name of Richard Bachman. Lewis Carroll was really Charles Dodgson. George Orwell was really Eric Blair. The list goes on. My point here is that writing will always define itself on its own terms. And writers will mine the hinterlands for anything that will spark creativity. Where cops have the fear of killing an innocent bystander, writers fear writer's block, that drag-me-down time when nothing spurts from the brain, when looking out the window yields nothing but the high sky.
But I was wondering whether to offer my next book as Paz-Martinez, the guy who writes as if a wandering journalist, or Alcatraz, the bastard who sees beauty in every woman, has them and moves on down the road. It's my alter ego, of course. All of us have them, but not all of us are willing to put them on display.
In writing, they are not "fake names" as much as they are, say, that second car in the driveway...
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15 comments:
Excellent article. You should bring back those characters. I was okay with Ron Mexico but Klement always wrote like he needed a woman. Bonner just looked the part of a valley reporter. Think about it.
No Wonder People from the Ejidote Rancho Grande Valley are so ignorant and Innocente... everybody outside from this border place laughs at Chicanos and Mexican - Americans --- Unfortunally, They will always be at the bottom of the economic and social status of any civilized society !!!
The stories in The Tribune are like a breath of fresh air. well written and interesting. Thank you. We know it's free.
I have always explained the difference between television / movies and reading to people like this: In reading, I design the set, I select and costume the actors, I connect the details. It is my vision. With TV and movies, it is someone else's interpretation.
Most of the time, they don't see it. If they don't see that, they won't see the writing either.
They will never understand why no one could ever play Thomas Hudson better than the writer could write him.
I had never taken the BLR serious, in fact, I consider the blogg no more than cheap porno.
But an article by a Mr. Gray and another article by the editor, in where he slams Tony Martinez, are beggining to change that perception.
Maybe the times are changing, look out Tribune, competition is on the horizon.
Wasn't Klement the reporter who drove a bmw??? And lived in a loft in McAllen, or something like that.
Look, crazies who comments about fake writers are individuals with no education.
Do your thing, readers of the Tribune will continue reading the articles.
Heck, I haven't read myharlingennews in almost 6 months. I don't need to or have to, and most of the criticism comes from a former used home salesman or car salesman.
I say bring back Ricardo Klement.
MR. Editor, individuals who cricize writers, because they chose to write romance novels, crime stories, or current events, are no more than windbags, like Jakei and his new found lesbo friend. These people have no life, they are failures, they have nothing going in their lives.
Do their opinions have value, only in their sick mind, hell, no one else gives a damn what they think.
Lemon Juice and a couple of Jiggers of Tequila with two table spoons of Honey, will do the trick and plenty of rest. Good by Summer cold. Get well dude.
I'm new to the Tribune and don't remember any of those names. But were people actually criticizing you? Why? This is a free site and you can stay away if you don't like it. Guess we have more than our share of idiots.
ANON:...We are aware of the BLR's new tack and endorse it 100 percent. Of course, we have known Jerry McHale, its editor, for many years and always did say he could've done better for his community, Brownsville. But, like most writers, he hates falling into a rut, so we'll see how long he stays on the high ground. We welcome competition... - Editor
Hey, Junior Bonner was cool! wasn't he the one who wore that male thong to the WhiteWings game. I remember that photo clearly! We want Bonner, we want Bonner!!
You could to bring Ron Mexico back to life. Tim Dorsey, very deftly, brought back Coleman, Serge Storms hard drinking, pill popping sidekick after killing him off in one book, then restoring his life two books later.
Bring back Klements, I like his style of living, he reminds me of styling man, who jets around like no big deal, drives bmw, and mkx lincolns like people drive fords.
I was reading an article on men's health. Tag Huer watches are pretty darn expensive, at go styling man, flaunt it, if you have it.
Los Fresnos man: Junior Bonner was killed in some bordello in Amsterdam. He left a kind young Hispanic woman behind whom Alcatraz moved in as soon as Bonner was sent to Boot Hill. The rumor was, Alcatraz, might have been involved in Bonner's disappea-
rence.
Didn't Jr. Bonner have big fat brother who lived in Ohio???
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