Today I welcome my friend and co-WestSide Books author Joe Lunievicz!
Joe's book Open Wounds received a starred review from Publisher's Weekly (read below)!
And here's a funny coincidence:
Joe was married on my aunt's floating concert hall, Bargemusic!
Today you are treated to a wonderful piece about something you'll probably never read about again on this blog: TEA!!!
You would think that a guy named Joe would drink coffee,
but this is no ordinary Joe!
Inspired by my "bean blog" of a few weeks past, here is Joe's take on tea. (I read it as I sipped my morning coffee, lol.)
Whether you are a tea totaler or not, you will enjoy Joe's words! Read on:
Of Tea and Sympathy
Coffee had been associated with writing for a long time. But perhaps longer still there is an association with tea.
Tea is a way of life in India. I am lucky to have a deep association with Darjeeling teas, which are good for one’s health. They elevate your mood and keep you happy. Tea rejuvenates the body and rejuvenates the mind. Tea is creative. Drinking tea gets you thinking. Tea encourages dialog, it encourages company, it encourages discussion, whereas a cola is encouraged to be drunk in solitude. Even the color is black. It is dull. it is dreary.
By and large humans are habit oriented. You need to have a habit, whether it is a smoke or chewing tobacco or paan (betel leaf), or liquor. I think I’ve got a good habit - I drink tea. I don’t smoke. I don’t chew paan and I don’t lose my temper. I drink tea.
- Shiv Saria, Chairman of the Siliguri Auction Committee - The Meaning of Tea by Scott Chamberlin Hoyt.
Now it’s not Starbucks philosophy about the bean, but it does speak to the qualities of the tea leaf and of cola, of which the part about cola may or may not, depending on how you read it sound a bit racist.
But tea, as Shiv says, is creative, or it helps to loosen creativity which could be the same thing. And tea does elevate the mood and rejuvenate the body/mind - which is pretty much what any caffeinated beverage does. And it makes you happy which is what stimulants do. But when you drink tea you do need to drink multiple cups of tea to take in the same amount of caffeine in a single cup of coffee (5 to 1 for black tea, up to 10 to 1 for green and 20 to 1 for white tea) which essentially means the tea makers are simply smart businessmen and women. And drinking that much of anything makes you have to pee. I’m not sure that helps me write but it does help me procrastinate.
As for encouraging dialog, discussion, and company - it indeed helps me with internal dialog and discussion though sometimes too much tea can cause too much internal dialog or crossed discussions about both what happens next and where is the nearest bathroom.
But writers are creatures of habit. I know I am. I don’t smoke or chew tobacco or paan, and keep my beer intake to a minimum (I’ve never found liquor to be helpful in any way to writing though others may argue with me). Don’t get me started on losing my temper - I have a nine-year old and patience wears thing multiple times a day.
So that leaves me with a small caffeine habit that along with the taste and fragrance and ritual of making... tea helps me to align the words wandering around inside my head into sentences that tell a story.
Thanks, Joe!!!
Starred Review of Open Wounds:
Lunievicz s impressive debut is a dark, often brutal story, balancing some of the meanest villains in recent memory with a beautifully portrayed historical New York and a movie-obsessed boy determined to overcome the hand life has dealt him. In late-1930s New York City, Cid has been physically abused by both his grandmother and his father, the latter blaming him for his mother s death in childbirth. His only bright spots are seeing movies with his grandmother and playing with some local kids (while avoiding eighborhood bullies). When his father vanishes and his grandmother kills herself in front of him, Cid is sent to an orphanage and later adopted by his long-lost cousin, crippled veteran Lefty, who helps foster his interests in acting and fencing. As Cid gains confidence, he is drawn back into the tough gang crowd while he econnects with friends and bullies from his younger years. Lunievicz paints a grim picture of Depression-era New York: anti-Semitism, violence, and poverty (an early eviction scene stands out) dominate the storytelling, yet bright spots like Cid s love of cinema are painted with equal brilliance and realism. Ages 14 up. --Publishers Weekly
Joe's bio:Joe Lunievicz has taught stage fencing to actors at HB Studio in NYC and performed improvisational comedy. He drew on his experiences as a fight choreographer, playwright, and competitive fencer in writing Open Wounds, his debut novel. He lives in New York City with his wife and son.
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