Edward M. Cohen
Oyster River Pages: Why do you write and/or create?
Edward M. Cohen: Oh lord, I am 86 years old and have been writing most of my life. I like to be alone. I like to sit and stare. I like to talk to myself. Eventually, I grab for a pad and it comes pouring out and I am most at peace with myself and the world.
ORP: What is the most challenging aspect of your artistic process?
EMC: Now that I am old, the inspiration part has dried up. But I have a trunk of old ideas and discarded starts that never went anywhere. I can go back and figure it out now, but starting something new from scratch is tough.
ORP: What would you say is your most interesting writing and/or artistic quirk?
EMC: I have to start with something real, a memory, a person. Eventually, it takes on a life of its own but the beginning is always autobiographical.
ORP: Who do you consider to be your creative ancestors and contemporaries for your art and/or writing? How does your creative work converse with theirs?
EMC: I have always been a great fan of Philip Roth's. I open a book of his and feel like I am having coffee with an old friend. The voice, the rhythm, the person is so familiar. I try to be as funny as he is but our visions, our worlds are very different. Still, I try to achieve the same sense of personal identity in everything I write.
ORP: What books have you read more than once in your life?
EMC: Anything by Roth, Malamud, Leonard Michaels - my ancestors.
ORP: How do children influence your art and/or writing? If you’re a parent, do your children like your art and/or writing?
EMC: My kids are grown and they have a tough time with my work because of the gayness. But my grandson, given the generational remove, is an actor and he has adopted my artistic vision, my way of working, my intensity for himself.
ORP: What does vulnerability mean to you as an artist and/or writer?
EMC: The more I reveal, the more it hurts to do so, the better the work.
ORP: Do habits help or hinder creativity? Why or why not?
EMC: I work best early in the morning, I write in longhand first. I take a long walk when I am finished so I can think over what I have done. That makes it easier to get started, eases the pain, keeps me calm, reassures me that tomorrow is another day, another chance.
