Petersburgh resident Alan Webster recently published a collection of short stories — The Edges of Light and Darkness. Alan will be reading a selection from his book at the Berlin Free Town Library on Saturday, March 16 at 4pm.
The Berlin Library caught up with Alan recently to find out more about this new collection. Alan was kind enough to answer our questions about his stories, process, and inspirations.
BFTL: The Edges of Light and Darkness is your first published book of short stories. What can you tell us about this collection of stories? Can you explain the significance of the title?
AW: The book contains five short stories and a novella. One story, “Reflections” and the novella, “Phoebe” take place in the fictitious town of Forest Pond. The title reflects the intertwined emotions of joy and sorrow, of happiness and pain.
BFTL: What should people know about short stories as a genre before reading The Edges of Light and Darkness?
AW: Most short stories deal with a singular event. This is true of all of my stories with the exceptions of “Sally” and the novella, which cover the better part of a lifetime.
BFTL: Are short stories your preferred way of storytelling? Why did you decide to write short stories instead of a novel?
AW: The stories were what were in me to write. In truth I did not choose to write them. They just took me by the hand and dragged me along.
BFTL: When did you first know you wanted to write? What inspired you to take that first step?
AW: I was a writing major in college. The seed has always been there. In retirement I finally had the time to write. But it was more than that. A growing sense of my mortality? Probably. There are stories inside me that need telling – a compilation of parts of me that weren’t complete.
BFTL: When faced with a blank screen or page, do you already have an idea of how a story will unfold? Are you sometimes surprised by how you’ve ended a story?
AW: Stories tend to take me by the hand and lead me. I usually have an outline in my head but rarely is it followed.
BFTL: What is your writing process? How do you make time for writing among your other interests and responsibilities?
AW:I do all of my writing on yellow legal pads. Usually between 4am and 6am with a pot of coffee nearby.
BFTL: You were a High School English teacher who undoubtedly taught writing as part of the curriculum. How did you learn to write?
AW: I was greatly inspired by my writing advisor in college, the poet John Leax. The first time I met him he walked into the classroom, looked at our eager faces and said, “What are you doing here? Go someplace and write!” We got the message.
BFTL: Who are the writers who inspire you? Why?
AW: Wendell Berry. Mary Oliver. Wallace Stegner. Annie Dillard. The list could go on. Their love of language and the importance of every word.
BFTL: Do you have a favorite book – either recent or past?
AW: I have many favorites depending on my mood!
BFTL: What single skill has been most useful in your writing career?
AW: Observation.
BFTL: Do you have any advice for others who may be thinking of writing as a career?
AW: Write! Especially on the days you don’t feel like it.
BFTL: What is next for you? Do you have another collection of stories waiting to be told?
AW: I have a new collection well in the works. Many of which take place in the fictitious town of Forest Pond that appears in the first collection.
BFTL: Finally, your stories take place in fictional towns, yet many of the locations seem familiar to those of us who live in the area. You’ve lived in Petersburgh all your life; what is it that you love the most about the area?
AW: There is a natural beauty here that draws me into it. I am rooted here. And the people, the sense of community that is so lost in the world that we live in.
Alan Webster will be at the Berlin Free Town Library on Saturday, March 16 at 4PM to read a selection from “The Edges of Light and Darkness,” his most recent collection of short stories. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing by the author. Refreshments will be served. Admission is free.