Ben Tanzer Recommends...

“It starts with a step. Followed by another. I am running, and I am caught up in my creaky knee, sore lower back and the detritus of the day—check requests, press releases, my children, dumb fights, and bills. Much of the time when I am running it is along the lakefront in Chicago, enjoying the headwind that runs both north and south, and doing so year-round—some days with small chunks of ice clinging to my eyebrows, and other days melting in the mid-day heat. Sometimes I've been flying late the evening before, working all day without a break, or my kids haven't been sleeping, and I'm just not sure I'm into it. But soon, there is that first step. Then another. All the detritus from the day starts to slip away. There is inspiration, flow and words. The night sky might speak to me as I find myself wondering what's out there and what I might say about it. Or, I'm reminded of a trip with my family, and I will recall a snatch of conversation, an argument, something about my father or a memory from childhood. Maybe my achy knee prompts me to ruminate on pain, and aging, and the lack of grace that accompanies it. With each step I begin to sort things out. I see the kernels of a story connect, and unwrap, and build upon themselves. I picture the characters. I feel their confusion. I hear their dialogue. And then at some point I stop, and I write, and it is glorious.”
—Ben Tanzer, author of The New York Stories (Chicago Center for Literature and Photography, 2015)

Photo credit: Tracie Lansing