What can I say, I’m a sucker for a cool hat.
As I walked around my local Barnes & Noble looking for my next subject, the location chosen for the much needed Starbucks and the hope of a creative, vibrant person browsing amongst the wonderful collection of literature I spotted Joseph. Head down, reading, wearing a cute little trilby. I had earlier decided to find someone a little different to the rest of the week..younger, edgier perhaps? But it doesn’t always work like that.
I walked around the store, pretending to browse whilst eyeing up all of the customers and trying not to look suspicious, everyone seemed in a rush, had a handful of kids so couldn’t possibly talk to me or were with another person.
The hardest thing about this project is choosing someone, walking up to them and putting forward my proposal.
I walked back to Joseph..he greeted me warmly albeit with a little suspicion. He said I was brave for my cold call approach and said he only had a moment..but proceeded to entertain me with his colourful stories for at least 45 mins.
It rarely feels strange or uncomfortable when the conversation gets started I can’t wait to hear what they have to say.
Name: Joseph Baron Pravda
Occupation: Published Produced Playwright (theres a difference between aspiration and production, Joseph tells me)
I am finding it difficult to write Josephs’s story, he was so good at telling it himself. My interpretation seems weak in comparison. Within seconds of me pressing record on the tape he had already shared so many literary accomplishments I cannot keep up. Actually, I feel academically inept as he discusses his work and I am secretly hoping that I don’t have an expression on my face that shows how out of depth I am with the content of his dialogue! I’ll be honest, I said WOW far too often.
1. Where were you born and raised?
Brooklyn, New York.
‘I left at a fairly young age but it is a place that I have returned too almost every year of my adult life for writing inspiration and Brooklyn Heights is just across from Manhattan. I’m a Russian Jew and we have great ties to Brooklyn. It’s a very ethnically diverse place and it’s a very deep wide source of inspiration for me.’
2. Tell me a childhood memory.
‘Oh gosh, the childhood memory that I have most prominently is that I have no memories before age 10. Which is remarkable and I have no explanation, I simple don’t recall anything before age 10.’
I ask if Joseph had a happy childhood or perhaps he has learnt to block out trauma?
‘Having no recollection of it I cannot say. I would have to say that it was somewhat turbulent in the sense that my mother was Catholic and my Father was Jewish and he was sort of a Second generation self-negating Jewish person, sort of defensive about who he was, short, not very attractive.’
‘The only other memory was my Fathers angry dispute with his Mother over having married a non Jew and I remember him distinctly stomping on his Mothers picture and not speaking to each other for years, crazy stuff, big dramatic stuff. I’ve since realised that it was foolishness but at the time it had quite an impact.’
Joseph proceeded to tell me about his Fathers insecurity with women, he worked with strong women and enjoyed to come home and dominate his submissive wife in order to feel better about himself. This has clearly had an effect on Joseph but I believe in the reverse, I imagine the man in front of me enjoys the company of strong women and when asked he agreed. Not that he isn’t confident himself, his manner is completely self assured but I wondered if this is a genuine response or whether his armour of words and academia protect him from his own feeling of inadequacies.
I confessed I felt more sorry for his Father than his Mother.
‘My Father is worthy of that kind of pity, this has been a well spring of a lot of my writing. It’s formed my writing. My writing is the distinction between only human, which is more or less an excuse for bad behaviour and only humane, which is a status we all aspire too but generally only apply to four legged creatures.’
Joseph speaks many truths and his thoughts are extremely profound but I cannot help but feel as I listen back over the tapes that they jump from one thought to the next. Is this to impress me or are his thoughts this chaotic? I cannot imagine him ever feeling quiet or at peace there, are too many theories to discuss!
3. What is your favourite season and why?
I love weather such as we are having today, very cool and crisp, without snow! It conjures memories of New York which is my home town and for me it puts me in mind of spaces that are inviting.
4. Tell me about someone you love
Linda, my wife. She makes me want to be a better man.
(They are words you have heard before, Joseph is a fan of Jack Nicholas and admits that he has borrowed them for his own)
5. What words of wisdom do you have for the reader about life?
‘Boredom is a choice, to me ignorance likewise is a choice, today especially, today knowledge is at ones finger tips and to avoid it through trivial pursuits is to me as much as a near death experience as one can have whilst breathing.’
6. Dreams for the future.
‘I am aiming for a National book award.’
If this playwright were to have a production of his own I imagine a Woody Allen movie. Full of drama and lengthy dialogue, a healthy participation of beautiful women and fractured relationships. The artist misunderstood and tormented by his own thoughts and inability to make people understand the interpretation of his art.
We all live a life on stage, we can choose to be in the chorus, a member of the cast with credit but no speaking role, a cameo perhaps, we had our moment but it was sadly fleeting, or we can be Joseph, the leading man.
Whatever the part we choose to play without each other there is no production. No one part is more important in the end but some people just leave a bigger impression.
Joseph left an impression on me, I’m not sure what it is yet. I can honestly say I have never been given so much information in one meeting but perhaps left knowing nothing..but regardless it was faultless performance and probably worthy of his elusive award.
To find out more about Joseph and to view his work: http://angrysponge.com
