Caroline Leavitt at Salem State

February 16, 2016 

On February 11, 2016, Salem State University held its first Writers’ Series event of the semester with New York Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt. She currently lives In New Jersey with her husband Jeff Tamarkin, also a writer.

Leavitt’s presentation was sometimes sad and often funny as she recounted growing up Jewish in the 1950’s in the City of Waltham. She discovered, without understanding why, that being Jewish could sometimes result in her being discriminated against or reproached by her teachers or the public school system.  As a five year old, she was asked to answer the question of “What did Jesus say to the woman at the well.” She pondered the question for a few minutes, “Jesus asked the woman if she wanted a drink of water.”  The crowd roared in laughter at this answer and suddenly she had the audience in the palm of her hand.

Leavitt explained that she had  childhood asthma, a disease that limited her outdoor activities. As a result, she spent a great deal of time indoors and at the library reading books. She began reading at only three years old, but reading was only the beginning as she and her sister would write stories together complete with illustrations. Unfortunately, at the tender age of eleven, she threw all of her childhood novellas into the trash. She now wishes that she had kept them. As an asthmatic and lover of books, she would go to the library seeking books about little girls with asthma. The librarians could not find such books but they did find nineteenth century books whose heroes suffered from tuberculosis also known then as consumption. When one boy made fun of her because of her asthma, she told him that she did not have asthma but consumption. The little bully was speechless and left her alone.

Growing up, Leavitt considered herself to be the “quintessential outsider,” because of her asthma and being Jewish.  Feeling unwelcome, she chose the solace of reading and writing and stuck with it, subsequently writing ten books of fiction. One book, Pictures of You, made its way onto the New York Times’ bestseller list. She also has a new novel, Cruel Beautiful World, being published in the fall of 2016.

Leavitt shared some of her research about the 1950’s, an era when Senator Joseph McCarthy could find a Communist under every rock. In her research she found that there were key questions that one could address to determine if a neighbor or colleague was a Communist:

First, does the person read a lot of books? If so, he’s a Communist. 

Second, does the person make jokes that no one can understand? If so then he is, no doubt, a Communist and the joke is simply a code.

Third, does a neighbor smile for no reason at all? If so, he is a Communist.  

Ms. Leavitt would go onto Brandeis University in Waltham, where she encountered a difficult professor who did not encourage her and took little interest in her writing ability, yet she persisted and finally won a young writer’s prize for $7,000.

In addition to writing books, Ms. Leavitt also writes essays. One such essay, “My Touchstone and a Heart of Gold” was published on the February 7, 2013 in the New York Times. It is available on her website, http://www.carolineleavitt.com/home.htm. The essay concerns her desire to own a pet, but because of asthma, a dog or cat, were out of the question.  She finally, settled on a turtle which she named Minnie and with which she, to her then boyfriend’ dismay, bonded. She and the boyfriend parted but her dear turtle Minnie stayed. Ultimately, she met her husband Jeff, who adapted to the turtle and even bought it a tiny rubber octopus. Minnie stayed with Leavitt for twenty years until it died.

Caroline Leavitt transforms her childhood memories into essays and novels that span the arc of her life. On a cold night in February at SSU, she brought us  angst, humor, and insight into the writing life, which was dispensed in good measure that helped to make our meeting both enjoyable and successful.

Contributor’s Note:  Joe McGurn is a Salem State University graduate student pursuing his MA in writing.  His writing interests span fiction, poetry, memoir, and creative non-fiction.  A frequent attendee at all Writers Series events, this is his first appearance in Red Skies.