In Wygal, on Thursday Nov. 3, writer Janet Peery came to speak to an audience of teachers, students and interested community members about her book ‘What the Thunder Said.' Set in 1930s Midwest, during the devastating grip of the dustbowl, ‘What the Thunder Said' focuses on two sisters, Mackie and Etta, members of the Spoon family and refugees from the ravaged environment. The story, at points, switches perspective from Etta as an old woman dying of cancer and as a young woman, escaping from her home and a forced marriage with her small child. Her destination is a place called the Garden of the Gods. Also a big part of the story is the fact that Etta wants a man she cannot have who is not the father of her child. The story was partially based off the story of Peery's two cousins, one who kept her child and the other who gave it away.
Explaining a little about her career, Peery said this is her third book and that she had begun to write when she was in her forties. Her first book, "The River Beyond the World," was a collection of short stories written as part of her M.F.A thesis at Sothern Methodist University. The New York Times later reviewed a large amount of material printed at Southern Methodist University, and her short stories gained the attention of reviewer, Dorothy Alison. Afterwards, the material won a number of awards, and Peery moved onto her second book.
Explaining a bit about her writing process, Peery said that she is a big fan of "paper and ink." Computer work with word processors slowed work down for her due to a certain type of perfectionism. However, Peery explained, the process is made easier for her by printing out every page. She claims the process sharpens one's critical eyes and allows for an easier typing experience for Type A personalities. Another practice of Peery's that she took the time to reveal that night was the sending off of unfinished drafts to editors to be torn apart and then returned to her before a thorough reworking.
Following a reception in usual Aramark style, Janet Peery was available to talk about some of her third book's influences and her general practice of writing. When asked about her favorite authors, Peery said "Just about anything and everything. Even bad stuff sometimes. I love Flannery O'Conner; I loved Catherine Porter, John Steinbeck, Falkner, certainly, and I love Gustav Flaubert, a French writer, and I love the Russian Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov. I love almost everything."
On the subject of her identification with her cousins, Peery said, "Although my novel is set in the 30s, my cousins and I grew up in the 50s." Explaining that "the choices for women were essentially the same as they were in the 30s," Peery reconnected to the plight of unmarried pregnant women saying "anybody who got pregnant out of wedlock had to make a choice unless that person got married, whether to go away and hide, have the baby and give it up. Very few women or girls kept their babies then."
Continuing on to the setting in her work, Peery remarked, "I cannot fail to notice a place wherever I am. I think that most sensitive people recognize the air, the quality of the light around … everything in this world takes place in somebody's back yard. Whether it's San Francisco or Columbia or Uruguay, there is no place without feature and even the most generic places like airports or classrooms still have a climate in a way. Maybe an emotional climate that['s] given off by the people in it. [That atmosphere] surrounds us all at all times." Peery also said, "Even the names of places make a difference." Connecting this to the dramatic place and time of her story, Peery said, "The Dust Bowl was a time of great want, of great need. People didn't have what they needed or wanted. These women in the book and the men too – everybody wants something that they just can't have. For whatever reason, they're prevented from having it. Desire and want, deprivation of love … or dignity. That's one of the big themes in my book, deprivation." And the deprivation seems to soak thoroughly into the characters as "most of [her] stories have to do with a character: a person that matters to his or her view of herself or himself." The stories often end with either the loss of gain, of desired person or object. A device of Greek drama, called "Peripeteia," or a turning point, determines these situations often.
Finally, Janet Peery talked about her most important writing tips, and said,"Read very good stuff … Know the names of them … [and] know the English language, grammar and spelling." Peery also said that, for a writer, there is "no shame in using a dictionary."
